How To Activate Your IEC Work Permit Without Flagpoling

We asked our in-house Registered Canadian Immigration Consultant Rebecca Major for some guidance. This post will walk you through your options.  

Key Takeaways 

• Flagpoling is banned, effective 11:59pm ET on December 23, 2024.  

• This change impacts those IEC workers who are currently in Canada working and need to leave Canada to activate their next IEC work permit.  

What Is Flagpoling?  

Flagpoling was a relatively common practice that involved heading to the closest US land border, crossing to the US, and then coming immediately back to Canada to activate a work permit from ‘outside Canada’. The practice is defined by IRCC as follows:  

Flagpoling occurs when foreign nationals who hold temporary resident status in Canada, leave Canada and, after a visit to the United States or St. Pierre and Miquelon, re-enter to access immigration services at a port of entry. 

Unfortunately, this practice put a significant strain on the US border officials and due to political tensions over the issue, Canada has banned flagpoling.  

If you’re wondering how significant the strain was, the CBSA processed over 69,000 flagpolers between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024 (so, one year). 

What Does The IRCC Website Say on the Matter? 

Although several IRCC webpages have been updated following the end of flagpoling, the IEC web pages have not changed.  

According to the IRCC website, approved IEC applicants who are already in Canada, must leave the country and re-enter at any port of entry to activate their new work permit. It goes on to say, if you plan to leave and re-enter Canada through the United States, you must meet US immigration requirements.  

As it stands, the only way an IEC applicant who is in Canada can activate their new status is to leave and activate their new status on reentry into Canada.  

Options For Activating an IEC Work Permit From Inside Canada 

IRCC has not yet announced any means for those holding an IEC POE to activate it from inside Canada. This means that, unfortunately, anyone who is currently inside Canada will be required to leave to activate the work permit.   

To make things more confusing, Canada introduced a requirement for people who are ‘in Canada’ to apply for a work permit online instead of at a port of entry. Many of these people will be able to apply online and then receive the work permit by mail in Canada. But, IEC work permit holders in Canada who have received a POE are not currently allowed to do this. This complicates the matter of activating your IEC work permit significantly.  

So with flagpoling and at the border applications banned, we’ve outlined three options for activating your IEC work permit, from the least risky to most risky. Feel free to pick between them, based on your risk tolerance.  

Option 1 (Most Risky): ‘Flagpole’, But Stay Outside Canada For More Than 24 Hours 

IRCC’s definition of flagpoling means that if you leave Canada by a land border and stay in the US for more than 24 hours, you aren’t technically flagpoling and you should be permitted to activate your IEC work permit at the land border.  

However, IRCC has not clarified how this should work with all border officials and this rule is being inconsistently applied. We have seen multiple reports of people leaving Canada and trying to re-enter by a land border but being refused, despite being out of Canada for more than 24 hours. 

Why? Because the news release ending flagpoling offered an alternative definition of flagpoling which removed reference to the 24-hour time period. There would also be further complications if you are currently considered to have ‘status’ in Canada – in other words, if your existing work permit is still ‘live’.  

Tip: If you’re considering this option, you should have a plan B that involves re-entering Canada by an international airport after your existing status in Canada expires. Even if the law is on your side, CBSA agents do get things wrong and, ultimately, you can’t force them to give you a work permit if they don’t believe you are allowed to get one.  

Option 2 (Medium Risk): Fly From The USA  

This option involves leaving Canada and then flying from the USA to an international airport in Canada. You could leave Canada by bus or car before your status expires and then fly back from the US or get a return ticket after your status in Canada expires. You could also try to activate your IEC work permit before your existing status expires, but you may face rejection.  

This option is less risky than leaving Canada by a land border, but more risky than flying internationally beyond the USA. This is because the news release covering the flagpoling ban defines flagpoling as ‘Flagpoling occurs when foreign nationals who hold temporary resident status in Canada, leave Canada and, after a visit to the United States or St. Pierre and Miquelon, re-enter to access immigration services at a port of entry.’ 

It’s possible that Canadian border agents will read that as meaning that anyone who travels to the US, and returns by any means, as flagpoling.  

If you choose to try this option, it will be less risky if you leave Canada and remain in the US for at least 24 hours, ideally your status would expire while you are outside of Canada.  

Option 3: (Least Risky): Fly Internationally Outside of the USA 

The final option, and the least risky, is to fly internationally beyond the USA. Think a quick trip home, a short Eurotrip, or a sunny long weekend vacation to South America.  

This option is the least risky, but likely the most expensive. Activating your work permit this way at an international airport would be like activating it if you’d come directly from your home country for your first IEC activation.  

Given the amount of confusion around how an individual in Canada may activate their new status and the inconsistencies at the Canadian border, we expect that IRCC will clarify this matter in the future. 

If you’re in a position to wait to activate your IEC work permit, it’s worth considering.  

For those who are currently in Canada with a permit that expires shortly and who want to activate a second IEC permit, we suggest leaving before your status expires and considering flying back into an international airport for your best chance of success.  

Unfortunately, those looking to activate an IEC work permit in the near term will face significant uncertainty due to the widespread confusion amongst border agents about the application of the new rules to IEC work permits. We expect that IRCC will clarify the rules at some point (hopefully soon) and may even offer those who are in Canada with an IEC POE the option of receiving it by mail.  

In the short-term, however, in-Canada IEC work permit holders whose permits expire soon and who are looking to activate a new permit will need to consider their risk tolerance and decide whether to attempt to activate now. The other options are to leave Canada or apply to stay in Canada as a visitor and wait on further clarification from IRCC.  

Remember, when activating your POE letter at the border, you must provide proof of sufficient funds and adequate health insurance, even if you have provincial medical coverage. Our partner, BestQuote Travel Insurance, offers comprehensive plans tailored for IEC participants in Canada. Get your quote from BestQuote today!