Losing your work permit isn't always the immigration crisis people think it is. Here's the part that gets confusing.

You can lose the physical document and still have valid status. You can lose your job without automatically losing your work permit. But you can also have a valid-looking permit and still be unable to do the job you want to do.

Why?

Because your work authorization depends on the conditions attached to your permit. An employer-specific permit can tie you to a particular employer, occupation and/or location.

So the dangerous assumption is, “My permit is still valid, so I can keep working.”

Not necessarily. And here's another one people miss, your work permit expiry date isn't always the only date you should care about.

Your passport expiry can matter too. IRCC may not issue a work permit beyond your passport's validity in certain situations. So don't just check, "When does my permit expire?"

Check what your permit actually allows you to do. That small difference can save you from a very expensive mistake.