LMIA exempt work permit expires before contract ends

[JonathanDude]

I arrived in Canada with my family after signing a 1-year contract for an LMIA exempt job. I requested my work permit to start at the start date of the contract.
However, the officer at the airport issued the permit to start on the day I landed, which was 3 weeks before the contract started. The permit is one year long, so it also ends 3 weeks before my contract ends.
The earlier expiry date will prevent me from completing the contract, and also create a problem for my employer, even though they paid the LMIA-exemption fee for a full year. I didn’t work before the contract start date and therefore did not need the permit to commence earlier than that. The same dates were used in the study permits of my school-aged children, which will prevent them from completing the school year.
I understand that I can ask for an extension of the permits, but that would mean paying hundreds in fees for a 3 week extension.
Is there anything I can do here?

 

[Naturgrl]

I arrived in Canada with my family after signing a 1-year contract for an LMIA exempt job. I requested my work permit to start at the start date of the contract.
However, the officer at the airport issued the permit to start on the day I landed, which was 3 weeks before the contract started. The permit is one year long, so it also ends 3 weeks before my contract ends.
The earlier expiry date will prevent me from completing the contract, and also create a problem for my employer, even though they paid the LMIA-exemption fee for a full year. I didn’t work before the contract start date and therefore did not need the permit to commence earlier than that. The same dates were used in the study permits of my school-aged children, which will prevent them from completing the school year.
I understand that I can ask for an extension of the permits, but that would mean paying hundreds in fees for a 3 week extension.
Is there anything I can do here?

No. You need to extend your work permit. If you don't then you must stop working on the expiry date of your contract. If you don't want to do that, can you finish your contract remotely outside the country? If you leave Canada, you can work remotely and do not need a permit.

 

[JonathanDude]

Thank you for the info.
Unfortunately, it is essential that I complete the contract and I cannot do it remotely. I will have to pay the fees and extend my work permit.
When I apply for the extension, will I be able to use the same LMIA offer of employment number that I used on my original application, as I will still be within the one year period the original fee was payed for, or do I have to ask my employer to pay the LMIA fee again and produce a new number?

 

[Naturgrl]

Thank you for the info.
Unfortunately, it is essential that I complete the contract and I cannot do it remotely. I will have to pay the fees and extend my work permit.
When I apply for the extension, will I be able to use the same LMIA offer of employment number that I used on my original application, as I will still be within the one year period the original fee was payed for, or do I have to ask my employer to pay the LMIA fee again and produce a new number?

You should not need a new LMIA just an employment letter.

Extend a temporary worker’s permit - Canada.ca

 

[JonathanDude]

You should not need a new LMIA just an employment letter.

I just wanted to circle back to this, because I learned that this was bad advice.
I tried applying to extend my work permit using the same LMIA offer number, and the application was refused because of this. I then had to ask my employer to pay the LMIA fee and get a new offer number, and then I had to re-apply to extend the permit.
Because of this mistake, I wounded up paying the application fees twice, and also I had to do it all in the last minute and it was very stressful. Just putting this here in case it helps others avoid this mistake.