Refugee Claimants
If you are in Alberta under a pending or denied refugee protection claim , you do not qualify for GDL E xemption, nor are you eligible for an Alberta driver’s licence or I D c ard, re gardless of whether you have a W ork P ermit issued by the f ederal government.
It has been verified by federal authorities that government identity documents (Refugee Claimant Form and temporary foreign Work P ermit) may be provided to refugee claimants without ve rifica tion of their identity. These W ork P ermits are most often issued in conjunction with a claim in order to enable you to obtain employment, thus relieving you of the necessity for social assistance while you await the resolution of your claim. The Wo rk P ermit does not co nfer official reside ncy status upon you , therefore you are ineligible to obtain any Alberta identity document ( such as an Operator’s licence or ID Card ) until you receive official status within Canada. The W ork P ermit specifically sta tes “DOES NOT CONFER TEMPORARY RESIDENT STATUS” under the remarks section.
https://www.alberta.ca/assets/documents/drivers-licence-gdl-exemption.pdf