Post-Graduate Work Permit Canada

When international students are finishing their post-secondary study programs in Canada, they can think about staying in the country (after graduation). In this case, they can apply for Post-Graduate Work Permit for international students in Canada. If you do not know what the Post-Graduate Work Permit for international students in Canada are, please read the following. A Post-Graduate Work Permit is an open work permit, which is valid for up to three years in Canada. Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) allows international students in Canda, who have graduated from the Canadian Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs), to work for any employer in the country even if they do not have a job offer. To a certain extent, Post-Graduate Work Permit for international students in Canada can be considered as an additional effort of the Canadian government to attract international students and keep them as successful immigrants in the country.

If you want to know who is eligible to apply for a Post-Graduate Work Permit for international students in Canada, here are four main eligibility requirements of the program:

1. To be allowed to apply for a Post-Graduate Work permit in Canada (PGWP), an international student must complete the vocational, academic, or professional training study program (that lasts more than eight months) at the eligible Designated Learning Institution in Canada (DLI). Remember, that a Designated Learning Institution is an educational institution (such as a college or university) that is accredited by the government of Canada to admit and teach international students. An international student must get a certificate, a diploma, or a degree after they complete their study program at a DLI. Nevertheless, international students who have graduated from vocational and professional training programs in Quebec have to meet additional PGWP criteria according to the type of the obtained diploma. If you want to learn more about these requirements, please visit the official website of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

1. To be allowed to apply for a PGWP, an international student must graduate from one of the following school types:

• a Canadian public post-secondary educational institution, such as a university, a college, a trade or technical school, or a CEGEP (Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel in French or a General and Vocational College in English) in Quebec;
• a Canadian private school that is qualified to award degrees under provincial law. Additionally, the student must pursue a study program that leads to a degree, such as Associate, Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctorate;
• a private post-secondary or secondary educational institution in Quebec that offers study programs longer than 900 hours. After completion of the study program the student has to obtain an attestation de spécialisation professionnelle (ASP) or a diplôme d’études professionnelles (DEP);
• a private post-secondary school in Quebec that complies with the rules in the same way as a public school in the province.

1. To be allowed to apply for a PGWP, an international student must study full-time during each completed academic session of the study program(s). This information has to be included in the application for the PGWP. However, certain international students are allowed to apply for Post-Graduate Work permit in Canada, disregarding this requirement (due to the coronavirus pandemic). International students whose study programs were already in progress in March 2020 and students who have started or will start pursuing their study programs between spring 2020 and fall 2021 are exempt from this rule. Moreover, students who took a leave from studies in the final semester can also apply for Post-Graduation Work Permits for international students in Canada.

1. To be allowed to apply for a Post-Graduate Work permit in Canada, an international student must have a transcript and an official letter from the Designated Learning Institution stating that the applicant has met all the requirements to complete the study program. An international student must include this transcript and official letter in the application for the PGWP.

The application deadline for Post-Graduate Work Permit for international students in Canada is six months (180 days) after getting the transcript and official letter from the Designated Learning Institution. If your study permit expires before obtaining these documents, you have two options to consider. The first option is to leave the country and then apply for the Post-Graduation Work Permit for international students in Canada from your country of residence. The second option is to apply for a visitor record to stay in Canada longer. 

It is worth mentioning, that applying for the Post-Graduate Work Permit for international students in Canada, applicants have to prove they either have or had a valid study permit. To do so, applicants can also demonstrate that they were authorized to study in Canada without a study permit according to paragraphs 188(1)(a) and (b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. 

Applying for the Post-Graduate Work Permit for international students in Canada, applicants have to remember they are required to obtain the official letter and the transcript from their Designated Learning Institution. Moreover, they must be ready to submit additional documents to the program officers at any time.

Canada has implemented special measures to allow international students who complete their education outside the country to be eligible to apply for PGWP. This measure was taken due to the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, the government offers a new open work permit of up to 18 months in duration to PGWP holders who are currently staying in Canada.

It is worth clarifying the new measures of the Canadian Government in more detail. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has introduced a special policy that allows international students to graduate from the Canadian Designated Learning Institutions while living outside the country and still have the opportunity to get a PGWP when they arrive in Canada. However, before applying for a Post-Graduate Work Permit for international students in Canada, individuals have to meet several conditions. 

1. The applicant has to be enrolled at one of the Canadian Designated Learning Institutions. 
2. The study program of the applicant needs to be in progress in March 2020 or the applicant has begun the program between spring and fall in 2020. 
3. The applicant needs to apply for a study permit and obtain it before starting the study program, or get approval for a study permit, or already have a study permit. 
4. The applicant has to meet all the other PGWP requirements mentioned above.

Individuals, who already have Post-Graduate Work Permit for international students in Canada, can wonder if they can get a new open work permit. They can apply for it starting from January 27, 2021, and until July 27, 2021. The great news is that Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada evaluates that nearly 52,000 individuals who have the PGWPs can obtain the new open work permit in Canada. Nevertheless, those individuals, who have Post-Graduation Work Permits for international students in Canada, must meet five requirements to be eligible to apply for the open work permit: they need to have a valid Post-Graduation Work Permit that expires on January 30, 2020, or after this date, or their PGWP is valid for four months or less from the date of the application; they need to remain in Canada since January 27, 2021 (the date of the policy implementation); they must have a valid temporary status or must have already applied to restore it (or is applying for the status restoration); they have to mention in the application that they are applying for an open work permit under the new policy, and they must have a valid passport. If the passport is valid less than 18 months from the date of the open work permit approval, it will only be valid for the same period. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada recommends checking whether the passport is valid for more than 18 months from the date of the open work permit approval.

 

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