Canada’s Post-Graduation Work Permit is the best alternative for all those international students who might be seeking post-graduation options. However, while considering the PGWP, they must understand all its intricate details and related rules and policies.
Understanding Canada’s Post-Graduation Work Permit in Detail
International students seeking to apply for a PGWP must be well aware of its various facts. Here are the top facts about Canada’s Post-Graduation Work Permit:
PGWP plays a prominent role in acquiring Canadian work experience
The PGWP’s ability to help overseas students get professional job experience in Canada is one of its main advantages. Also, when PGWP holders go on to petition for Canadian immigration, their work experience is crucial.
Candidates who attended school worked, or both in Canada can attain approximately 100 different immigration streams in several countries. For a PGWP holder to be able to apply for a Canadian permanent residence program, they typically need one year of professional work experience in a NOC code of 0, A, or B.
Canada’s Post-Graduation Work Permit Eligibility- gaining full-time student status
To be eligible, every academic session of the program or study programs you have finished and submitted in your PGWP application must be spent as a full-time student. During the pandemic, Canada has exempted some foreign students from this requirement. Additionally, these exemptions are possible under two conditions:
- Individuals whose program started or will start between spring 2020 and summer 2022,
- or those whose program was already underway in March 2020.
Canada’s PGWP eligibility criteria- other factors
Candidates aspiring for a PGWP must also consider these additional eligibility factors; they’re as follows:
- completed a course of study in a program with a minimum duration of eight months at a qualifying DLI.
- Any course of study must result in a degree, diploma, or certificate.
- Attained a transcript and an official letter from the qualified DLI attesting that the applicant satisfies the conditions necessary for program completion.
- Graduated from one of the following institutions–
- a public post-secondary institution,
- Quebec’s private post-secondary schools operate under the same regulations as Quebec public schools;
- a private secondary or post-secondary school offering qualifying programs of 900 hours or longer and resulting in the issuance of DEP (in Quebec)
- or an ASP, or a Canadian private school that can award degrees under provincial law.
Canada’s Post-Graduation Work Permit- renewal isn’t possible
Your PGWP renewal isn’t possible. However, if there’s a time limitation due to your passport’s expiration, you might be able to extend it. Your PGWP’s validity period cannot exceed the expiration date of your passport. If so, to receive the full PGWP validity, you must apply for the work permit extension once you get a renewed passport.
You won’t be able to get a fresh PGWP for additional programs of study if you determine to return to school after applying for the PGWP. Furthermore, any full-time study period taken while employed will not be considered Canadian job experience for immigration-related purposes.
If you meet the requirements for another kind of work permit, you can seek to extend your PGWP before it expires
PGWP is about to expire; you may want to choose an open work permit or an employer-specific work permit. If you are eligible for this work permit and submit your application before your PGWP expires, you can have a status that allows you to continue working in Canada.
While your extension is under processing, you have legal status thanks to your maintained status
The IRPA grants temporary resident status to foreign nationals legally entering Canada. All temporary residents are subject to the obligatory requirement that they depart Canada at the conclusion of their permitted period of stay.
However, a temporary resident may submit an application before their permitted stay expires to extend it. If you’ve done this, the law extends your legal remain as a temporary resident until there’s a final decision. In addition, while your application is being processed, you are regarded as a temporary resident for legal purposes.
Specific PGWP applicants have permission to work full-time under certain conditions
Suppose all of the following apply, and you are a graduate seeking a PGWP prior to the expiration of your study permit. In that case, you are qualified to work full-time without a work permit while awaiting a decision on your application:
- When you applied for the post-graduation employment permit, you either currently have or previously held a valid study permit.
- Your academic program is now complete.
- You held a full-time student status at a DLI in a post-secondary program like academic, vocational, or professional training with at least 8 months in length that resulted in a degree, diploma, or certificate. Also, you fulfilled the requirements for working off campus without a work visa.
Even after leaving and entering Canada again, you are still qualified to work full-time without a work permit while you wait for the final response to your application. However, if IRCC notifies you that your work permit has been rejected, you must stop working right away.
90 days after completing the study program, study permits expire
It’s vital to remember that a study permit expires 90 days after the conclusion of a course of study. You must also submit an application for a PGWP within 180 days of receiving confirmation that you’ve fulfilled the prerequisites for finishing your program of study.
Depending on which occurs first—the day you receive your final grades or the day you receive official written notice that the program is over—the days will start to count down.
You cannot work without a permit if your study permit expires or becomes invalid before you apply for a PGWP. Instead, you must:
- Exit Canada and submit an overseas PGWP application.
- Apply to reinstate your student status by submitting a PGWP application with the necessary payments ($255) and paying the reinstatement fees ($350).
Canada’s Post-Graduation Work Permit-study permit’s expiry before applying for a PGWP
There are various possibilities for how and where to apply if your study permit has already expired when you apply for a PGWP.
A few solutions are available if your study permit expires or becomes invalid before applying for a PGWP. One choice is to depart Canada and submit a PGWP application abroad.
Interestingly, you can apply “outside” of Canada while still being physically inside of it. Until you acquire the actual work visa, you must keep your status as a tourist if you intend to stay in Canada.
Failing to heed the notice of 120-day validity after receiving a PGWP application
You will get an automatically generated letter from IRCC after submitting your PGWP application. A 120-day validity period will be granted by the letter for you to keep working. You can disregard this.
The 120 days are based on the 120 days it should take to process an application for a work permit in Canada. Most applicants ought to hear back on their application before the 120-day deadline because, historically, IRCC has exceeded its service standards more than 90% of the time. If the 120 days have elapsed and no decision has been made, you can use the IRCC website form to request proof of work authorization.
The authority that permits foreign nationals who satisfy the conditions to continue working until a final decision is reached on their work permit application is not superseded by the letter’s validity date.
PGWP holders’ companions and spouses may qualify for a work permit
The C41 exemption may allow spouses and common-law partners of PGWP holders to apply for a work permit.
The PGWP holder must fulfill the following in order for the spouse or common-law partner to be qualified under C41:
- Be able to work in Canada for at least six months following the receipt of your spouse’s or common-law partner’s open work visa application.
- Occupy a high-skilled position (NOC 0, A, B).
- Be physically residing in Canada or have plans to do so while working.
