Recently, Canada’s immigration department, IRCC, revealed that it is making adjustments aimed at stabilizing growth. As a part of this, IRCC has revised its post-graduation work permit eligibility criteria. Discover the major changes introduced by IRCC.

Revised Post-Graduation Work Permit Eligibility Criteria

The following are the significant changes IRCC introduced to the PGWP eligibility criteria. 

Changes to the Study Program Under the Curriculum Licensing Agreement. 

Starting from September 2024, International students enrolled under the study program covered by the curriculum licensing agreement will not qualify for a PGWP upon graduation.

Generally, Curriculum licensing agreements allow international students to enroll in a private college licensed to offer the same curriculum as a public college.

This means that if a public college has a licensing agreement with a private college and a student is studying in a private college, they will be unable to qualify for a post-graduation work permit.

 This is because, as per IRCC, these programs in private colleges have fewer regulations compared to public colleges. This can be a potential loophole in terms of meeting the eligibility for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP).

Also, as institutions are commonly admitting additional students higher than their capacity, this has sometimes led to the cancellation of their students’ letters of acceptance (LOAs). 

For instance, the Northern College in Ontario revoked the admission offers of 500 students in October 2023. As per the college, this was due to a shortage of jobs and housing availability for international students. 

Through this step, the IRCC department intends to minimize such situations. Also, this will help establish a more supervised and steady environment for international students in the country.

Extended Work Permit for Short Graduate Programs

Under the revised post-graduation work permit eligibility criteria, IRCC declared the extended work permit for the short graduate-level study program. This means, according to IRCC, a 3-year work permit will soon be available for international students of a master’s or other short graduate-level educational programs. 

As per the current PGWP eligibility criteria, the length of an individual’s study program determines the validity period of the PGWP. For instance, for a student who completed a 2-year study program, the PGWP will be valid for two years.

Typically, a Master’s program is shorter than undergraduate programs. Thus, as per the current criteria, the time duration a master’s student or shorter-term graduate student can work in Canada becomes limited.

With this change, the Master’s students will be eligible to apply for an extended work permit. This will increase their chances to gain valuable and longer Canadian work experience. Also, this will make it easier for them to be eligible for Canada’s Permanent residency.

How does the Post Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) Function in Canada?

Canada offers a PGWP, a type of open work permit that enables international graduates to work in Canada under any employer without requiring a job offer. 

Typically, a PGWP has a maximum validity period of three years. However, the true PGWP validity length of an international student depends on their study program length in Canada.  

This means if the study program spans between eight months and less than two years, the PGWP will have a validity period of the same length. For instance, an 11-month study program will lead to a PGWP valid for 11 months.

Notably, a PGWP is advantageous for international graduates as it enables them to acquire professional work experience in Canada. This work experience is valuable for PGWP holders when they apply for Canada’s permanent residency.

General Eligibility Criteria For Post Graduation Work Permit (PGWP)

The following are the general eligibility criteria that international students must satisfy to qualify for the work permit. 

• Students must have completed studies in an academic, professional, or vocational training program of at least eight months long at an approved Designated Learning Institution (DLI)
• Their study program must have resulted in a degree, diploma, or certificate. 
• They must have had full-time student status during each academic session of the study program in Canada and included it in their post-graduation work permit application.
• They must have acquired an official letter from the DLI and a transcript verifying that they satisfy all the requirements to complete their study program.

Besides these, the international student must also be graduated from any of the following institutions in Canada:

• A public post-secondary institution in Quebec. It can be a trade or technical school, a college, a university, or a CEGEP.
•  A private post-secondary school in Quebec that is governed by the same as the province’s public school. 
• A private secondary or post-secondary school in Quebec offering eligible programs of over 900 hours and that offers the issuance of a diplôme d’études professionnelles (DEP) or an attestation de spécialisation professionnelle (ASP); or
• A private school in Canada that offers degrees under provincial law like Associate, Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctorate degrees. This is only possible if the student is enrolled in a study program that leads to a degree as authorized by the province.

As per the most recent data from November 2023 supplied by IRCC, a total of 62,410 international student graduates have acquired Canada’s permanent residency status. 

This represented a significant increase of 9,670 international student graduates who transitioned to permanent residency in 2022. Notably, in 2023, 52,740 international graduates secured the PR status.