As many college and university programs come to an end, international students may be considering post-graduation options, which may include applying for a Graduate Work Permit (PGWP). This article will provide crucial information about the PGWP application process to help you understand the intricacies of the program and the associated rules and policies.
Schedule a free consultation about your work permit with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm
1.PGWP has a role in obtaining Canadian work experience
An important benefit of the PGWP is that it allows international students to gain professional work experience in Canada. This work experience is important when PGWP holders apply for Canadian immigration.
Many of Canada’s more than 100 different immigration pathways reward candidates who have studied and/or worked in Canada. Typically, a PGWP holder will need one year of professional work experience in a National Occupation Classification (NOC) code of 0, A, or B to then be eligible to apply for a permanent residency program in Canada.
2. To be eligible for the PGWP, you must have had full-time student status
To be considered a full-time student, you must have had full-time student status for each academic session of the program(s) of study completed and included as part of your post-graduation work permit application.
Canada has waived this requirement during the COVID-19 pandemic for some international students. Waivers may apply to those who started or will start a program between spring 2020 and summer 2022, or those whose program was already underway in March 2020.
Other eligibility criteria include:
- Complete studies in a program lasting at least eight months in a Designated Learning Institution (DLI) Ready.
- The study program must lead to a degree, diploma or certificate.
- Received a transcript and an official letter from the eligible DLI confirming that the applicant has met the requirements to complete their program of study;
- Graduated from: a public post-secondary institution, a private post-secondary school (in Quebec) that operates under the same rules as public schools in Quebec; a private secondary or post-secondary school (in Quebec) that offers qualifying programs of 900 hours or more and results in the issuance of a Diploma of Professional Studies (DEP) or Attestation of Professional Specialization (ASP); or a Canadian private school that may award degrees under provincial law (for example, associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral), but only if the student was enrolled in a program of study leading to a provincially authorized degree.
3. The PGWP is non-renewable and you can only apply for one PGWP in your lifetime
Although you cannot renew your PGWP, you may be able to extend your PGWP if its duration was limited by the expiration date of your passport. The validity period of your PGWP cannot exceed the validity date of your passport. If this is the case, you must apply for a work permit extension when renewing your passport in order to receive the full validity of your PGWP.
If you decide to return to school after applying for the PGWP, you will not be able to receive a new PGWP for additional study programs. Also, any period of full-time study while working will not count towards Canadian work experience for Canadian immigration purposes.
4. You can apply to extend your PGWP before it expires if you qualify for a different type of work permit.
If your PGWP is about to expire, you can look for another type of work permitas a open work permit or a specific work permit from the employer. If you meet all the requirements of this work permit and apply before your PGWP expires, you may have maintained status to continue working in Canada.
5. Maintained status gives you legal status while you wait for your extension to be processed.
Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), all foreign citizens who are authorized to enter Canada have temporary resident status. All temporary residents have an automatically imposed condition that they must leave Canada at the end of their authorized period of stay.
However, a temporary resident may request an extension of their authorized period of stay before it ends. If he has done this, his period of authorized stay as a temporary resident is extended by law until a decision is made. In addition, he is considered to have legal status as a temporary resident during the processing period.
6. Some PGWP applicants can work full time while they wait for their PGWP application to be processed, even if they leave and re-enter Canada
If you are a graduate applying for a PGWP before the expiration of your permission to studyare eligible to work full-time without a work permit while you are waiting for a decision on your application if all of the following apply:
- Is or was the holder of a valid study permit at the time of the post-graduation work permit application.
- You have completed your program of study.
- You met the requirements to work off-campus without a work permit, that is, you were a full-time student enrolled in a DLI in a post-secondary academic, vocational, or professional training program of at least 8 months in duration that led to a degree, diploma or certificate
- Did not exceed permitted work hours
You may remain eligible to work full-time without a work permit while you await a decision on your application even after leaving and re-entering Canada, but you must stop working immediately if notified by Canada Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) that your work permit has been denied.
7. Study permits lose validity 90 days after the end of the study program
It is important to note that a study permit will cease to be valid 90 days after the completion of a study program. Additionally, you must apply for a PGWP within 180 days of obtaining proof that you have met the requirements to complete your program of study.
Days will begin to run when your final grades are issued or the day formal written notification of program completion is received, whichever occurs first.
If your study permit becomes invalid or expires before you apply for a PGWP, you are not eligible for work without permission and must:
- Leave Canada and apply for a PGWP abroad
- Apply to restore your status as a student by applying for a PGWP with the correct fees ($255) and paying the fees to restore your status as a student ($350)
8. If your study permit expires before you apply for a PGWP, there are several options for how and where to apply.
If you permission to study loses validity or expires before you apply for a PGWP, there are a few options. One option is to leave Canada and apply for a PGWP abroad.
Interestingly, you can also apply “outside” of Canada while physically staying in Canada. If you want to stay in Canada, you must maintain your visitor status until you receive the actual work permit.
9. Ignoring the 120-day validity notice upon receipt of the PGWP application
When you submit your PGWP application, you will receive an automatically generated letter from the IRCC. The letter will grant a validity period of 120 days to continue working. This can be ignored.
The 120 days are based on the theoretical work permit processing time of 120 days for applications in Canada. Historically, IRCC has met its service standards more than 90% of the time and most should receive a decision on their application before the 120 days expire. If the 120 days have passed and no decision has been issued, you can request proof of authorization to work using the IRCC web form.
The effective date of the letter in no way waives the authority allowing eligible aliens to continue working until a final decision is made on their work permit application.
10. Spouses and partners of PGWP holders may be eligible for a work permit
Husbands and domestic partners of PGWP holders may be eligible to apply for a work permit under the C41 waiver.
For the spouse or domestic partner to be eligible under C41, the PGWP holder must:
- Be authorized to work in Canada for a period of at least 6 months after the spouse’s or common-law partner’s open application for a work permit is received
- Being employed in a highly skilled occupation (NOC 0, A, B)
- Physically residing or planning to physically reside in Canada while employed
Schedule a free consultation about your work permit with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm
reference: www.cicnews.com