Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has done temporary policy changes to the existing Post-Graduation Work Permit Program (PGWPP). These changes will be applicable till August 31, 2022. Earlier, some changes were also made which were in effect till December 31, 2021.
According to this program delivery update, international students can entirely pursue their course online from outside Canada. Moreover, they will be eligible for post-graduation work permit (PGWP). These updates are mentioned in the policy, procedures and guidance section. These changes will be applicable to the below mentioned group of students:
- Students who got enrolled in PGWP-eligible programs in progress in March 2020
- Students who are already enrolled or will get enrolled in PGWP-eligible programs between spring 2020 and summer 2022
According to this update, the time spent studying outside of Canada can be calculated in the overall duration of the post-graduation work permit. It is applicable only until August 31, 2022. On the other hand, the time spent studying outside of Canada beyond August 31, 2022 will not be taken into consideration. Rather it will be deducted from the duration of the PGWP.
The time spent studying outside of Canada will only be considered valid once the candidate receives the study permit whereas the duration of the course undertaken before that will be deducted from post-graduation work permit. It is as per the statement issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Moreover, the students who are enrolled in a course of 7 months duration will not enjoy this exception of the new policy update. Even the distance learning courses are not considered for the PGWP. Also, the candidates need to complete at least 50% of the total duration of their course while staying in Canada and in person. Later, seeing the pandemic restraints, the government allowed the international students to pursue 100% of their program online while staying outside Canada. They will still be eligible for PGWP.
In order to be eligible for the post-graduation work permit, candidates should fall under any of these:
- Possess a study permit
- Must have been approved for obtaining a study permit
- Or must submit a study permit application before starting the course and then eventually get approval
For understanding the complete immigration procedure, you can seek services of a legitimate consultancy. Stoic immigration, a Canadian Immigration Consultancy follows a transparent process to help people immigrate to and settle down in Canada. They believe in 100% transparency and keep you informed at each step of your file processing. At Stoic Immigration, they make the settling process easier with data-backed and clear information. You can be assured to get the accurate information from costs to timeline to acceptance without any unpleasant surprises.
Reference: https://immigrationnewscanada.ca/ircc-extended-temporary-policy-changes-to-the-post-graduation-work-permit/
