In today’s blog update, we will be taking a look at the new legislation regarding Post-Graduation Work Permits.
International graduates with Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWP) which received an extension of 18 months in the last year, do not need to worry about their expiration as they qualify for an open work permit under new measures of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Rémi Larivière, a spokesperson for IRCC stated that similar to the policy announced in 2021 for those with expiring post-graduation work permits, the new legislation allows foreign nationals whose PGWP expired or will expire from 20 September to 31 December 2022, the opportunity to get an extra 18 months to work in Canada.
He further added that it is important to keep in mind that some foreign nationals who may have applied under the 2021 policy for those with expiring post-graduation work permits can also apply under this new regulation.
Candidates whose post-graduation work permits expired between 20 September 2021, and 27 November 2021, could meet the criteria for both.
This reaffirmation from the Canadian immigration official comes as many PGWP holders are troubled about their future in Canada. Many fear their PGWP will expire before they have a chance to apply for permanent residency under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).
Larivière said that anyone who previously held a post-graduation work permit, and then had another work permit on top through the 2021 policy, will have had between two and 4.5 years to obtain work experience. This means that even those who were originally eligible for a minimum length of post-graduation work permit, because they graduated from a short program, will have had more than two years to work in Canada. Many more graduates are accepted for the maximum three-year post-graduation work permit than the minimum length of eight months.
Under the CEC program, candidates need to show that they have at least a year’s worth of work experience.
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