Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) launched numerous significant changes to Canada’s international student program on January 22, 2024.
Today, we will discuss one of them.
The Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) will no longer accept college program graduates with public-private curriculum licensing agreements as eligible applicants, effective September 1, 2024.
On March 22, IRCC changed this date from September 1 to May 15, 2024, indicating that international students enrolled in one of these programmes who graduate after this date can not apply for a PGWP.
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This decision represents the department’s concerns about the quality of education these institutions offer for international students. According to a report from the Auditor General of Ontario, these institutions lack oversight of student services and program quality.
IRCC envisions fewer international students enrolling in these institutions due to the ineligibility of the PGWP application.
Moreover, the department observes that the impacted individuals may be eligible to apply for other types of work permits. IRCC said that they would pursue working with provinces and territories to proactively recognize the affected programs by clarifying the list to include additional information.
This move is part of IRCC’s goal to tackle unsustainable growth in the International Student Program in recent years.
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Other Changes to PGWP Eligibility Criteria
On January 22, 2024, several changes were made to the PGWP eligibility criteria, and the most notable is that graduates of Master’s Programs shorter than eight months are now eligible for a three-year PGWP.
Note that, the validity period of a PGWP is typically aligned with the applicant’s academic program.
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The department clarifies that graduates of at least two-year programs at PGWP-eligible designated learning institutions are eligible for a three-year PGWP. Same goes to the Master’s degree program graduates with a duration under two years.
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