Post-Graduate Students: Work Permits

As of 2017, the number of study permit holders in Canada has crossed a record-high 450,000. Almost all international students when they complete their post-secondary education, wish to stay in Canada and gain Canadian work experience.

The Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has implemented a special work permit program for international students who finished their education in Canada. This program is called the Post-Graduation Work Permit. However, there are 2 conditions attached to it. They are:

• They must have studied an eligible program. That is, a program which is eligible to secure them a Post-Graduation Work Permit after the completion of their study in Canada. If you are unsure about this, you may contact us to know if your study program is eligible for a Post-Graduation Work Permit.
• They must have studied in a “participating” institution. If you did your research and are still unsure if your institution belongs to the participating category, you may contact us for expert guidance.

Once the international student has completed the course, depending on the course duration, they may be eligible to apply for an open work permit. The open work permit allows them to work for any Canadian employer without restrictions. Also, it is not required that the student need to secure a job offer from any employer for the issuance of the work permit. Below is the complete list of eligibility requirements with respect to obtaining the Post-Secondary Work Permit:

• The student must have studied an eligible program;
• The student must have studied in a participating college/institution. All public post-secondary institutions such as colleges, trade or technical schools, etc., are by default participating institutions;
• The student’s study permit should be active while applying for the work permit;
• The student must have attended and passed their study program, and received a written confirmation from the institution that the student is eligible to obtain the degree/diploma/certificate; AND
• The student must apply for the work permit within 90 calendar days of receipt of written confirmation from the institution that the student has met the requirements of the study program, and that the student is eligible to obtain the degree/diploma/certificate.

At Owlspriority Immigration, the Post-Graduation Work Permit process starts once our work permits experts has spoken to the student and understood their interests and future plans. Many would be interested in becoming a permanent resident, in which case there might be some advantage if the student chooses to work in certain places in Canada. For example, the Atlantic provinces. In reality, the pathway for permanent residency is highly simplified if the student completed his or her course in any one of Canada’s Atlantic provinces. To know more about the Atlantic International Graduate Program (AIGP), click here.

Contact us with whatever questions you have so that our team of work permit experts can guide you appropriately.