In a big move by the Canadian immigration minister Sean Fraser, it was recently announced Post Graduation Work Permit holders will now be able to extend their permits. According to the announcement, international students who received the PGWPs after graduation will be able to avail of an 18-month extension on their permits.
Sean Fraser stated that candidates whose PGWPs are set to expire in 2023 will be eligible for the Open Work Permit extension as of 6 April 2023. In addition to the candidates whose PGWPs expire this year, the Open Work Permit extension will also be available to PGWP holders whose permits expired in 2022 and had applied for the IRCC Open Work Permit extension in the year before.
The application for the Open Work Permit extension will be available on the official website for IRCC, starting 6th April 2022. The PGWP extension will allow applicants to work in Canada legally, and provide proof of the same to the employers after receiving an email with the interim work permit authorisation.
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The Post Graduation Work Permits were originally designed to help international students earn a Canadian degree from a Designated Learning Institution (DLI). Any college, university or other educational institution that has been approved by the Canadian government to provide education to international students is classified as a DLI.
Interested international students who receive a PGWP will be able to work under any employer in Canada for a maximum period of 3 years. PGWPs are renowned and sought-after by international students as a result of Canada’s economic class immigration programmes, often rewarding foreign nationals with a Canadian degree and work experience.
The original purpose of the PGWP restricted the ability of the interested parties to extend their stay. To continue living and working in Canada legally, foreign nationals would require to apply for another type of work permit before their PGWP expires.
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Data from the Canadian immigration department reveals that over 286,000 international graduates resided in Canada with a valid PGWP as of 2022. The data further highlighted that nearly 127,000 PGWPs out of all the current permits are set to expire in 2023. Among these expiring this year, 67,000 PGWP holders have applied for permanent residence, thus, are not required to extend their permits through the Open Work Permit extension.
According to the Canadian immigration department, more than 286,000 international graduates were in Canada with valid post-graduation work permit as of 2022. About 127,000 PGWPs expire in 2023, though about 67,000 PGWP holders have already applied for permanent residence and won’t need to extend their work permit through this initiative.
Source: Livemint
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