Canada has just had a major change in regulations regarding the Post Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) for international students wanting to study in Canada starting this Fall.

WHAT IS PGWP?

PGWP allows international students to gain work experiences in Canada after completing their degree at a legitimate Canadian educational institution (DLI).

Characteristics:

• International students must complete a full-time program of at least 8 months in duration at a DLI school to be eligible to join PGWP
• After completing the program, students must receive a degree or certificate. 
• The length of PGWP depends on the length of the program in which students study in Canada.

MAIN CHANGES

IRCC allows students to start an online degree program and still be eligible to receive PGWP of 3 years after arriving in Canada

Typically, online courses do not count toward the study time that applies to PGWP review. However, due to the disruption of travel related to the coronavirus situation worldwide, the Canadian Immigration (IRCC) currently allows international students to study online while outside of Canada and is still eligible to apply for PGWP after graduation.

International students will be able to start their studies at a Canadian DLI school online this fall 2020, and are allowed to complete up to 50% of the program while outside of Canada, and can still receive PGWP to work in Canada after completing their studies.

The IRCC continues to conduct study permit applications for international students

Although students who receive an admission letter from a DLI school after March 18, 2020 will not be able to come to Canada to study until the latest announcement, the study permit application will continue to be reviewed for guaranteeing the learning aspirations of international students.

The IRCC also notes that international students will not be deducted time from their PGWP duration during their time outside Canada, until December 31, 2020.

Accordingly, an international student can start their program at a Canadian DLI school online this fall, and still be eligible to receive PGWP for up to 3 years as long as they arrive in Canada by the end of 2020 and complete a degree program of at least 2 years in length.

IRCC announced this change on the evening of May 14, 2020.

This flexible change will certainly help Canada to attract more and more international students since Canada inherently brings many benefits to international students such as:

• Top quality education in the world
• Students' spouses may work during and after their studies
• The perfect environment to practice your English / French skills
• A very safe country
• Always welcome immigrants, international students, foreign workers and visitors
• Cost is cheaper than many other countries
• There are more than 80 ways for international students to apply for permanent residence after graduation
• According to statistics, more than 54,000 international students became permanent residents in Canada in 2018

Now, with this policy, students will be able to save a certain amount of living expenses while ensuring sufficient amount of study time desired to have the opportunity to work and settle in Canada after graduation.