‼️Disclaimer‼️: This blog post is merely me sharing my experience of applying for the Post-Graduation Work permit, and should not be used as a substitute for legal advice.
So.. you've made it through the years of studying, mid-terms, tears, final exams, papers, more tears, assignments, labs, COVID-19, everything school related.. and you're done! You've reached the end. Congrats! Graduation is on the horizon, but... what's next?
For me, I knew I wanted to extend my stay in Canada, while also hoping to take a break from school, begin working full-time and start earning some Canadian work experience. I also knew that on my immigration dream journey, applying for permanent residency was something I was looking towards in the not-too-distant future, and as a result of all this, it led me in the direction of applying for a Post-Graduation work permit (PGWP).
There are different types of work permits and work permit programs, and I learned that one of the options for international graduates, was the Post-Graduation Work Permit.
This post will just be me expanding on my experience with the process of applying for a Post-graduation work permit (from within Canada) but for more information around work permits, or applying from outside Canada, and this next possible step of the immigration journey, tap here for the Government of Canada's Immigration and Citizenship website.
In this post I'll be expanding on my experience in terms of how I broke it down:
(Tap any of the items listed above to be taken to that section of this pretty long post ahead!)
(‼️Quick reminder: Each individual situation may vary, and this post is not an official immigration application guide - I'm only sharing my experience when I went through the process myself in the past.)
Before submitting any application, ALWAYS refer to the Government of Canada's immigration and citizenship website for the most accurate and up-to-date information here, visit this page here for more information on working temporarily in Canada, or contact your international centre for any questions you may have before, or during the application process.
What is a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP)?
According to the Immigration and Citizenship website, a Post-Gradution Work Permit (PGWP) is a work permit which "allows students who have graduated from a participating Canadian post-secondary institution to gain valuable Canadian work experience."
(Check this link out here to confirm whether your school is a Particpating/Designated Learning Institution that offers programs to be eligible for PGWP right here.)
The PGWP is an open work permit, and according to this Canadian immigration website here, "they grant foreign nationals the freedom to work for any employer, anywhere in Canada," however it is important that I note early on that a PGWP can only be applied for, and granted, once in your lifetime.
In my situation, I wasn't 100% sure about next steps after completing my undergrad studies. I knew I wanted to take a break from school and work instead, earn some money (hopefully start saving up towards my next educational goals), and gain some Canadian work experience (which I knew would help down the line when it came to applying for Permanent Residency). This made the ideal timeframe for me to apply for the PGWP, being as soon as I completed my undergraduate studies.
I learned that the duration of validity of the PGWP is tied with the expected duration of your program(s) of study, and can be as short as 8 months, or a maximum length of three (3) years.
For more on the validity and possible length of a PGWP based on the length of your program, please refer to the Immigration and Citizenship article here.
Of course individual cases will vary, so here's that reminder again that whenever in doubt, always consult an immigration specialist or the immigration centres/offices at your school for more information before you begin your application to ensure that you're eligible to apply, and are following all the steps correctly.
To summarise this section :
↠↠ A Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) is an open work permit that international graduates can apply for, which allows them to remain and work temporarily in Canada once they've completed their studies (based on meeting the eligibility requirements.)
↠↠ A PGWP is an open work permit, allowing you to ideally work for almost any employer in Canada.
↠↠ The maximum length of a PGWP document is 3 years, but the individual length is likely to coincide with the official length of your program(s) of study.
↠↠ You can only receive one PGWP in your life time.
Determining when to apply for a PGWP, and eligibility.
Before I even began to consider applying for a PGWP, I first needed to ensure that I had completed my program of study / the degree that I came to Canada to pursue, that it was at least 8 months in duration and from an eligible designated learning institution (DLI) which led to a degree, diploma or certificate. I was informed that I could not apply before.
"Completed" to my understanding after asking around, was typically considered as the day I received my final marks, (not at my graduation ceremony itself) but individual schools may have different definitions.
For most 3-4 year degrees, April may be the final month of your studies. For me, I completed my degree in April, i.e I had my last class and submitted my final assignments ever for my degree, and then had to wait till end of April-early May to receive my final grades.
I had to wait until I received my final marks and my transcript was complete before applying, because this was one of the required documents for my application.
One of the key requirements noted on this Canadian Immigration Law Firm's website,
is that "If an applicant is applying from within Canada, they must have valid status at the time of application. If their study permit has expired or will expire they may apply for status as a visitor before applying for the PGWP. However, applicants who apply for a PGWP prior to the expiration of their study permit are eligible to begin working full time immediately, while their application is processing. Applicants may apply for a PGWP from overseas."
From what I understood from this, my study permit needed to still be valid, and not yet expired at the time that I would apply for the PGWP.
The Immigration and Citizenship website states the following:
Valid status is extremely important to keep track of as a graduating student, because if you complete your studies earlier than expected (i.e, months in advance of your study permit expiry date), your study permit actually becomes invalid 90 days after the day you complete your studies, regardless of whether the expiry date marked on your permit is long after.
Here's what's stated on the immigration and citizenship website:
How I broke this down to understand how much time I had to apply: If I completed my studies on April 30th, and my study permit was expiring on June 15th, then I would've needed to submit my application before June 15th.
But, if I completed my studies on April 30th, but had a study permit expiring on October 30th, then I would've needed to submit my PGWP application within 90 days from April 30th, because the October 30th expiry would no longer apply due to the permit becoming invalid 90 days after the day I would've completed my studies.
You're probably wondering, how is the 90 days determined? The immigration and citizenship website explains it as:
If your study permit may need to be extended, remember to always consult your institution's international student office or a licensed immigration specialist to find out more about the process. I also have a blog post where I expand on my experience applying for a study permit extension which can be found here: Applying for a study permit extension (from within Canada)
If you're applying from within Canada, and you find yourself in a situation where your student status may expire before you're able to apply for the PGWP, the immigration and Citizenship website indicates the following:
For more information on the process of restoring your status as a student, here is a link to the immigration and citizenship's article on the process.
My passport remaining valid during any immigration process has always been a key note I've taken away from the various workshop's I've attended. The immigration website indicates that one should "Make sure your passport is valid for the entire length of time you should be eligible. "
They've also provided some information on what to do if you find yourself in a position where your passport is expiring during your process from applying to receiving a PGWP:
According to the Government of Canada website, persons "must apply for a PGWP within 180 days of obtaining written confirmation, such as an official letter or transcript, from the designated learning institution (DLI) indicating that they have met the requirements for completing their program of study."
The 180 days is calculated from the day you either receive your final marks, or the formal written notification of program completion (whichever comes first), but because you have to ensure the application is submitted while your study permit is still valid (for those within Canada) that 90-day mark/study permit expiration date is what I had to be more mindful of.
Aside from having completed your studies and preparing to graduate, and holding valid status, other factors to determine eligibility include:
↠↠ You must have maintained full-time studies/full-time student status during each academic semester of your program(s). (Refer to your institution to confirm what is determined as full-time status. At YorkU, 9+ credits per semester is considered full-time.)
Note however, that the immigration website notes that this "does not include your final semester, which can be part time, or if you took an approved leave from your studies." So the full-time student status requirement is not expected in your final semester of study.
‼️ If you find yourself in a case where you were not considered a full-time student at anytime during your studies, please contact your school's international centre or an immigration consultant or specialist prior to submitting your application.
To summarise this section:
↠↠ A PGWP can only be applied for after completing one's studies/program, and not before.
↠↠ Your status in Canada must be valid during the time of your application (i.e. your study permit has been valid within the last 180 days, or you have a valid visitor record, or you submitted an application to extend your study permit before it expired and no decision has been made on your application, or you submitted an application to change your status to visitor before your study permit expired and no decision has been made on your application) - These are the options listed on the immigration website here.
↠↠ If you finish your studies earlier than expected, your study permit validity expires 90 days after you receive the confirmation of the completion of your studies, even if your study permit notes an expiry date beyond that.
↠↠ To be eligible for a PGWP, you must have maintained full-time student status in every semester, (with the exception of your final semester), though some additional exceptions may apply.
↠↠ You'll want to ensure that your passport is valid for the entire expected duration of your PGWP.
↠↠ For more on PGWP eligibility, check out this link here.
Applying for a Post-Graduation Work Permit + required documents
Compared to a study permit extension or visitor visa application, when I began my application for a PGWP, I noticed that it required different documents, and some of the required ones I had to get directly from my educational institution.
In order to access the Post-Graduation Work Permit application, I had to go through the Government of Canada's Immigration and Citizenship website.
From there, I went to the "My application" page, signed in with my credentials, plugged in all the security information and was taken to the homepage of all applications I'd ever submitted.
In order to begin the PGWP application process, under "Start an application" I clicked, "Apply to come to Canada."
From there, I selected the option "Visitor visa, student and/or work permit" and I was then taken to an eligibility questionnaire to complete, so that the system could guide me to the correct type of application and provide me with an accurate list of required documents. (Very similar to my study permit extension process in terms of the beginning steps.)
In order to get to that application, I used the help of an online guide I found from Laurentin University here.
Just like with my study permit extension, I had to make sure I had some type of Adobe Reader/PDF reader software on my computer because that’s the only way the primary immigration document would open.
As I went through the questionnaire, I eventually got to a page entitled "your results" and it showed me two options: a temporary resident visa, and a Post-Graduation Work Permit.
I clicked on the PGWP option, and then that's when I received my document checklist.
Click/Tap on the arrows next to the items below for some mini expansions of the specifics I needed to ensure my documents contained from the document checklist I received.
‼️ Note: Even if you received the same document checklist as I did, the requirements may have changed since 2021, so this is just a reminder to always refer to the most up to date information on the Immigration and Citizenship website.
For my mid 2021 Post-Graduation Work Permit application, the documents that were required included:
Application to Change Conditions, Extend my Stay or Remain in Canada as a Worker (IMM5710)
The required supporting documents included:
Completion of studies/eligibility to graduate/confirmation of graduation letter
Recent Education/Final transcript
My valid passport information page
A digital photo
Additional documents you may need to include:
(Optional) Letter of explanation
This is what the main page of all the required documents looked like for me:
Similarly to my study permit extension application, I noticed that the PGWP application also had a total of 60 days from when I first begin the application to complete it and submit it to be processed. Anytime after that, I would've had to begin an entirely new application.
After my application was submitted, again on the main application homepage, once I clicked on "check full application status" like the image below:
I was taken to the main hub where I would see any messages IRCC would send me in relation to my application, such as requests for biometrics and the confirmation of application submission. This is also the same place I would check back to see when a final decision was made on my application, and the date when this descision was made.
I would also get email updates anytime IRCC posted a new message or update regarding my application, but there was the rare occurrence that an update or two ended up in my junk folder. Given that those updates tended to have time limits attached to them (eg. a deadline for me to provide biometrics), I made it a habit of checking my application at least once every one-two weeks so that I wouldn't miss out on any important updates.
The final cost of my Post-Graduation Work-Permit application was $340.00CAD.
Check out the screenshot below taken directly from the application page showing the price breakdown.
After I submitted my PGWP application, in addition to the confirmation of application submission notification, I also received a letter that stated that I was legally allowed to work full-time until a certain date while waiting for a decision to be made on my application.
The purpose of this letter, was that if I did land a job while waiting for my PGWP application to be processed, I would've had to provide my potential employer with a copy of my study permit, in addition to the letter, which looked like this:
For more on working while awaiting a decision to be made on your PGWP, please refer to this article by immigration and Citizenship Canada here.
According to the Government of Canada's website, you're eligible to work full-time pending a decision on your PGWP application, granted all of the following below apply:
After some weeks of waiting, I received the confirmation that the application was approved! Once I got the confirmation, I logged onto my account where I submitted the application, and received an update in my account and a letter that looked like this:
Just a few weeks after receiving the approval letter, my new Post-graduation Work permit was sent in the mail to the address I noted on your application, and that was about it for my PGWP application process, but not my final step as a foreign worker in Canada.
Remember than in order to legally work in Canada, you need to have a valid Social Insurance Number (SIN).
As soon as you get your physical work permit in the mail, your next immediate step is to apply to extend your SIN number's expiry date, or apply for SIN number if you never had one. I have post explaining more on how to do this, check it out here.
After all of this is complete, if it applies to you, you may have one final step in terms of visas.
The Immigration website notes the following:
You can refer to the bottom of my post about the Study Permit extension process and application in the section "Applying for a Temporary Resident Visa" where I expanded on my experience with applying for a new visitor visa.
To summarise this section:
↠↠ Filling out out an eligibility questionnaire on my immigration Canada profile is what led me to the PGWP application and document checklist.
↠↠ Two required documents for the application that I had to get from my educational institution were: A completion of studies letter, and my final transcript.
↠↠ I had a total of 60 days from when I first began my application to complete it and submit it to be processed.
↠↠ The final cost of my Post-Graduation Work-Permit was $340.00CAD. (which included the biometrics fee.)
↠↠ Upon submitting my application, as I met the minimum requirements, I received a letter of authorization to work full-time pending a decision on my application or until the expiry date noted on that letter.
↠↠ You must apply for a SIN number, or to extend the expiry date of your SIN number once the PGWP has been received.
Final takeaways
Remember: You can only be granted a PGWP once in a lifetime. If you need help with determining when would be the best time to apply based on your individual scenario, always remember to reach out to a licensed/registered immigration specialist or your international student centre to determine the best time that works for the immigration journey you're aiming to have in Canada.
Also, as you begin your journey as a full-time foreign worker in Canada, a PGWP is one step closer to Permanent residency (PR) and this is a good thing to keep in mind when beginning the job hunting process.
While awaiting a decision to be made on my application, I found myself in maintained status once again, similarly to when I was awaiting my first study permit extension.
Quick reminder as I mentioned in my study permit extension post, "maintained status" as defined by the Government of Canada glossary, is "A legal extension of status that allows temporary residents to stay in Canada while we process their application. To be eligible, the temporary resident must apply to extend their status BEFORE it expires. This used to be known as “implied status.”
Check out this link for a more detailed and official breakdown of maintained/implied status from the Government of Canada's website, including information relating to travelling outside of Canada while on maintained status.
If you're looking for additional information on maintained/implied status, this immigration article here was also a good read.
If you're looking to travel outside of Canada, either on maintained status, or while waiting for them to process your application, the immigration and citizenship website indicates the following:
Once you get your PGWP document in the mai (and/or applied for a new visa and have received your passport with the new valid visa in it) take pictures of them, or scan them or email them to yourself, as these are some pretty important documents and it's good to have more than one copy on hand, because you never know when you may need it.
Good luck with your applications, and with your job hunting!