Know All About Postgraduate Work Permit in Canada

A postgraduate work permit allows students to work in Canada and gain valuable work experience after completing their undergraduate degree from a Canadian designated learning institution (DLI). Students are allowed to work even while waiting for the decision on their work permit. After completing their graduation the students can apply for Postgraduate Work Permit that allows them to work in Canada for up to three years. Gaining work experience from your postgraduate work permit might also help boost your application when applying for permanent residency (PR).  

Important Guidelines for Postgraduate Work Permit

While applying for your postgraduate work permit, a student must consider the following points:

• You should stay updated with the latest immigration rules and regulations which can be found on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) website.
• One should keep records of the location by keeping the receipts to track the process. 
• Students should check the criteria and terms for a “full-time student” including the number of courses per semester and if possible should ask for an official statement from their university
• Applying for a work permit can be a complex process and would take days to complete. After completing their graduation a student has a period of 180 days to apply for the Postgraduate work permit (PGWP) and must submit the required documents including their degree certificate, transcripts, and an official letter from their university to make an application for PGWP

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Validity and Application

A postgraduate work permit is quite flexible and allows students to work either full-time, part-time or self-employed. A PGWP can be issued to students to spend the length of the degree program. The range of a postgraduate work permit ranges from a minimum of 8 months to a maximum of 3 years. The validity of a postgraduate work permit should not exceed the validity of a student’s passport validity. However, if in case it does, the officer must record this in the “Notes” box of the Global Case Management System. Then the applicant can apply for an extension of their postgraduate work permit after the renewal of their passport.  

A student must apply for their post-graduate work permit within 180 days of the completion of their undergraduate degree. An applicant can apply for a PGWP from within Canada if the study permit is still valid.  If the study permit is not valid at that period, a student will have to leave Canada and apply for a work permit from overseas. A student should apply to restore their status as a student by applying to a PGWP with the correct fees of CND 225 or INR 13,407 and paying the fees of CND 350 or INR 20,855 to restore the status as a student.

Eligibility Criteria

An applicant can have only one postgraduate work permit throughout their life. To obtain the PGWP a student must meet all the following requirements:

• A student must have completed or graduated in an academic, vocational, or training program having a minimum study duration of 8 months from the designated learning institution of Canada
• A student should have maintained the status of a “full-time” student throughout their academic program
• It is necessary to have the required documents including the transcripts of their study program and the official letter from the university stating that the student has met all the requirements. 

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Recent Changes

The following are the recent changes in the post-graduate work permit for Canada:

Quebec

If you are pursuing a programme in Canada and it gets completed before 1st September 2023 and you wish to apply for your post-graduate work permit within 6 months of its completion, the application would be considered under the existing category. However, if the programme is completed after 1st September 2023. then you can apply for a post-graduate work permit for Canada only if the program is eligible after 1st September 2023.

If you are already enrolled in programmed in Canada that does not fall under PGWP Canada after 1st September 2023, then your time spent before 1st September 2023 could be included under your PGWP

Application Details

The following are the important application details about the post-graduate work permit for Canada:

• After completing your graduation, you have 180 days to apply for PGWP Canada
• You will require documents like a degree, official letter, diploma and official transcripts from your academic institution
• It will take approximately 148 days to process your online application
• For the paper-based application, it takes 25 days to process

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Eligible Designated Learning Institutions

Applying for a postgraduate work permit is allowed for only certain courses and institutions which does not include a program in English as a second language or French as a second language course, a general or self-improvement course, and a course or program from a private career college.  

The applicant must provide proof that he/she has completed a study program in Canada in one of the following eligible DLIs:

• It must be a public post-secondary institution like a college, a trade or technical school, or a university.
• A private institution operating under the same rules and regulations as a public institution in Quebec
• A private, public secondary, or post-secondary institution in Quebec that offers qualifying programs of 900 hours or more
• A provincial statute authorized private institutes of Canada that confers degree including an associate degree, a bachelor’s degree, a master’s, or a doctoral degree but only for programs leading to a degree.

How to Apply for a Job in Canada?

The low unemployment rate and advanced economic structure of Canada are two of the most important aspects that make it possible to begin a career in the country.

To find a career in Canada, first apply to the consultancy centres established for international students at the university where you will graduate, and check into CV preparation, interviews, and job advertisements. Also available on the internet:

• You can join LinkedIn to expand your professional business network.
• If you want to work in design, you can share your portfolio on sites like Behance and Deviantart.
• You can use international job search engines such as Monster, XING, Job Canada, and Talent Egg.
• You can search for employment openings on the official website of the Canadian government.
• You can work on volunteer jobs and projects and add valuable experience to your resume by visiting the Volunteer Canada website.

Top Jobs for International Students in Canada

The demand for employment in petroleum engineering, computer and information technologies, computer programming and software, graphics and web design, and healthcare, all of which are seeing successful improvements in Canada, is growing by the day.

If you wish to work in Canada after graduation and have attended any higher education institution in the country, you can apply for graduate education and browse academic career options in the country, or you can search for jobs in the right industries.

Bayer, Sandoz Canada, Shopify, L’Oreal Canada, PepsiCo Canada, Siemens Canada, and HootSuite Media are just a few of the worldwide companies you can research in Canada, particularly in engineering, healthcare, business, and economics.

FAQs

Well, we hope that this blog has enlightened you with the relevant information on postgraduate work permits. So, if you are planning to study abroad in Canada, the USA, or any other country, contact Leverage Edu for total assistance or call us at 1800-572-000 and book your 30-minute free session today!