Postgraduate Work Permit – Top Education News Feed in Nigeria Today

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 in boosting 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 no. 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 be completed. 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

Validity and Application

A postgraduate work permit is quite flexible that 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. 

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.