The rules for obtaining work permit get relaxed for Canadian post-graduation students

Working in Canada has become quite easier than before for international students because the Federal government published social changes on Thursday for the post-graduation work permit program.

This new program allows international graduates to work for a minimum of up to three years after completing the diploma or degree program at the public college or Canadian University. This permit is considered a crucial step for becoming the permanent resident in Canada.

Prior to February 14, 2019, there were two rules that often use to disqualify international students from obtaining the work permit. Candidates had to apply within 3 months or 90 days from the date of starting their courses and they had to keep on studying their diploma degree continuously to qualify.

The application window has been doubled by the Federal government in the last 26 months. Candidates can now apply for the post-graduation work permit for up to 6 months or 180 days after completing their diploma degree.

According to Melissa Payne, the Director of Member Services of the Canadian Bureau of international education, the update from the Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada is considered as a welcome announcement and will lead to significant impacts on the international graduates by helping them to gain valuable Canadian work experience. The second problem for students was they could not take off time from school to deal with financial and personal issues. And hence, students who missed a specific term to get his cancer treatment, to give birth, to care for the sick relatives etc. become directly ineligible for obtaining the post-graduation work permit.

According to the new rules published on 14 2019, students need to actively pursue their education and not continuously undergo it to qualify for the post-graduation work permit. It means that candidates can able to take leave from the school for a specific term and get qualify for the permit program as long as they get back to the class within the next 150 days, especially if the leave is approved by the college or university.

As per the statistics published by the IRCC or Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada,  towards the end of 2018, more than around 57,0000 individuals held valid permits for studying in Canada, whereas, more than around 1,30000 individuals held the valid post-graduation work permit this year.

The new rules clarify several other aspects of the post-graduation work permit program, which include the fact that graduates may work in the country while the application is under process.

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Raima Sen

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