Post Graduate Work Permit Extension 2022
Minister for Immigration, Sean Fraser, has announced that Post-Graduate Work Permits (PGWP) that are
to expire January 31 to December 31, 2022 will be granted 18-month permanent extensions starting this
summer. The announcement has left students whose permits expire November 27, 2021 to January
31,2022 questioning whether the extension is fair. The extension only applies for those already currently
in Canada.
What are PGWP’s?
The PGWP Program enables foreign Canadian graduates who have obtained degrees from designated
learning institutions to gain skilled work experience in Canada. PGWP holders who obtain skilled
Canadian work experience in National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill type 0 or skill level A or B
may qualify for permanent residence in Canada through Express Entry under the Canadian Experience
Class (CEC).
Changes in Current Post-Graduation Work Permit Program 2022
Roughly 95,000 post-graduation work permits were set to expire between January 31 and December 31,
2022. Although many of the students whose permits were set to expire during that time have already
arranged/applied for permanent residence, nearly 50,000 applicants may benefit from this temporary
extension.
Under the former PGWP, all applicants must have valid status within Canada to apply and if an
applicant’s study permit expires or is no longer valid, the applicant had only two choices: (1) leave
Canada and apply for a PGWP from overseas or (2) apply for restoration of status as a student. Another
change occurred in the PGWP policy in July 2021, which only allowed extensions to students with work
permits that had expiration dates of November 27, 2021. This policy was short-lived and was only in
force from January 27, 2021 to July 27, 2021.
New Measures
With the former policy being in place, students whose work permits expired between November 27,
2021 and January 31, 2022 were excluded in the extension policy. This was an unfair decision on the
part of IRCC as to the number of students who were left without a choice. In response, the government
announced new special measures to include these students.
IRCC has now announced that they will offer work permit extensions for international students who
permits expired or will expire between September 20, 2021 and December 31, 2022. According to
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, these students will now be granted an additional 18-month open
work permit under the PGWP. In a series of tweets on June 24th, Minister Fraser stated that this special
measure was in place to represent growth potential in the Canadian economy and to make Canada their
home. Application details will be released in the coming weeks.
If you have any questions related to Post Graduate Work Permits, contact us at (678) 978-5848, or
info@poonahimmigrationlaw.com.
