Canada Post Work Permit: In many countries of the world, visa is given to work after studying in their universities. In some countries, it is for one year, while in some, one gets to work for three years. Canada is also one such country, where post study visa is given after studies.
Canada Work Permit: Canada is gradually reducing the relaxations given to foreign students. First, the number of study permits given to foreign students every year has been reduced and now changes have been made in the post study work permit. Canada’s Immigration Minister Mark Miller has said that the limit on the number of foreign students will remain intact. Also, new measures have been introduced to restrict temporary residents from coming to Canada and maintain the integrity of the immigration system. Indian students are going to be greatly affected due to the changes taking place in Canada. The biggest impact is regarding the study permit, because in the last few years a large number of Indians have gone to Canada to study. The biggest change in the changes made here is regarding the ‘Post-Graduate Work Program’ (PGWP) and spouse work eligibility. PGWP program is run for jobs for students doing post graduation in Canada. These changes may disillusion Indian students.
What has changed regarding PGWP?
Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) is a type of work permit that is given to foreign students to work in Canada after graduation. The duration of PGWP depends on the duration of the course completed in Canada and can be from 8 months to 3 years. Mark Miller said that for people applying for PGWP after November 1, the permit will be decided on the basis of their studies.
Miller said, “Students studying bachelors, masters and doctoral programs will be able to work under PGWP for three years.” He said that such students are able to transfer their knowledge and skills and adapt better to changing economic conditions. Foreign students graduating in college certificate or diploma programs will no longer be eligible for PGWP, unless their work is related to labor market areas.
Not only this, but for PGWP, students will also have to show knowledge in French and English language. University graduates applying for PGWP on or after November 1, 2024 will need to have a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 7 and college graduates will need to have a CLB level 5. Canadian Minister Miller said this is desperately needed. He said this will result in 1,75,000 fewer PGWPs over a period of three years.
Change in work permit given to spouses
Prime Minister Justice Trudeau’s government had stopped issuing work permits to spouses of foreign students from April 2024. Only spouses of students pursuing master’s degree, doctoral or any other professional degree program are being given work permits. However, at that time there was no condition on giving work permit to spouses based on the duration of the course. But now spouses will be given work permit only if the foreign student’s master’s course studies are going to last at least 16 months.
