Canada Extends PG Work Permit upto 18 months

Canada aims to retain highly skilled workers in Canada.

Foreign nationals whose post-graduation work permits have expired or are about to expire will be eligible to work in Canada for a longer period of time.

Employers are encountering previously unheard-of difficulties in locating and keeping the workers they require during this time of economic recovery and expansion.

Foreign graduates who have a post-graduation work permit (PGWP) that has recently expired or is about to expire may be qualified for an additional or extended work permit that will allow them to stay longer and gain additional work experience for up to 18 months, according to Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, who made the announcement today.

Graduates from abroad can receive an open work permit through the PGWP Program to gain significant job experience in Canada.

These changes will enable Canada to retain highly qualified workers starting on April 6, 2023, and will allow PGWP holders who choose to stay longer to opt into a facilitative process to extend their work permit.

The option to apply for an additional 18-month work permit will also be available to foreign nationals whose PGWP has already expired in 2023 and those who qualified for the 2022 PGWP facilitative measure.

To meet Canada’s labor crisis, talented and skilled international graduates are essential, and those who are nearing the end of their PGWP have already assimilated successfully into the Canadian labor market.

The additional work visa will enable qualified candidates to continue supporting the Canadian economy, gain important work experience, and get ready to apply for permanent residency.

International students frequently choose Canada as their study destination because of its inclusive and diverse society, top-notch educational facilities, and opportunities for work or immigration after graduation.

For former international students with expired or soon-to-expire post-graduation work permits as well as applicants for the temporary resident to permanent residence pathway, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is taking action.

These actions are a continuation of the announcement from earlier this year.

For those whose post-graduation work permits have expired or are about to do so, open work permits foreign nationals may continue to work in Canada for an additional 18 months by renewing their work permit or filing for a new one if their post-graduation work permit has expired or will do so between September 20, 2021, and December 31, 2022.

Each application will be impacted differently by these criteria

Your address is current, your post-graduation work permit is good through December 31, 2022, and your passport is good through April 2024.

There is nothing you need to do. If the IRCC emails you requesting you to confirm your mailing address, do not reply. By the middle of October, you’ll receive a revised work permit in the mail.

You need to change your address and/or passport’s validity because your post-graduation work permit’s expiration dates were October 2 through December 31, 2022.

To notify the authorities if your postal address needs to be amended, please follow the instructions in the email you receive from IRCC when it asks you to confirm your mailing address.

This initial email will not be sent to you; instead, you will receive a different email in September if they are unable to extend your work permit by 18 months due to the expiration of your passport.

If necessary, you will get email instructions in September on how to update your online account with your current mailing address and the expiration date of your passport. Two weeks will be given to you to complete this. If you change this information by mid-November, a new work permit will be mailed to you.

Make sure your passport is still valid by checking its expiration date, and if it does, apply for an extension if it will no longer be valid after April 2, 2024. Make sure your paper application for your post-graduation work permit is connected to your online account if you applied for it.

Your post-graduation work permit will expire on October 2, 2022, and you won’t be able to change your address or passport’s expiration date until then.

You must submit an online request to extend your work visa. You have two options: either postpone your application until your passport has been renewed or obtain a work permit that is good up until the expiration of your passport.

A post-graduation employment permit expired if IRCC did not get in touch with you before October 2 through December 31, 2022.

You are not eligible to have your work permit extended through this special process if you have not heard from IRCC by the middle of September for another reason, such as new information that has been added to your file regarding your admissibility to Canada that will require further assessment. To renew your work permit, you can still apply online.

If either September 20, 2021 or October 1, 2022, was the expiration date of your post-graduation employment visa.

Online applications are required for work permits. On August 2, 2022, the application period will start. You must apply to have your temporary status restored if you are currently residing in Canada and it has also expired. These special regulations allow you to regain your status even if it expired more than 90 days ago.

If you have left Canada and come back after being granted authorization, you are qualified to apply abroad

You cannot apply for this work permit at a port of entry, please note. All applications for work permits under this public policy shall be submitted online by December 31, 2022.

Ability to Work Temporarily

Emails informing those whose post-graduation work permits have or will expire between September 20, 2021, and December 31, 2022, that they are allowed to work in the interim will start to arrive on August 8, 2022.

The addressee can attach this email to their post-graduation work visa as evidence that they are qualified to work temporarily in Canada.

This transitional working phase will last until May 31, 2023.

This email message only allows the recipient to work if their status has expired; it does not automatically re-establish their legal temporary resident status.

To ensure that persons whose post-graduation work permits have expired or are about to do so can continue to work while they wait for an updated or new open work permit, this policy was created.

A person who is out of status must apply to regain status along with their fresh work visa application.

You cannot, however, enter Canada with simply the email notification of your temporary work authorization.

A Work Permit is a must for temporary residents to become Canada PR

Applicants must fall under one of the temporary residents to permanent residence (TR to PR) routes and have a pending application for permanent residency to be qualified to apply for an open work visa.

Those who want an open work permit with an expiration date of December 31, 2024, provided their passport is still valid at that time, can now receive one with that date given that it will take some time to process TR to PR applications.

Over 2,500 TR to PR applicants have previously applied for and been given an open work permit using this scheme, which has a termination date of December 31, 2022.

They will get a new work permit in the mail with an expiration date of December 31, 2024.

As well as not being eligible to use the exceptional measure to extend their current work permits, applicants whose passports expire before December 31, 2024, will not get this communication.

The only way to apply is online.