International students with expired or expiring post-graduation work permits (PGWPs) will be qualified to work in Canada longer, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced March 17 at Humber College’s Lakeshore Campus.
Foreign nationals whose PGWPs have expired or are about to expire can extend their stay in Canada for up to 18 months starting April 6, Fraser said.
Migrant rights supporters say the move is a step in the right direction but say ad hoc solutions for those with post-graduate work permits aren’t good enough.
Fraser said the announcement ensures Canada meets the long-term needs of its economy by retaining high-skilled talents who have studied in the country.
“We need to use every tool in our toolbox to support employers who continue to face challenges in hiring the workers they need to grow,” he said.
The new policy allows international graduates with PGWPs expired in 2022 and 2023 to get their work authorization back, even if it has been longer than the standard 90 day grace period for re-application after expiry of the original permits.
They will be granted a temporary work permit while their applications are being processed, Fraser said.
“We’re providing international graduates whose work permit is expiring or has expired with some additional time to stay in Canada to gain valuable work experience and potentially qualify to become a permanent resident,” he said.
The federal government’s PGWP program allows international graduates to gain work experience in the country with an open work permit for up to three years. This permit is typically non-extendable.
PGWP holders who want to extend their stay in Canada as workers are expected to apply for other types of work permit as their PGWPs expire, such as employer-specific work permits, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said.
Advocates for migrant rights see the extension as a win, but they also want the federal government to find a permanent solution.
Sarom Rho, an organizer for the group Migrant Workers Alliance, is calling on the federal government to find a permanent solution for post-graduate work permits. Photo credit: Migrant Workers Alliance for Change
“Instead of putting people in crisis and fear for months and making last-minute changes, we again call for permanently renewable post-graduate work permits,” said Sarom Rho, an organizer for the advocacy group Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.
“Most migrant student workers, including those in low-wage jobs, are disqualified from permanent residency despite being essential to our communities,” Rho said. “Keeping people on temporary work authorizations with few rights is never the solution.”
Maria Alfaro, a former international student from El Salvador whose PGWP is about to expire, said migrant workers need permanent solutions instead of just more time, calling for the government to allow work permits to be permanently renewable.
“The announcement today is a win for sure,” Alfaro said. “We deserve more than an extension of time, we need permanent solutions so that we’re not left wondering if we’ll make it to the end.”
More than 286,000 international graduates were in Canada with a valid PGWP at the end of 2022, with about 127,000 permits set to expire in 2023, according to IRCC data.
But about 67,000 holders have already applied for permanent residence and will not need to extend their work permits through this initiative, the same data showed.