Canada PGWP Changes: November 1 cut-off date is crucial for students applying for work permits

Canada post-graduation work permit rules have been modified for international students. Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has released key information regarding the new criteria governing Canada’s post-graduation work permit (PGWP) eligibility.

The study program requirements for Post-Graduation Work Permit Program candidates will change beginning November 1, 2024. IRCC confirms November 1, 2024 as the cut-off date for new rules, allowing students with study permits before that date to continue using PGWP.

Canada college programs attracting a large number of international students, such as tourism, hospitality, or business programs, will no longer be eligible for PGWP. This is because ‘Fields of study’ has been introduced as criteria to be eligible for the PGWP. The specific programmes are confined to only five broad areas: agriculture and agri-food, healthcare, science-technology-engineering-mathematics (STEM), trade and transport.

The ‘field of study’ requirement will apply to graduates from a university bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or doctoral degree program.

Students applying for a study permit on or after 1 November 2024, however, will be affected by the new rule after the introduction of the new “field of study” requirement for graduates of college programmes, including degree programmes.

To be eligible for a PGWP, you must continue to meet the general and physical location eligibility requirements (even after November 1, 2024) and complete a study program at a PGWP eligible designated learning institution. If you apply for a PGWP before November 1, 2024, you only need to meet the current eligibility criteria.

New PGWP Rule November 1

If you submitted your study permit application before November 1, 2024 and are applying for a PGWP on or after November 1, 2024, you must also meet the new requirement that applies to your situation. If you graduated with a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or doctoral degree from a university, you must prove your English or French language skills with a minimum level of Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) 7 in English or Niveaux de competence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) 7 in French in all 4 language areas.

If you submit your study permit application on or after November 1, 2024, you must also meet the new requirements that apply to your situation to be eligible to apply for a PGWP. If you graduated from a university bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or doctoral degree program, you must prove your English or French language skills with a minimum level of Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) 7 in English or Niveaux de competence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) 7 in French in all 4 language areas. All fields of study are eligible. There is no additional field of study requirement.

But, if you have graduated from any other university program, you must graduate only in an eligible field of study for PGWP.

In a nutshell, international students holding PGWP will not be impacted by the new rules to be implemented from November 1. Also, the PGWP eligibility criteria remain the same for the students applying before November 1.

However, international students applying for a study permit on or after 1 November 2024 will have to deal with a new requirement called ‘field of study’.