After Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced significant changes in postgraduate work permit regulations and a hike in financial requirements, international students, especially those whose permits are set to expire in 2024, face uncertain times.
A signature campaign seeking an extension of postgraduate work permit (PGWP) has picked up pace. Canada-based immigration consultant Kanwar Sumit Singh Sierah leads one such campaign. Though it started in May, it has become news now after the recent announcements by the Canadian government.
The petitioners are seeking a five-year work permit for those who enrolled for a two-year study programme while a two-year work permit for those who registered for a one-year programme.
The campaign has been named PGWP52. Already, over 30,000 people have signed the petition floated by Kanwar Sumit Singh Sierah, while international students and work permit holders are also making efforts on a joint platform.
The Canadian government decided not to extend a temporary policy providing an additional 18-month work permit to postgraduate work permit holders whose permits will expire on January 1, 2024, or after. The announcement said foreign nationals with a PGWP expiring up to December 31, 2023, remain eligible to apply.
According to a rough estimate, around 9 lakh international students are already on study permits in Canada, and nearly 14 lakh are on work permits. The number, if totalled, amounts to almost 23 lakh, while information revealed that not more than 3 lakh applicants will be considered for permanent residency in Canada under the economic policy in 2024.
This gap is enormous, and this is why students are seeking an extension in PGWP to get time to apply for permanent residency. The candidates thus seek a permanent change in the work permit rules as they contribute to the country’s economy and hence be given sufficient time to settle down.
The PGWP program was initially introduced in April 2008, offering a three-year open work permit. At that time, the inflow of international students was limited. However, since 2017, international students completing a two-year study programme at an eligible designated learning institution have been granted a four-and-a-half-year work permit.
This consists of an original three-year work permit based on the length of the study programme and three consecutive 18-month extensions, thus stretching it to four and a half years. For students who used to enrol themselves for a one-year programme, a temporary policy was introduced in 2019, in which they used to get the original one-year PGWP as per the length of the programme and a further 18-month extension policy.
However, this extension policy, due to expire on December 31, 2023, has not been extended further. “Thus, all those whose PGWP is due to expire in the coming year are on the receiving end. At the same time, it is a challenge for even new students who are coming to Canada after spending huge money as well that now only three-year and two-year PGWP will be issued based on two-year and one-year study programmes, respectively,” said Manpreet Kaur Longowal, who stays in Prince Edward Island in Canada.
In previous years, the Canadian government even extended the work permit duration from two to three years under the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). Considering this, students say that even an extension in PGWP should also be considered.