November 25th, 2023 at 03:05 am

Will International Students Get an Extension for PGWP in 2024?

Due to a lack of choices for permanent residency (PR), international students studying in Canada have high hopes for another PGWP Extension 2024 legislation that would allow them to continue working. By the end of the second quarter of 2023, there were around 2.2 million temporary residents in Canada, of which over 1 million were in the country with work permits. This figure, which was approximately 600,000 by the end of the second quarter of 2022, has nearly doubled in just one year.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller recently agreed that overseas students need to be aware of the restricted number of alternatives available for permanent residency. PGWP is typically only granted to foreign students once following their graduation from a Canadian university, with no possibility of renewal.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada did, however, implement a temporary PGWP extension policy that permitted foreign students with postgraduate work permits to prolong their status for an additional 18 months. The years 2022 and 2023 saw the reintroduction of this policy.

If an international student’s status has expired or is about to expire before December 2023, they may extend their work permit for up to 18 months under the most recent and up-to-date PGWP extension 2023 policy.

Will the PGWP Extension 2024 Policy be implemented?

This also applies to the prior foreign students who were granted an extension under the 2022 policy, enabling them to reap the benefits of an additional 18-month work permit.

PGWP Extension Requirement 2024

PGWP is not eligible for the 2023 extension policy if it expires before December 2023. Permits for students enrolled in the same program and intake, however, expire on separate dates. This has caused a schism among the students, and when their PGWP expires in January 2024 or later, some will not be treated fairly or according to due process.

International students typically rely on the Express Entry system, which is Canada’s primary permanent immigration pathway, under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) category.

The ideal candidates for the CEC-specific invitation rounds that the IRCC used to host were international students who had at least a year of competent experience in Canada. IRCC, however, has moved to category-based drawings and hasn’t held any CEC-only rounds of invitations since September 2021.

The current number of temporary residents in Canada is the greatest in the country’s history. International graduates today face intense competition and few opportunities to become permanent residents (PR).

Marc Miller declared on October 27, 2023, that they will be revising the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) in the upcoming months to better align it with goals related to regional and Francophone immigration as well as the needs of the Canadian labor market. But until then, a new extension policy in 2024 is required to retain the foreign talent already contributing to Canada’s economy.

Will there be a PGWP Extension 2024 policy?

There is currently no official word on whether the PGWP policy for work permits expiring in 2024 will be extended again. International students, however, are hoping that the Canadian immigration minister will bring back the PGWP extension policy, allowing them to remain and work in Canada for an extended period.

The IRCC typically waits to declare such policies until the very last minute or even after a current policy expires. Three months after the previous policy ended in December 2022, the PGWP Extension 2023 policy was introduced in March 2023.

IRCC did, however, permit overseas students to take advantage of the new 2023 policy if their PGWP had expired and they had also passed the 90-day restoration period. It is regrettable but normal for the IRCC to not provide advance notice when it comes to PGWP extensions, and as of right now, nothing concrete can be mentioned regarding their possibility in 2024.

International students with expiring post-graduation work permits (PGWPs) at the beginning of 2024 should now start exploring alternative options to continue staying in Canada to be on the safe side.

Extended Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP)

The expansion of the post-graduation work permit (PGWP) to a maximum of five years is the second significant move that has been eagerly anticipated and well received. As of right now, the length of your study program directly affects how long your PGWP will last. For example, you would get a one-year work visa if you finished a one-year course. In the same way, your work visa would be valid for two years if you completed a two-year program, and so forth.

A petition calling for an extension of the PGWP’s lifespan is currently making the rounds in Canada with the support of several people. The plan is to provide students who finish shorter programs—like a year—a 2-year PGWP and to gradually extend it as long as their study program lasts.

Minister Matt Miller has responded to our petition by acknowledging that the government is giving the idea serious thought. A pool of qualified jobs will probably be created as a result of this consideration. You can be eligible for a PGWP of up to five years if your studies are in a field related to these careers. This adjustment attempts to address shortages in particular industries and match the demands of Canada’s labor market.

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