TORONTO – International graduates students with expired or expiring work permits will be able to extend their authorization to work in Canada for another eighteen months under a new immigration measure announced today by Minister Sean Fraser.

Good news for the thousands of students who were in limbo, just like the Italian girl to whose story we dedicated an article yesterday (you can re-read it by clicking here). So, according to the Immigration Minister, Postgraduate Work Permit Holders (PGWP) who qualify for the program will soon be contacted with information on logging into their online account to join and update their file, starting April 6.

A PGWP is typically not extendable, but similar policies have been implemented twice during the pandemic to allow international graduates to stay and work in Canada as many have run out of status and have been unable to pursue permanent residency due to significant immigration backlogs, at least according to reports from the IRCC.

Those with a work permit that expired in both 2022 and 2023 will therefore be able to reinstate their status, even if they have exceeded the 90-day reinstatement period, and will receive a provisional work permit pending their new application for work. work permit.

“We must use every tool to support employers who continue to face challenges in hiring the workers they need to grow,” said Minister Fraser. “We are providing international graduates whose work permits are about to expire or have expired with an additional period of time to remain in Canada to gain valuable work experience and potentially qualify to become permanent residents”.

The federal government’s 2022 PGWP extension program hasn’t been without a hitch. Permit holders were initially told that their permit would be processed automatically without them having to do anything. However, many have not received the necessary documents and have run out of status to stay and work legally in the country.

“The lessons learned from that process have been applied as we implement a similar one. The new public policy will allow anyone who was eligible under the 2022 initiative to apply for an open work permit and have their status reinstated”.

“Thank you for your patience”, concluded Minister Fraser, referring to the odyssey experienced by international students who remained hanging by a thread until this morning’s announcement.

All additional information is available on this link: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2023/03/canada-announces-extension-of-post-graduation-work-permits-for-up-to-18-months-to-retain-high-skilled-talent.html 

In the pic above, Minister Fraser during the press conference today (screenshot from the live video on https://www.youtube.com/@CitImmCanada)