TORONTO – The Government of Canada has eased the post-graduation work permit (PGWP) for international students by removing the field of study requirement.
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship department had enforced the requirement in 2024 for Canadian colleges, but not for universities. The requirement was enforced so that the authorities could apply heavier scrutiny to the international education sector of the country.
With the fresh change, the graduates of college degree programmes in Canada will no longer be required to meet the PGWP field of study requirement.
The change will apply to those international students who had applied for a study permit after November 1, 2024, to attain a college bachelor’s or master’s degree programme in any Canadian college.
It is to be noted that students who started their studies before November 1, 2024, are exempt from the new limitations. Moreover, graduates of flight schools are still eligible for PGWP without language or field of study requirements.
Is is interesting to note that the changes come after new Prime Minister, Mark Carney was sworn in; Canada has also shuffled its cabinet and Marc Miller has been replaced by Rachel Bendayan as the Immigration Minister.
Though Canada has been battling trade war with US under Donald Trump’s administration, immigration also seems to be a core issue for the new regime.
Recently, the government of Canada announced fresh measures to support the housing industry which was directly affecting the immigration in the country.
As part of the measures announced on March 7th, the immigration minister has announced regularization pathway for out-of-status construction workers, and support for foreign apprentices.
Marc Miller said in a press conference that Canada’s construction industry is vital to support and sustain the country’s growth, and the country needs to bring in workers to meet the urgent need for skilled labour.
