Students from foreign nations are showing great interest in traveling to Canada to pursue higher education in Canadian universities known well for high-end research-based teaching. It is to be noted that Canada has one of the best education systems in the world. Currently, A large number of international students including Indians more than 2 million pupils belonging to various places across the globe are chasing their graduation dreams in Canada.
One of the major attractions that are bringing international students to Canada is PGWP- Post Graduation Work Permit that offers an official permit to do a job for graduate students in Canada. An international student who has successfully completed his course is eligible for PGWP and with this permit he/she is able to work in Canadian companies legally for some time. The length of the work permit depends on the length of the course, a minimum of 8 months to a maximum of 3 years.
Canada has been offering open work permits for additional 18 months for the graduates of international students whose PWGP has expired or about to expire. Additional time will be allotted apart from the official PGWP tenure.
This new scheme will help the students in obtaining a prominent permit to stay in Canada as a permanent resident, i.e permanent residency (PR)card.
18 months
The new scheme launches on January 27 2021 and is applicable until July 27, 2021.
candidate should be in Canada
Candidate with PGWP that was expired on or after January 30, 2020
PGWP that expires in four months or less from the application date
Must Possess a valid temporary status or be applying to restore the status.
As an additional work permit is allowed through the new process, the PGWP graduates will have more options to secure PR. The Canadian work experience will add more weightage to the profile of the candidates, eases in getting qualified for federal immigration pathways, including Express Entry Pool and the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs), finally improves chances of getting ITA for Canada PR.
CRS, the points-based system, has a key role in express entry to get Invitation to Apply for PR. CRS scores depend on the applicant’s human capital factors, age, skills, education, partner profile, and Work experience. Work experience in Canadian firms will give additional points to the profile, therefore better chances in obtaining CR.
Apart from international graduates, Canadian companies who are willing to hire an abroad skilled worker or workers than the local person as per the merit basis also get benefited with the new scheme. There is a strict, lengthy and costly process to date to hire a foreign national through a mandatory system “Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)”, its an application where the respective firm is required to quote reasons for taking a foreigner instead of a Canadian.
However, Canadian companies are not required to follow this system to hire open work permit holders. Therefore, more opportunities would be available for this category of candidates as there are no barriers for firms to hire non-local people. Hence, with the latest scheme awarded for students with PGWP status (expired, or about to expire) are able to acquire more job opportunities in Canadian companies, which leads to acquiring the much-essential Canadian work experience.