Immigration Canada: improvement to work permits for international students

The changes to the Post-Graduation Work Visa are applicable to international students who graduate from eligible programs at certain Canadian post-secondary institutions.

"The Government of Canada wants more foreign students to choose Canada and we want to help them succeed," said Immigration and Citizenship Minister Finley.

Effectively immediately, international students will now be able to obtain an open work permit under the Canadian Post-Graduation Work Permit Program.

Basically, four new changes have been implemented, namely:

No restrictions on the type of employment;
No requirement for a job offer;
Duration of work permit has been extended to three years;
This is applicable to the entire Canada, and not just restricted to specific provinces.

Previously, the Immigration Department required international students in Canada to have an offer of employment before they could qualify for the Post-Graduation Work Visa.

In addition to that, employment had to be related to their field of study, and, depending on the location, they were only allowed to work for one to two years.

These new rules are a first for the Immigration Department, and are sure to make Canada even more attractive for skilled individuals and students.

"Open and longer work permits provide international students with more opportunities for Canadian work experience and skills development," said Immigration and Citizenship Minister Finley. "This will, in turn, help make Canada a destination of choice, and help us keep international students already studying in Canada."

The program's new flexibility will benefit both graduates and employers, as it will help international students get important work experience while responding to Canada's labour market needs.

In the long run, Canada will benefit as the professional experience gained will help graduates meet immigration requirements to stay permanently in Canada.

"As we move toward the implementation of the Canadian Experience Class, these changes will help create a pool of individuals who, with work experience, will find it easier to apply to immigrate to Canada," said Minister Finley.

"Our ability to retain international graduates with Canadian qualifications, work experience and familiarity with Canadian society, will help increase our competitiveness and benefit Canada as a whole."

The goal of the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program has always been to allow international students who have graduated from an eligible program at a post-secondary institution to gain valuable Canadian work experience.

According to preliminary 2007 data by Citizenship and Immigration, 63,673 international students came to Canada that year, a 4.6% increase from the previous year.

If you are interested in working, studying and/or living in Canada, find out which visa you qualify for by doing our free online visa eligibility assessment.

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