Canada extends work permits for foreign nationals who face loss of status

A Canadian flag flies in front of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, March 22, 2017. Canada is allowing international graduates with recently expired or expiring post-graduation work permits (PGWP) to stay longer and gain valuable  work experience. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

Canada is allowing international graduates with recently expired or expiring post-graduation work permits (PGWP) to stay longer and gain valuable  work experience for up to 18 months with additional or extended work permits.

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said that effective April 6, 2023, these measures allow PGWP holders who wish to stay longer to extend their work permit, giving Canada the opportunity to retain high-skilled talent.

In an OMNI Filipino report, “Salve,” a Filipino international student, expressed relief saying she would be one of those who would benefit from gaining more Canadian work experience, giving her bigger chances of getting a Permanent Resident status.

“Para akong nabunutan ng tinik. Makakatulog na ako nang medyo mahimbing (It’s as if a fishbone has been removed from my throat. I can sleep soundly now),” she told OMNI Filipino in an interview.

Fraser, in a press conference, cited Salve’s case. She’s a Filipina architect with 10 years’ experience in home construction, but Canada risks losing her if the PGWP is not extended.

“Without this change, the PGWP Salve benefited from would have expired in August, and we would not have been able to retain a talent in one of the sectors where it is in greatest demand in our economy,” Fraser said.

Foreign nationals whose PGWP expire in 2023 and those who were eligible for the 2022 PGWP facilitative measure will also have the opportunity to apply for an additional 18-month work permit, Fraser said.

Those with expired work permits will be able to restore their status, even if they are beyond the 90-day restoration period, and will receive an interim work authorization while awaiting processing of their new work permit application, the policy also states.

Talented and skilled international graduates play a vital role in solving Canada’s labor shortage, and those nearing the end of their PGWP are already well integrated into the market.

“We need to use every tool in our toolbox to support employers who continue to face challenges in hiring the workers they need to grow,” Fraser said in a statement released last March 17.

PGWP holders who are eligible for the facilitative process will soon receive messages about logging into their online IRCC Secure Account, starting last April 6, 2023, to opt in and update key personal information.

IRCC is aware of issues that some PGWP holders experienced with the facilitative process used in 2022. The new public policy will allow anyone who was eligible under the 2022 initiative to apply for an open work permit and to restore their status. Instructions on applying will be available on IRCC’s website in the weeks ahead.

International graduates are an important source of future permanent residents. Tens of thousands successfully transition to permanent residence each year, including more than 157,000 in 2021, a record high, and nearly 95,000 in 2022, the second-highest total ever.

A PGWP is typically not extendable. PGWP holders who want to extend their stay in Canada as a worker are usually expected to apply for another type of work permit as their PGWP expires. Public policies previously adopted in 2021 and 2022 provided the opportunity for an additional work permit for those with expiring PGWPs.

At the end of 2022, more than 286,000 international graduates were in Canada with a valid post-graduation work permit. About 127,000 PGWPs expire in 2023, though about 67,000 PGWP holders have already applied for permanent residence and won’t need to extend their work permit through this initiative.