New Post-Graduate Work Permit Extension Measure Announced
While COVID-19 restrictions have been easing throughout Canada for the past several months, many foreign workers and international students are still feeling its effects. In particular, individuals who were on post-graduate work permits over the past two years may have lost opportunities to gain valuable Canadian work experience as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions. In recognition of these lost opportunities and the social, cultural, and economic benefits that international students bring to Canada, the Government of Canada announced new measures allowing certain foreign nationals with expired or expiring post-graduate work permits to apply for extensions of their post-graduate work permits.
Per an August 2, 2022 notice from the Government of Canada, individuals will be able to apply to extend their work permit (or apply for a new work permit) authorizing their work in Canada for up to an additional 18 months if they hold post-graduation work permits (“PGWPs”) that have expired or will expire between September 20, 2021 and December 31, 2022. Foreign nationals in Canada must have maintained their temporary resident status or be eligible for restoration of status to apply for this special measure.
Note: If an applicant’s passport expires in fewer than 18 months, they will only be issued a work permit valid to their passport expiration date.
Process to Apply for Special Measure – Post-Graduate Work Permit Extension
Each applicant must follow different instructions to apply for this special measure depending on whether their post-graduation work permit is expired or the date when it will be expiring:
- The individual’s PGWP expires during the period from October 2, 2022 to December 31, 2022, their address is up to date, and their passport is valid through April 2024.
What to do: Nothing. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) will send the individual an email to confirm their mailing address. This email does not require a response. An updated work permit will be sent to their mailing address by mid-October.
- The individual’s PGWP expires during the period from October 2, 2022 to December 31, 2022, but they need to update their address and/or passport validity.
What to do: Follow the email instructions. IRCC will send the individual an email by September that provides instructions on how to update their mailing address and/or their passport validity. These instructions must be acted upon within two weeks. Once the updates are made, a new work permit will be sent to their mailing address by mid-November. Applicants may want to update their passports proactively if they fall under this category.
- The individual’s PGWP expires during the period from October 2, 2022 to December 31, 2022, but they will be unable to update their address and/or passport validity.
What to do: Apply online. The individual will need to apply online to extend their work permit. The extension can be issued to coincide with their passport expiration date. Otherwise, they will need to wait until they have renewed their passport.
- The individual’s PGWP expires during the period from October 2, 2022 to December 31, 2022, but the IRCC did not contact them.
What to do: Apply online. If the individual does not receive an email from the IRCC by mid-September, it means they are not eligible for an extension through this special process for another reason (e.g. questions about admissibility) and will need apply online to extend their work permit.
- The individual’s PGWP expired or will expire during the period from September 20, 2021 to October 1, 2022.
What to do: Apply online. The individual will need to apply online for a work permit. If their temporary status in Canada has also expired, they will need to apply to restore their status at the same time. They will be allowed to restore their status under this special measure even if more than 90 days has passed since their status expired.
Interim Authorization to Work
In addition to the 18-month extension, foreign nationals with post-graduation work permits that have expired or will expire from September 20, 2021, to December 31, 2022 will receive an email from IRCC confirming that they are authorized to work in the interim while they apply for a new work permit. This interim authorization to work is in effect until May 31, 2023.
This email confirming interim work authorization only allows applicants to work while awaiting their new work permit. It does not restore a foreign national’s immigration status in Canada. If an applicant is out of status, they must still apply to restore their status when they apply for their new work permit.
Cost of Application
The Government of Canada also released instructions to apply for this open work permit, which must be done on or before December 31, 2022. One key point to highlight is that, while applicants under this special measure are exempt from paying the open work permit holder fee of $100, they must still pay the work permit processing fee of $155.
This update is intended for general information only. If you have further questions about these programs or are an employer seeking to support your workers, please contact a member of our Immigration Group.
Click here to subscribe to Stewart McKelvey Thought Leadership.
Archive
Jennifer Taylor Introduction Appeal courts in Ontario1 and Nova Scotia2 have now issued decisions about Trinity Western University’s proposed law school (“TWU”) in British Columbia, and at first glance they couldn’t be more different. The Court of Appeal for…
Read MoreJoe Thorne1 and Giles Ayers2 Limitation periods serve a critical function in the civil justice system. They promote the timely resolution of litigation on the basis of reliable evidence, and permit litigants to assess their legal exposure…
Read MoreOn July 14, 2016 the Supreme Court of Canada issued a significant decision affecting federally regulated employers across Canada. In Wilson v. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited the Court held that the purpose of the unjust dismissal…
Read MoreOn April 1, 2016 New Brunswick’s Mortgage Brokers Act came into force, requiring businesses acting as mortgage brokerages or as mortgage administrators in New Brunswick to be licensed. A mortgage brokerage is a business that on behalf…
Read MoreIn May 2016, the Federal Court of Canada confirmed that copyright does not protect facts, even where a book’s author is clearly inspired by the content of a film (Maltz v. Witterick, 2016 FC 524 (CanLII)).…
Read MoreBy Jennifer Taylor “…firms of notaries or lawyers…must not be turned into archives for the tax authorities”1 So says the Supreme Court of Canada in one of two highly anticipated decisions on solicitor-client privilege, offering lawyers…
Read MoreJoe Thorne1 and Clara Linegar2 As joint owners of a business, what do you do when the business relationship falls apart? And what if one owner undermines the business in the process? In Smith v Hillier,3 Justice Paquette…
Read MoreThe Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed the appeals in Bruce Brine v. Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc.1 (with costs) and Luciano Branco, et al. v. Zurich Life Insurance Company Limited, et al.(without costs). Both of…
Read MoreOn May 4, 2016, the Nova Scotia Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act (“PRPP Act”) was proclaimed in force, and finalized Pooled Registered Pension Plan Regulations were released. While there were no major changes from the previously released draft regulations, the proposed rules…
Read MoreBy Level Chan and Dante Manna Pooled Registered Pension Plans (“PRPPs”) are closer to becoming a reality for Nova Scotian employers. PRPPs were established by the Federal government in an effort to address the lack of retirement savings…
Read More