Post-graduation work permit (PGWP)

Graduates of certain designated learning institutions are eligible for this work permit.

Work in Canada after you graduate: About the post-graduation work permit

You may be eligible for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP) if you graduated from a designated learning institution (DLI) and want to stay in Canada temporarily to work.

Graduation from a DLI doesn’t automatically make you eligible for a PGWP. Check the DLI list to find out which schools have eligible programs.

How much of your online studies count toward a PGWP?

Studies outside Canada

All of the time you spent studying online at a PGWP-eligible DLI from outside Canada between March 2020 and August 31, 2022, counts toward the length of a PGWP.

This policy will change as of September 1, 2022.

Find out if these changes affect you and how.

Until August 31, 2023, if you’re completing 2 study programs, you can finish 100% of your studies online from outside Canada if

the programs were ongoing in March 2020 or started between March 2020 and August 31, 2022
both study programs are with a PGWP-eligible DLI and are completed within 2 years
each program meets all PGWP eligibility requirements and is at least 8 months long

The following time won’t count toward the length of a PGWP:

time spent studying outside of Canada after August 31, 2023
time spent studying before you applied for a study permit

Studies inside Canada

Until August 31, 2023, the time you spend studying online from within Canada still counts toward the length of your PGWP.

Starting September 1, 2023, you must complete 50% of your program in-class in Canada.

How long is a post-graduation work permit valid?

How long your PGWP is valid for depends on the length of your study program.

If your program was less than 8 months

You aren’t eligible for a PGWP.

If your program was at least 8 months, but less than 2 years

IRCC may give you a PGWP that’s valid for up to the same length as your study program.

For example, if you completed a 9-month program, IRCC may give you a work permit for up to 9 months.

If your program was 2 years or more

IRCC may give you a PGWP that’s valid for 3 years.

If you completed more than 1 program

You may be able to get a PGWP that combines the length of each program.

Each of the programs you completed must be

PGWP-eligible and
at least 8 months in length

You can’t get a PGWP if you already had one after completing an earlier program of study.

If your passport expires before your PGWP

Make sure your passport is valid for the entire length of time you should be eligible. If your passport expires earlier

IRCC will only issue you a PGWP that’s valid until your passport expires
IRCC will tell you if you need to extend it to get the full validity

Normally, you can only apply to extend a PGWP if IRCC tells you to do so. If this happens, you have to apply on paper to extend your PGWP so it will be valid for the full length it should be.

If your PGWP has expired or will expire soon

If your PGWP has expired or will expire between September 20, 2021, and December 31, 2023, you may be eligible for an open work permit of up to 18 months under a new public policy.

Work in Canada after you graduate: Who can apply

Inside Canada graduates

You can apply for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP) from inside Canada as long as you’re eligible.

You have up to 180 days after you graduate to apply for a PGWP. When you apply, you must confirm the following:

that you attended and completed your program
the name of your program and
the length of your program

You can confirm these by submitting any of the following:

your degree or diploma
your transcript or
an official letter from your school

To be eligible, your study permit must have been valid at some point during these 180 days.

Don’t let your status expire while you wait for your marks

If your study permit will expire before you get your marks, you have 2 options. You can

apply for a visitor record to stay in Canada longer or
leave Canada and apply for your PGWP

If you stay in Canada and let your permit expire, you must apply to restore your status as a student to apply for your PGWP. To restore your status, you must pay additional fees.

You can apply for a PGWP if

your study permit has been valid within the last 180 days
you have a valid visitor record
you submitted an application to extend your study permit before it expired and no decision has been made on your application
you submitted an application to change your status to visitor before your study permit expired and no decision has been made on your application

You must also have

completed a study program
- at a designated learning institution
- that was at least 8 months long and
- that led to a degree, diploma or certificate
maintained full-time status as a student in Canada during each semester of your study program
- This doesn’t include your final semester, which can be part-time, or if you took an approved leave from your studies.
- If you had to stop studying or change to part-time studies between March 2020 and the fall semester in 2020 because of reasons related to COVID-19, you may still be eligible for a PGWP.
graduated from one of the following:
- a public post-secondary institution, such as a college, trade/technical institution, university or CEGEP (in Quebec)
- a private post-secondary institution in Quebec that operates under the same rules as public institutions in Quebec
- a private or public secondary or post-secondary institution (in Quebec) that offers qualifying programs of 900 hours or longer, that leads to a diploma of vocational studies (DVS), or an attestation of vocational specialization (AVS);
  - An AVS can be less than 900 hours if combined with a DVS.
- a Canadian private institution that is authorized to award degrees under provincial law (for example, an Associate, Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD degree), but only if you’re enrolled in a study program that leads to a degree as authorized by the province, which may not include all programs of study offered by the private institution.

Exceptions to the eligibility requirements

You aren’t eligible for a PGWP if you

have a study permit that expired more than 180 days before you applied
already received a PGWP
studied English or French as a second language
took general interest or self-improvement courses
participated in the Government of Canada Awards Program funded by Global Affairs Canada
had received funding from Global Affairs Canada
- Note: If you got a Study in Canada scholarship, you’re still eligible for a PGWP.
got the Equal Opportunity Scholarship, Canada-Chile
participated in the Canada-China Scholars’ Exchanges Program
participated in the Organization of American States Fellowships Program
completed the major part of a study program through distance learning (online courses, e-learning or correspondence)
completed a study program at a non-Canadian institution located in Canada
completed a program from a private institution in 1 province or territory that was delivered through a curriculum licensing agreement with a PGWP-eligible public institution located in a different province or territory.
- Notes:
  - This policy was confirmed in January 2023.
  - As a transitional measure, if you began or completed this type of program on or before January 31, 2023, you may be eligible for a PGWP if you meet all other eligibility criteria and either of the following applies to you:
    - You’re currently in Canada and enrolled in this type of program at a designated learning institution.
    - You already applied for a PGWP after graduating from this type of program.

Outside Canada graduates

You can apply for a PGWP from outside Canada as long as you’re eligible and you’ve been approved for a study permit. You don’t have to have held a valid study permit at any point during your online studies from outside Canada.

You have up to 180 days after you graduate to apply for a PGWP. When you apply, you must confirm the following:

that you attended and completed your program
the name of your program and
the length of your program

You can confirm these by submitting any of the following:

your degree or diploma
your transcript or
an official letter from your school

You can apply for a PGWP if you

were enrolled in a program that was in progress in March 2020 or
started or will start a program between spring 2020 and summer 2022 and
- you have a study permit or
- you’ve been approved for a study permit or
- you applied for a study permit before starting your study program
  - Your study permit must eventually be approved.

and you

completed a study program
- at a designated learning institution
- that was at least 8 months long and
- which led to a degree, diploma or certificate
maintained full-time status as a student during each semester of your study program
- This doesn’t include your final semester, which can be part-time, or if you took an approved leave from your studies.
- If you had to stop studying or change to part-time studies between March 2020 and the fall semester in 2020 because of reasons related to COVID-19, you may still be eligible for a PGWP.
graduated from one of the following:
- a public post-secondary institution, such as a college, trade/technical institution, university or CEGEP (in Quebec)
- a private post-secondary institution in Quebec that operates under the same rules as public institutions in Quebec
- a private or public secondary or post-secondary institution (in Quebec) that offers qualifying programs of 900 hours or longer, that leads to a diploma of vocational studies (DVS), or an attestation of vocational specialization (AVS);
  - An AVS can be less than 900 hours if combined with a DVS.
- a Canadian private institution that is authorized to award degrees under provincial law (for example, an Associate, Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD degree), but only if you’re enrolled in a study program that leads to a degree as authorized by the province, which may not include all programs of study offered by the private institution.

Only the time you spent studying outside Canada after IRCC received your study permit application counts towards the length of your PGWP.

Exceptions to the eligibility requirements

You aren’t eligible for a PGWP if you

only received first stage approval, and don’t have a final decision on your application
- You must have a port of entry letter of introduction that shows you’ve been approved for a study permit.
already received a PGWP
studied English or French as a second language
took general interest or self-improvement courses
participated in the Government of Canada Awards Program funded by Global Affairs Canada
had funding from Global Affairs Canada
- Note: If you got a Study in Canada scholarship, you’re still eligible for a PGWP.
got the Equal Opportunity Scholarship, Canada-Chile
participated in the Canada-China Scholars’ Exchanges Program
participated in the Organization of American States Fellowships Program
completed the major part of a study program through distance learning (online courses, e-learning or correspondence)
- Note: You may still be eligible for a PGWP if you could only study online from outside Canada because of COVID-19.
completed a study program at a non-Canadian institution located in Canada
completed a program from a private institution in 1 province or territory that was delivered through a curriculum licensing agreement with a PGWP-eligible public institution located in a different province or territory.
- Notes:
  - This policy was confirmed in January 2023.
  - As a transitional measure, if you began or completed this type of program on or before January 31, 2023, you may be eligible for a PGWP if you meet all other eligibility criteria and either of the following applies to you:
    - You’re currently in Canada and enrolled in this type of program at a designated learning institution.
    - You already applied for a PGWP after graduating from this type of program.

If your passport expires before your PGWP

Make sure your passport is valid for the entire length of time your PGWP would be.

If your passport expires before your PGWP, IRCC will

issue you a PGWP that’s only valid until your passport expires
tell you if you need to extend it to get the full validity of your PGWP

You can only extend a PGWP if IRCC tells you that you can. If this happens, you have to apply on paper to extend your PGWP for it to be extended to its full length.

Special cases

If you’re in any of these groups, you may be eligible for a PGWP.

Accelerated programs

If you complete your study program in less time than the normal length of the program, you may be eligible for a PGWP that is valid for the full length of your program.

For example, if you complete a 1 year study program in 8 months, you may be able to get a PGWP valid for 1 year.

Distance learning from outside of Canada

You can complete up to 100% of your studies online from outside Canada between March 2020 and August 31, 2022, because of a temporary COVID-19 policy. This temporary policy is in place until August 31, 2022.

You’re eligible for this temporary policy if you meet all of the following criteria:

You’re enrolled in a PGWP-eligible program.
You were outside Canada and did not travel to Canada because of the COVID-19 pandemic but were still able to take online courses.
You began a program of study between from March 2020 and August 31, 2022, or your program was already in progress in March 2020.
You have a study permit or approval for a study permit, or you have applied for a study permit for which you are eventually approved prior to starting your program.
- You can count the time you spent studying after you submitted your initial study permit application, even if it’s refused, as long as you submit another application that is eventually approved before you finish your study program.
You meet all other PGWP eligibility criteria.

This temporary policy will change as of September 1, 2022.

To find out if these changes apply to you and how, check the date

that you started your program of study
on the study permit application receipt that IRCC sent you

Whichever date comes first is the lock-in date that applies to you. Next, check the rules for distance learning for your lock-in date.

Lock-in date between September 1, 2022, and August 31, 2023

You must complete at least 50% of your program inside Canada (online or in-class).
The time spent studying outside of Canada before August 31, 2023, won’t be deducted from the length of your PGWP as long as it constitutes less than 50% of your program of study.

Lock-in date on or after September 1, 2023

You must complete at least 50% of your program in-class inside Canada.
The time spent studying outside of Canada will be deducted from the length of your PGWP.

If you’re completing 2 study programs

You’re still eligible for this temporary policy if you’re completing 2 study programs that were ongoing in March 2020 or started between March 2020 and August 31, 2022. All other program stacking policies also apply.

What doesn’t count toward the length of your PGWP

You can’t count the following time toward the length of a PGWP:

time spent studying outside Canada after August 31, 2023
time spent studying before you applied for a study permit

Distance learning from inside Canada

If your courses were moved online due to the pandemic, the time you spend studying online from within Canada until August 31, 2023, still counts toward the length of your PGWP. However, it’s highly recommended that you attend in-class options when offered.

The temporary policy change for in-Canada students studying online ends on August 31, 2023.

Taking leave from your studies

You may not be eligible for a PGWP if

you take an unauthorized leave from your study program and
IRCC find's that you didn’t meet the conditions of your study permit by taking this leave

There are a few cases where you may be able to take an authorized leave of up to 150 days from your study program and still meet the conditions of your study permit. You need to provide proof that your DLI authorized the leave when you apply for a PGWP.

Transfers between schools

If you transferred between designated learning institutions (DLIs)

The combined length of your studies must be at least 8 months for you to be eligible.

If you transferred from a non-DLI to a DLI

Only the time you spent studying at the DLI will be counted. You must spend at least 8 months at the DLI to be eligible for a PGWP.

Canadian study programs with an overseas component

If your study program has an overseas component, you may be eligible for a PGWP as long as you earn a credit from a Canadian school for it. The PGWP will only be valid for the length of the time you studied in Canada.

Flight school graduates

To be eligible for a PGWP, a flight school graduate must meet all the eligibility requirements listed above, and one of the following:

have completed a flight training course at a DLI training centre and now have a Canadian commercial pilot’s licence or
have or be in the process of getting an instructor’s rating and a job offer as a flight instructor from a DLI flight training centre

Graduates of certain Quebec schools

Quebec graduates of vocational and occupational training programs must meet the conditions listed below.

Institution

You must have graduated from a recognized

public secondary school
private secondary school or
private post-secondary school

Learn about recognized schools in Quebec.

Degrees, diplomas and certificates

To be eligible, degrees, diplomas and certificates must be issued by the Gouvernement du Québec.

These include:

from public or private secondary schools
- Diplôme d’études professionnelles (DEP—diploma in vocational studies)
- Attestation de spécialisation professionnelle (ASP—attestation of vocational specialization)
from private post-secondary schools
- Diplôme d’études collégiales (DEC—diploma in college studies)
- Attestation d’études collégiales (AEC—attestation of college studies)

Program length

The program you attended and completed must have been full-time and for at least 8 months if you completed a DEC or an AEC.

If you completed a DEP or an ASP, the program must be at least 900 hours.

Supporting documents

When you apply for a PGWP, you must include

an official letter from the school that confirms the length of the study program (in hours or months) and the program code, and either
- the certificate or official document that confirms that you completed your program or
- an official transcript from a Quebec school board or recognized private school