New Measures for Extending PGWP Open Work Permits
Posted on 04/08/2022
In April of 2022, IRCC announced that international graduates in Canada whose temporary status expired or will expire from January to December of 2022 would get the opportunity to apply for open work permits to extend their working period in Canada by 18 months, making it easier for them to apply for permanent residence while still working in Canada.
A new announcement in early August now makes it even easier for international graduates in Canada (or even those that have left Canada in certain cases as we’ll explain below) with the following new measures:
When does your PGWP expire? | Address & Passport? | What you have to do |
Oct 2 – Dec 31 2022 | Address is up to date & passport valid through April 2024 | Nothing. Do NOT reply to IRCC asking you to confirm your mailing address (that is for people who need to update their mailing address). You will be automatically mailed your updated work permit in mid-October. |
Oct 2 – Dec 31 2022 | Address needs to be updated and/or passport needs to be renewed (i.e. it expires before April 2, 2024) | Reply to the IRCC email asking you to confirm your address by letting them know your address needs to be updated. In September you’ll be emailed instructions on how to update your address and extend your passport in your online account. You’ll have a 2-week window to do this. Once you’ve done this, you’ll receive your updated work permit in mid-November. If you applied for your PGWP on paper, make sure you link your paper application to your online account at IRCC. Go here for more information on how to do this. |
Oct 2 – Dec 31 2022 | Address and/or passport won’t be able to be updated. | You have to apply online (go here) to extend your work permit. You can either:
· Extend your work permit until the date your current passport expires, OR · Renew your passport and then apply online to extend your work permit for the full 18 months. |
Oct 2 – Dec 31 2022 | IRCC hasn’t contacted me and it’s mid-September | If IRCC does not contact you by mid-September it means they are reviewing your eligibility to remain in Canada, for example because of questions about your admissibility to Canada. However, you can still apply online (go here) to extend your work permit. |
Sep 20 2021 – Oct 1 2022 | You need to apply online to extend your work permit. If your status in Canada has expired you need to also apply at the same time to extend your temporary status in Canada. NOTE: You can still restore your status even if it expired more than 90 days ago. |
Please note: all applications must be submitted by December 31, 2022. You CANNOT apply to extend your PGWP at a Port of Entry.
Please also note: You can apply from outside Canada as long as you return to Canada if and when your extension is approved and as long as you have a valid temporary resident visa.
Interim Work Authorization Emails
If your PGWP has expired since September 20, 2021, OR will expire by December 31, 2022, you will receive an email from IRCC authorizing you to work temporarily until you get your new updated open work permit.
- Show this interim work authorization email to your employer to allow you to continue working or to resume working, while you wait for your PGWP extension to be approved.
- This interim work authorization email does NOT grant you valid status. If your temporary status has expired, you need to apply to restore your status at the same time as you apply for your open work permit extension.
- This one-time measure will remain in effect until May 31, 2023.
- As we mentioned in the table above, you can restore your status even if it has been more than 90 days since your status in Canada expired.
- If you happen to be outside Canada, you can return to Canada to resume working with this email. However, you must have a valid temporary resident visa to do so. This email CANNOT act as a visa – it is only to be used to show your employer that you can continue or resume working in Canada while you wait for your PGWP extension to be approved.
Open Work Permits for Applicants Using a Temporary Residence to Permanent Residence (TR to PR) Pathway
If you have applied for permanent residence using one of these TR to PR pathways and are still waiting for your application to be approved, you are eligible to apply for an open work permit.
- Your open work permit can remain valid until December 31, 2024, as long as your passport is still valid on that date.
- If you are a TR to PR applicant who has already applied for and received an open work permit under a previous December 31, 2022 deadline, you will be receiving an email from IRCC explaining that you may be able to update your open work permit to extend the expiry date to December 31, 2024. You should get your updated open work permit by mid-October.
- However, if your passport will expire before December 31, 2024, then you won’t receive this email. You will instead have to either:
- Apply for an extension of your open work permit up to the date your passport expires, OR
- Renew your passport and then apply for an updated open work permit expiring on December 31, 2024.
- Go to this IRCC page for more information for TR to PR pathway applicants on how to apply for an updated open work permit.
Posted in News Tips and tagged PGWP extension, PGWP restoration, TR-PR work permit