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New PGWP Requirements for International Students

Posted on 08/10/2024

Things are changing fast for international students in Canada. As of the writing of this blog, in October 2024, open work permits for spouses of international students have been restricted, the cost-of-living requirements have been raised, and DLIs now have to confirm every letter of acceptance of an international student with immigration authorities. We let you know about these changes, and now you also have to be aware of the following change.

Language requirements – as of November 1, 2024, you must provide proof of language ability as part of your application for Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP), such as CELPIP, IELTS and PTE Core for English and TCF and TEF for French. If you graduated from a university program, master’s degree or doctoral degree, you must prove your English or French language skills with a minimum level of CLB/NCLC 7 in all 4 language areas of speaking, reading, writing and listening. If you graduated from a college program, you will be required of CLB/NCLC 5 in all 4 language areas.

Program restrictions – on and after November 1, 2024, there will be restrictions in the study field of college and university non-degreee programs. If your study program has what is called a field of study requirement, this now means that an international student must graduate from a program in an occupation that is forecast to have long-term shortages in Canada, in order to qualify for a Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP).

The list of occupations with projected shortages includes 5 general areas of study:

  • Agriculture & agri-food
  • Healthcare
  • Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM)
  • Trade (as in the trades like electrician or welder)
  • Transport

Agriculture & agri-food has approximately 50 occupations listed. Healthcare has over 500 occupations listed. STEM has around 300 occupations listed. Trade has around 50 occupations listed, and Transport has between 20 and 30 occupations listed. This clearly shows that the government of Canada expects Healthcare and STEM occupations to have the largest shortages over the longer term in Canada.

In other words, if you haven’t yet applied for a study permit, you should make sure your area of study is within the projected future occupational shortages, especially if you plan on working in Canada after you graduate. As well, if permanent residence status is your goal, consider studying in a province other than Ontario or BC where you can more easily obtain permanent residence. This of course will depend on your study program and which school in Canada best fits your needs as an international student.

There is no field of study restrictions if you graduated from a university Bachelor, Master’s or Doctorial program. But you may still want to put a pause when choosing the program if you intent to apply for permanent residence in Canada. It may serve you better if the program you select aligns with the projected skill shortages in Canada.

Finally, if you wish to work through the list of occupations, go here to see which occupations are currently projected to have future shortages in Canada. There’s almost  970 of them, so make sure to take your time and review the list to find an area and a program that matches your interests and goals.

Posted in News Tips and tagged PGWP

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