Canada makes it more difficult for foreign students to get employment after grad

Canada makes it more difficult for foreign students to get employment after graduation.

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Students at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, in 2020. Photo by Unsplash/Amy Tran.

In order to restrict overseas students who want to work after graduation, Canada has limited their eligibility based on fields of study associated with persistent labour shortages.
Canada makes it more difficult for foreign students to get employment after graduation.


Changes to the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) program have been announced by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and will go into effect on November 1, 2024.

In order to be eligible for the PGWP, international students who apply for a study permit on or after that date must select subjects of study from industries with labour shortages. This greatly limits the options available to students in terms of program selection.




Students who submitted applications for or still qualify for a PGWP under the previous requirements if they had a study permit before to November 1. Students pursuing bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees can still apply for the PGWP in the same manner.

However, eligibility will now be restricted to five essential areas: skilled trades, transportation, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), healthcare, and agriculture and agri-food for college graduates and students enrolled in non-degree programs. The length of the study program will coincide with the work permit's duration.

In its October 4 statement, the IRCC listed 966 programs that are eligible to apply for PGWP.

The post-graduation work permit will no longer be available for programs in industries other than those listed, such as business, tourism, and hospitality.

Furthermore, the new rules mandate Candidates for the PGWP must exhibit language competency using the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB). University students must obtain CLB level 7, while college students need to meet CLB level 5. Test results are valid for up to two years prior to the application and include CELPIP (General), IELTS (General Training), and PTE (Core) for English and TEF Canada and TCF Canada for French.

Teachers are concerned about the changes.

Karen Dancy, Olds College's Director of Recruitment and International, emphasized the lack of hospitality programs among the qualified fields on LinkedIn, writing: "This will be catastrophic for local communities, including rural and remote areas, that rely on our college-educated international learners."

These worries were shared by Larissa Bezo, President of the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE).

She told The PIE News: "The restrictions on colleges and polytechnics reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of their crucial role in addressing labor market and community needs across Canada."

Bezo cautioned that foreign recruitment attempts may be impacted by the notion of restricted opportunities through the college system, which could discourage students from enrolling in programs that are essential to Canada's labour market.

In 2023, 70% of international students in Canada want to apply for a PGWP after finishing their studies, according to the CBIE.

Alongside more significant adjustments to Canada's student visa laws are the new PGWP restrictions. The government declared in September that it will cut the number of student visas granted by 10%, bringing the total down to 437,000 by 2025.

Students pursuing master's and doctorate degrees are subject to this restriction, with 12% of the quota designated for these levels. A provincial or territorial approval letter (PAL) will also be required for study permit applications starting in 2025.

Stricter criteria for bringing family members along are another recent adjustment; spouses of master's students enrolled in programs lasting at least 16 months are now the only ones eligible for work visas.

The Canadian government's continuous efforts to "maintain the integrity of the immigration system," as stated by Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Marc Miller, include these modifications.

Earlier this year, schools were told to only give admission letters to international students who had secured housing, and the financial threshold for study permits was raised from CAD10,000 (US$7,250) to CAD20,635.

Canada continues to draw an increasing number of foreign visitors students. According to the IRCC, there were 1,040,985 international students with valid study permits in 2023—a 29% increase from the year before. This number was higher than the government's annual goal of 950,000 students.

With 427,085 and 101,150 students, respectively, China and India continue to be the biggest sources of international students in Canada. Vietnam comes in eighth place with 17,175 students, followed by the Philippines with 48,870.


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