Canada’s Immigration Policy Expands Perks for Foreign Indian Students
International students in Canada who have a postgraduate work permit expiring between January and December 2022 are eligible for an additional open work permit for up to 18 months beginning in the summer of 2022. This allows recent international graduates on temporary status to extend their stay in Canada.
According to an official press release, Secretary of Immigration Sean Fraser announced a new temporary policy for foreign students, allowing them to gain work experience and increase their chances of obtaining permanent Canadian residency.
New benefits for foreign students studying in the country entitles to resume Express Entry and draws for Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) and Federal Skilled Trades (FST) candidates from early July 2022.
According to Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Express Entry processing times currently range from seven to 20 months. Canada will process several major Express Entry applications within six months of submission.
Indians continue to benefit most from PR and student visas. Under the ‘Express Entry’ trajectory, Indians received 50,841 invitations in 2020 to apply for permanent residence in Canada. Nearly 100,000 Indians became permanent residents of Canada in 2021, when the country welcomed a record 405,000 new immigrants.
This move is part of a larger initiative to enable PGWP holders to stay in Canada for an extended period of time, gain work experience and increase their chances of gaining permanent status. As the Express Entry draws for Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates have been put on hold since September, many PGWP holders whose permit is about to expire are forced to seek a new work permit, their quit your job or leave the country.
Officials will release details in the coming weeks.
About 95,000 PGWPs expire in 2022 and this new open work permit could help up to 50,000 PGWP holders. Candidates are no longer required to remain in Canada while processing their applications.
“We are investigating a simpler, accelerated process for this,” says IRCC.
IRCC will extend the permit validity until the end of 2024 for people applying for an open work permit pending the processing of their PR application. It is usually not renewable or renewable.