Who can apply

You aren’t eligible for a PGWP if you

• already received a PGWP
• studied English or French as a second language
• took general interest or self-improvement courses
• received funding or a scholarship from GAC that requires you to return to your home country after graduation
• completed over 50% of your 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 course or program of study at a DLI that is not PGWP-eligible
  • This includes programs delivered on behalf of a PGWP-eligible DLI through a curriculum licensing agreement (also known as public ­private partnerships, or P3s). Check the special cases below for exceptions.

Language requirement:

You must prove your English or French language skills with a minimum level of Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) 7 in English or Niveaux de competence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) 7 in French in all 4 language areas.

Find out what your language level is based on your language test results.

Field of study requirement:

There are no field of study requirements for university graduates with a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or doctoral degree.

Language requirement:

You must prove your English or French language skills with a minimum level of Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) 7 in English or Niveaux de competence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) 7 in French in all 4 language areas.

Find out what your language level is based on your language test results.

Field of study requirement:

If you submit your study permit application on or after November 1, 2024, you must graduate in an eligible field of study.

Language requirement:

You must prove your English or French language skills with a minimum level of Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) 5 in English or Niveaux de competence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) 5 in French in all 4 language areas.

Find out what your language level is based on your language test results.

Field of study requirement:

If you submitted your study permit application on or after November 1, 2024, you must have graduated in an eligible field of study.

If you graduated from a flight school, you must also meet one of the following requirements:

• You completed a flight training course at a DLI training centre and now have a Canadian commercial pilot’s license or
• You have or are getting an instructor’s rating and have a job offer as a flight instructor from a DLI flight training centre

There are no language or field of study requirements for graduates from a PGWP-eligible flight school.

You’re eligible to apply if you meet all other eligibility requirements and are a graduate living in Canada.

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 either

• 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 may be eligible to apply for a PGWP as a graduate outside of Canada if you meet the eligibility requirements for distance learning.

If you completed your study program in Canada, you may also leave and then apply for your PGWP from outside Canada.

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 was 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 March 2020 and August 31, 2022, or your program was already in progress in March 2020.
• You applied for a study permit before starting your program and the application was approved before your program ended.
  • 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 changed 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 we 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.

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 online from outside Canada after August 31, 2024
• time spent studying before we receive your study permit application

Distance learning from inside Canada

If your courses were moved online due to the pandemic, the time you spent studying online from within Canada until August 31, 2024 , still counts toward the length of your PGWP.

The temporary policy change for in-Canada students studying online ended on August 31, 2024.

These agreements allow students to graduate from a program that was delivered by a private career college on behalf of a public PGWP-eligible institution. These programs are not PGWP-eligible in most cases (check exceptions below).

You may not be eligible for a PGWP if

• you take an unauthorized leave from your study program and
• we find 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.

Find out what counts as an authorized leave from your studies.

If you transferred between designated learning institutions (DLIs)

The 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.

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.

When you apply for a PGWP, you must include

• an official letter from the school that confirms the length of the study program 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