Employers happy about Canada's new PGWP rule

It’s well-known that Canada gives international students coming to study in Canada the opportunity to work in the country after graduation with the PGWP. Apart from being a ticket to finding work in Canada and making a career, it also leads to the opportunity to become a Canada PR.

The advantages of work experience in Canada are reflected in the better chances at immigration they gain in immigration events such as Express Entry draws and PNP draws. In Express Entry, having a Canadian work experience adds points to the CRS score, which is how the ranking of a candidate’s profile in the Express Entry pool is done. In the case of PNP, those with education in Canada, and Canadian work experience get better chances of success to apply for a Canada PR visa.

Among Canadian employers, PGWP candidates are favored more as PGWP visa holders have Canadian education and work experience. This helps employers to avoid the costly and lengthy process of LMIA which is a must for recruiting foreign workers. The LMIA is basically a process of undertaking by the Canadian employers that they are seeking foreign workers to fill job openings because competent candidates weren’t found amongst Canadians.

Nevertheless, though the employers benefit from recruiting PGWP candidates in the beginning, the limited duration of the permit will require them to apply for LMIA after the expiry of the PGWP. This will be a necessary step for the employer before the worker candidate can apply for a fresh work permit that’s employer-specific.

The new policy

To overcome the disadvantage just mentioned, the Canadian government has introduced a new policy. It lets former international students whose PGWP has expired or is expiring to apply for a fresh open work permit.

The new open work permit will be of 18months duration. Those who want to apply for it must meet the following criteria:

• The candidate is in Canada
• The candidate must either have a PGWP that has met with expiry on or after January 30, 2020,if not a PGWP that’s up for expiry in 4 months or less from the date of application
• The candidate has a temporary status that’s valid if not applying to restore his/her status

The application process for the new visa opens on January 27, 2021. It will be active till July 27, 2021.

With this new facility, Canadian employers can retain foreign workers on PGWP without going through the LMIA process.

If you are looking to Study, Work, Visit, Invest or Migrate to Canada, talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No.1 Immigration & Visa Company.

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Note:

PGWP – Post Graduate Work Permit

PR – Permanent Resident

PNP – Provincial Nominee Program

LMIA – Labor Market Impact Assessment