The Feds Are Making It Easier For International Students To Stay In Canada With New Work Permits

It's about to get easier for former international students in Canada to remain in the country thanks to a new post-graduation work permit introduced by the federal government.

On Friday, April 22, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced its plan to "fill hundreds of thousands of vacant positions in all sectors across the country."

As part of the process to address Canada's labour shortage, the feds laid out a policy for an additional open work permit of up to 18 months.

It will be available to former international students who are in Canada and have a post-graduation work permit expiring between January and December 2022.

"We are exploring a simplified, expeditious process for this, and details will be made available in the weeks ahead," read the notice.

The open work permit is expected to start in summer 2022.

Around 95,000 post-graduation work permits are set to expire between the qualifying dates, with officials expecting around 50,000 applicants for the new temporary measure.

Explaining the reasons for making it easier for former students to stay in Canada, IRCC explained, "These talented and skilled international graduates play a vital role in addressing our labour shortage, and those nearing the end of their post-graduation work permit are already well-integrated into Canada’s labour market and work in key industries across the country."

According to the federal agency, "tens of thousands" of people transition to permanent residence each year, including as many as 157,000 former students in 2021.

According to the government, the additional open work permit will enable applicants to "continue contributing to the Canadian economy, helping address our labour shortage while gaining valuable work experience and preparing their Express Entry profiles."

As part of the same announcement, IRCC confirmed that Express Entry draws will resume "soon," with invitations for candidates to apply for permanent residence expected to begin in July.

In April, Canada announced it would be bumping up the fees for new permanent residents in line with a 2020 policy that adjusts the figures every two years for inflation.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.