A new petition has been introduced in the House of Commons, asking to extend the post-graduation work permits (PGWPs) for international students studying in Canada. The petition was presented by Ruby Sahota, a Member of Parliament from Brampton North Liberal Caucus Ontario, and introduced by Kanwar Sumit Singh Sierah, an Ontario resident from Mississauga and a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC), under the petition e4454.
The petition wants to extend the Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) to five years for students who study in Canada for at least two years, and to two years for those who complete a one-year program.
So far, the petition has collected 24,349 signatures from all Canadian provinces and territories. Ontario has the highest number of signatures, with 16,686.
Since 2017, international students who finish a two-year program at a designated learning institution (DLI) have been given a four-and-a-half-year work permit after graduation. This extension was part of the Public Policy for PGWP, which originally offered a three-year permit with an eighteen-month extension. In 2019, students who finish a one-year program started receiving a two-and-a-half-year work permit after graduating. Initially, it was a one-year permit with an eighteen-month extension.
The petition says Canada should let international students stay longer after graduation to work, just like other work permit programs. They think this will help students learn more skills while they’re studying.
Graduates who don’t have work experience often find it hard to get good jobs after finishing their studies. This can make PGWP holders feel stressed and anxious if they can’t find the right job and might be taken advantage of. Extending the PGWP duration would help solve these problems by giving graduates more time to gain skills and work experience.
Extending the PGWP duration for foreign graduates in Canada would help them learn valuable skills and tackle important issues like businesses selling job offers, LMIA fraud, and misuse of dummy payrolls by fake employees.
For example, current PGWP holders from various countries, including Nigeria, find it hard to get good jobs. This makes them feel more stressed and unsure because the PGWP only lasts for a limited time.
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