Implications of Maternity Leave during Study

[Shahidmustafa197]

Hello Everyone;

My wife got enrolled in Winter Term 2018 at a Canadian university for her P.hD.

She is expecting a baby in February. University has following rule for maternity leave;

She can get 4 months to One year maternity leave officially.

If she avail above options what will be its implications on Study permit as she got study permit up to end of 2019. and what consequences she can face in future specially from CIC.

Regards,

 

[scylla]

Her study permit will be automatically canceled once she stops attending school for more than 90 days. If she plans to stop attending for more than 90 days, she should apply to change her status to visitor to ensure she doesn't fall out of status in Canada. Once she is ready to start attending school again, she will need to apply for a new study permit.

You should assume that taking a break in her studies will impact her ability to get a PGWP once she completes her studies. To qualify for a PGWP, your studies must be continuous.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Her study permit won't be cancelled if the school approves the leave and reports her status to IRCC as an "Authorized Leave".

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/partners-service-providers/educational-institutions/designated-learning-institution-portal/compliance-reporting-guide.html

Authorized leave

The student has formally requested and received an approval to be temporarily absent from the institution, such as medical leave, maternity leave or any other type of leave where the student has a formally authorized leave by the DLI.

 

[canuck78]

She hasn't started her program how can she get leave? Also depending on what province you arrived in you may be responsible for the cost of delivery. Given that she knew she was pregnant I find it slightly suspicious that she applied to start her program in the 9th month of her pregnancy. No PhD program would ask you to start knowing you would be 9 months pregnant and would apply for leave. They would defer your admission for the next year. When taking a student or two a year per adviser you don't accept them if they don't plan on studying for the first year because you depend on the students to teach classes or be a TA. It doesn't sound like she attended the PhD program if her husband is asking the question now. She would have had a conversation with her adviser and university a long time ago about what the policy for maternity leave was and how they would make adjustment to her studies. I also wonder how they got past the medical screening while pregnant because the application was made while she was already pregnant.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

She hasn't started her program how can she get leave? Also depending on what province you arrived in you may be responsible for the cost of delivery. Given that she knew she was pregnant I find it slightly suspicious that she applied to start her program in the 9th month of her pregnancy. No PhD program would ask you to start knowing you would be 9 months pregnant and would apply for leave. They would defer your admission for the next year. When taking a student or two a year per adviser you don't accept them if they don't plan on studying for the first year because you depend on the students to teach classes or be a TA. It doesn't sound like she attended the PhD program if her husband is asking the question now. She would have had a conversation with her adviser and university a long time ago about what the policy for maternity leave was and how they would make adjustment to her studies. I also wonder how they got past the medical screening while pregnant because the application was made while she was already pregnant.

How do you know she hasn't started? Winter 2018 started last month.

Perhaps she didn't know she was pregnant when she applied for the PhD program. Or perhaps she knew and is planning to take a short leave and resume her studies. Either way, there is no way a university would have told her she would not be able to start her program because of her pregnancy.

As per OP's post, she has already found out about the maternity leave policy. They are on here asking about status concerns, something which a lot of universities really don't have a lot of knowledge on; many simply refer students to the IRCC Call Centre.

It is entirely possible to do the medical while pregnant and pregnancy is not a reason for refusal. Or perhaps they are from a country where a medical is not required.

 

[canuck78]

The baby was born in January. There is no PhD supervisor or university would say start your PhD for 2-3 weeks then take 4 months to a year off. They wouls say defer your application until you want to start studying. Maternity leave policy is not for someone Who has spent 2-3 weeks studying. Also this shouls/would have been discussed with the program coordinator and supervisor once she knew she was pregnant and her due date not on this forum after the baby was born.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

The baby was born in January. There is no PhD supervisor or university would say start your PhD for 2-3 weeks then take 4 months to a year off. They wouls say defer your application until you want to start studying. Maternity leave policy is not for someone Who has spent 2-3 weeks studying. Also this shouls/would have been discussed with the program coordinator and supervisor once she knew she was pregnant and her due date not on this forum after the baby was born.

The university can't tell her she is not allowed to start her program because she is pregnant.

So you must be familiar with the exact policy of maternity leave for every university in Canada to make such a statement. Tell me, what is the minimum amount of time one must be studying to qualify for maternity leave at each university in Canada? Are there exemptions for premature births?

Yeah, they should have found all of this out earlier. No one has said that they shouldn't have.

 

[canuck78]

You need an advisor for your PhD. If your advisor knows you are pregnant and you plan on taking leave right after you begin they can decide to work with another student. Most parental leave for graduate students start at the beginning of the semester. If you are asking for leave before attending the program you are essentially deferring enrolment not taking leave. There is another thread where the father is trying to get a passport for the baby who was just born.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

You need an advisor for your PhD. If your advisor knows you are pregnant and you plan on taking leave right after you begin they can decide to work with another student. Most parental leave for graduate students start at the beginning of the semester. If you are asking for leave before attending the program you are essentially deferring enrolment not taking leave. There is another thread where the father is trying to get a passport for the baby who was just born.

A professor telling a student "You can't study because you are pregnant" is akin to an employer telling a job applicant "We aren't hiring you because you are pregnant". It isn't going to happen. If the professor found out about the pregnancy BEFORE officially taking on the student, then they could find an alternate refusal reason.

While leave generally starts at the beginning of a term, that is not universal. It can start at different times. Again, you don't know that the student didn't start her program.

OP really hasn't provided much info to go on in all of his threads to be able to know the full situation. He stated in the first post of this thread that the child was expected in February and stated a few days later in the other thread that the child had been born in Jan, so perhaps she has given birth prematurely.

My point is that making assumptions and then commenting based on those assumptions is not helpful.

 

[canuck78]

Point taken. Obviously would not discriminate but most of the PhD offers there is an agreement about start date, when the student would teach or be a TA. Neither person would be able to live up to the commitments and so would often part ways or agree to defer or part ways. January birth for February due date is probably a full term or at the very least preterm and not premature. In all university courses if it is a foreseen absence you have to take the semester off. The only exception would probably be if it the research/thesis part of a graduate degree with no teaching or TAing involved. I think we both can agree that this family should be very aware of what is going on with the PhD because they normally should have had discussions with program director and advisor in the 2nd trimester of her pregnancy.

 

[canuck78]

Also unless you are planning on leaving Canada you are not asking people how fast you can get a birth certificate and passport for your newborn. If you arrive in December (think it was mid or late December), have your baby in January and then want a passport right away seems like the PhD is not really the priority. Hope I am wrong and she returns to start her PhD. Sure there is one super pissed professor.

 

[Shahidmustafa197]

Also unless you are planning on leaving Canada you are not asking people how fast you can get a birth certificate and passport for your newborn. If you arrive in December (think it was mid or late December), have your baby in January and then want a passport right away seems like the PhD is not really the priority. Hope I am wrong and she returns to start her PhD. Sure there is one super pissed professor.

Dear, all above discussion is on speculations and hypothesis.

Ph.D is the priority and the purpose to ask you people is just for knowledge.

and no one is interested in PGWP. Intention is to back to home country and have bright future ahead.

Asking about Passport is for planning to visit some religious points in summer vacations.