Based on my research (which I did a lot of), the moment you receive confirmation of completion of studies, you should stop working right away. Once you apply for the PGWP and while waiting for decision, you can then continue working. In the period between fully completing your studies and applying for the pgwp, you are not allowed to work I believe.
Post Graduate Work Permit Processing Time (PGWP)
- Thread starter A_Smile
- Start date
Thanks for your response, someone else has an opposite opinion, do you have any reference ?
Can I work while I am waiting to receive my post-graduation work permit?
You can work full-time while waiting for a decision on your post-graduation work permit application if, at the time you submitted your application, you:
- had a valid study permit,
- had completed your program of study,
- were eligible to work off-campus without a permit, and
- did not work off-campus more than 20 hours a week during academic sessions.
When you applied and got an email saying your application has been updated, were you able to keep a track of your application through your cic acc? Cause I can't. I login every time and it doesn't show the status of my application. It's really weird.
As long as your study permit is valid you can continue working (my study permit was valid for a month after I graduated). After I finished my studies I asked the college to send me a letter of confirmation right away, which they did, and then I immediately applied for the PGWP. I continued working and got an email regarding this from the CIC to prove it was legal.
Confirmed on sept 16
Saw it turn on updated on last Friday but turn back to submitted, now still nothing....
Saw it turn on updated on last Friday but turn back to submitted, now still nothing....
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Thank you very much for your response. I have graduated a couple of days ago. I would like to apply for PGWP. my passport and study permit are valid until Feb 2018. since PGWP is not renewed and issued only one time for 3 years, I do not want to lose the opportunity to have 3years work permit. I need to wait a couple of weeks to renew my passport and then apply for PGWP, but certainly I will apply within 3months after graduation. I was wondering if I could work in these weeks until I get my new passport and apply for PGWP?
You have to apply first for the PGWP with a valid study permit to be under implied status and be able to work.
Paragraph 186(w) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) allows students who have completed their program of study to work while they are waiting for a decision on their work permit application, as long as they were a full-time student enrolled at a designated learning institution (DLI) in a post-secondary academic, vocational or professional training program and they did not exceed the allowable hours of work.
This is correct, but the fact that your passport expires so soon, might go against you, as it has with others on the forum.
My suggestion would be to go ahead and apply for you PGWP as soon as possible. You owuld then get your permit till the expiry date of your passport. Post that get your passport renewed and apply for extension of your work permit duration. Note you are not applying for a new permit, merely extension which should be allowable. Experts please comment.
Anybody know how long it takes for the work permit to arrive in the mail. I stay in Toronto. I've heard that it takes around 2 weeks. Is that true?
I got mine within a week. I thought that was really fast. I am in Newfoundland