Am I eligible for Post Graduation Work Permit?

[harshsparikh]

Hi

My situation is :

I started my winter term 2018 at Seneca College completed my first semester but failed in one of the course and hence I have to re-take that course in order to qualify for semester 2.

As the course (otherwise, I cannot move on to semester 2) was not available in May Intake I had to take a break from May-September,

Now I am going to start with that one course in september hence I will be part-time student for that period and after I clear it I can move on to second semester 2 in winter 2019 which will complete in April 2019.

And then continue with my second program from May 2019 to Dec 2019.

I just realized that in the future there are higher chances for my pgwp to be rejected since I was not a continuous full-time student because I will have only one course from September 2018 to December 2018.

This situation is making me tense please advise me, I didn't take summer break on purpose but the course was not available thats why i took off.

Please advise me.

Thanks

 

[bongoman]

Technically you are not eligible for PGWP.
Also did you skip an entire semester without any courses? And then do another semester with one course only? When was the scheduled break for the year?
Generally there are no exceptions except in maybe medical circumstances but it is up to the immigration officer looking at your file to decide.

 

[harshsparikh]

I did my semester 1 as it is as a whole, from jan 2018 to april 2018 but since I failed in one of the courses which was a prerequisite for semester 2 , I couldnt continue with semester 2 and had to take summer break since it was not offered in summer, now will continue with that one course in september then proceed with semester 2 in winter 2019.

How can my pgwp rejected since this was not on purpose?

Please explain and what i can do to resolve this?

 

[bongoman]

Unfortunately purpose doesnt come into the decision making the officer is going to see 2 semesters in your transcript where you did almost nothing and by the rules that is a clear violation.

Like I said the officer a lot of discretion and can decide to grant it anyway but they are usually strict, I think only half of PGWPs are actually granted since they started enforcing the rules. You can include a letter of explanation in your application.

It cant be fixed at this point as far as I know.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I did my semester 1 as it is as a whole, from jan 2018 to april 2018 but since I failed in one of the courses which was a prerequisite for semester 2 , I couldnt continue with semester 2 and had to take summer break since it was not offered in summer, now will continue with that one course in september then proceed with semester 2 in winter 2019.

How can my pgwp rejected since this was not on purpose?

Please explain and what i can do to resolve this?

You can't do anything to resolve it. It may not have been on purpose but it was your fault that you failed.

Also note that if you worked when you were not a full-time student, you worked illegally.

 

[harshsparikh]

International Student Services from my college told me that I can work from May - Sept since I was on schedule break as the course was not offered.

But I am aware I cannot work from Sept-Dec since I am not a full time-time student.

 

[bongoman]

So was May-September an actual scheduled break at your school or did you take May-September off because you could not continue with the semester because you failed previous semester? It seems you are providing conflicting information.
Scheduled break means the regular time every student gets off from school, were your classmates also on break at this time? If it was a scheduled break then you actually only spent one semester as part time which is still breaking PGWP rules but a little better I think.

 

[bongoman]

Also can you increase your courses for september- dec so sou are full time? It can be any courses not necessarily your program courses, that's what I would do at this point.

 

[jasz_blr]

This is the reason I suggest everyone to enroll in an institution and a program where your status doesn't gets diluted by the number of credits or courses you take in a particular term.

 

[bongoman]

It doesnt actually matter what your school classifies you as, it you take one course and schools says you are fulltime IRCC will make their own determination that you are not really full time and will refuse your PGWP.
I am surprised that failing one course means you cant do any course in the next semester, is this normal?

 

[harshsparikh]

No May-Sept was off because I couldn't continue with the semester since I failed one of the course and my classmates were not on break since they passed all courses required for semester 2.

Schedule Break term was used by my school since the course was not offered that's why I am on a break as told by my international services department.

Increasing number of courses ould it really help, since I am on verge of completing my break which is from may-sept.

This is just so worse than I thought I cannot understand one course in which I failed which was also prerequisite would mean this much to my future, which is also dying now.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

No May-Sept was off because I couldn't continue with the semester since I failed one of the course and my classmates were not on break since they passed all courses required for semester 2.

Schedule Break term was used by my school since the course was not offered that's why I am on a break as told by my international services department.

Increasing number of courses ould it really help, since I am on verge of completing my break which is from may-sept.

This is just so worse than I thought I cannot understand one course in which I failed which was also prerequisite would mean this much to my future, which is also dying now.

If the rest of your classmates in your program aren't also on break, it is NOT a scheduled break. You are working illegally.

 

[bongoman]

Increasing number of courses ould it really help, since I am on verge of completing my break which is from may-sept.

I mean increase courses for next semester september-dec so that you don't have 2 missing semesters in a row.

 

[bongoman]

If the rest of your classmates in your program aren't also on break, it is NOT a scheduled break. You are working illegally.

This is my understanding as well, he dropped the semester it is not the same as scheduled break.

 

[jasz_blr]

It doesnt actually matter what your school classifies you as, it you take one course and schools says you are fulltime IRCC will make their own determination that you are not really full time and will refuse your PGWP.

Mr. Bongoman,

I get what you are trying to say. But, the CIC/IRCC/Officer has to work as per the Regulations and Operational Instructions & Guidelines. They cannot make decision based on their individual beliefs. Upon denial they have to quote the exact Part/Division/Chapter/Section/Sub-Section/Clause/Sub-Clause/Paragraph/Sub-Paragraph number under which PGWP is denied.

I have searched enough, but have not found the definition of 'Full-Time Student' status by CIC/IRCC. They do not define it and they subscribe to the definition of 'Full-Time Student' as defined by the institution.

Based on the program (Bachelors, Masters, PhD, Diploma, Certificate etc.) the course load in each term will vary. Not only program but the stream of study you choose, such as Management, Medical, Engineering, Law, etc., will have different course load in each term. In such scenarios, the maximum or minimum number of courses or credits that are allowed varies between institutions. Hence, it is difficult for CIC/IRCC to come up with uniform definition of 'Full-Time Student' status.

Moreover, in Masters programs with Thesis or Projects the number of courses are drastically less. Further, the particular courses, which a Graduate Student is interested in, may not be offered in Summer Term itself. In such scenario, the Graduate Student has no option other than to skip the Summer Term. Universities do not convert the status of such students to Part-Time. Majority of the time, very few courses are offered in Summer term and students register for Fall+Winter terms. I don't see a reason why Officer will raise flag in this known fact.

I would welcome to hear expert views on this.