+1(514) 937-9445 or Toll-free (Canada & US) +1 (888) 947-9445

Help needed regarding PGWP (part time in last 3 semesters)

S.A.7

Star Member
Feb 28, 2012
58
13
Hi everyone. I know this issue has been discussed here in the past but i feel that my situation is a bit different so here i am looking for advice. So a little background. I have had to change 3 universities since i came to Canada in 2012. So i first came to a College called FIC and enrolled in a university transfer program. It is a transfer college located at SFU campus in Burnaby, British Columbia. After 2 years at FIC, i finally transferred to SFU in BA Economics program. After a couple of terms at SFU, i realized that i wanted to get into Accounting so I moved to another university after Fall 2015 (December) term at SFU and enrolled in 2 years Accounting Diploma. But since the international admissions take a while, i had to take Winter 2016 (January) semester off because i did not get the admission in time. Moving on, i completed my diploma just after 2 terms and graduated in Fall 2015 since i transferred most of my courses from FIC. At this point, I could have applied for a post graduate work permit but after consulting friends and family i decided to complete full Bachelors degree and moved to another university since it was cheaper. Again, this time i could not make the deadline and had to take Winter 2016 (January) semester off. During my time at this new university, there was this one course that i could not pass after 2 attempts and the problem is that it is a pre requisite for 2 more required courses that i have to take. Since i completed all of the other courses, i had to be a part time student in my previous term Fall 2018 (December) and was enrolled in 7.5 credits. Currently i am enrolled in only one course at my previous university (course that i failed twice) because i could not take it at my current university because there is a limit of two attempts. Thank you so much for reading this. I'm almost done. Anyways, next semester Summer 2019 would be my last semester and i will take my remaining 2 courses after i transfer this prerequisite course to my current university.
(1) My question is that have i messed up my chances of getting a pgwp because i will have my last 3 terms as part time and taking 2 winter semesters off earlier in 2015 and 2016 even though i have a valid reasons for it.
(2) Would applying online or flagpole be better in my case. I am more inclined towards flagpoling since at least i could explain myself to the CBSA agent that all of these reasons were valid. In the online application, i just feel like even if i attach a letter of explaination, the immigration officer might not even give it a read.

I just found out about this rule this week and have been so stressed out and can't even focus on anything. After spending 7 years in Canada and paying over a 100 grand in tuition, i just might not be given the opportunity to stay. Just the thought of it is giving me chills. Why my school never told me about this rule when i was part time that you can't be a part time being an international student and if you do here are the consequences. No one thinks about a pgwp unless you're actually going to apply for it near graduation time. I appreciate everyone who read this and I apologize for going into detail but i thought it was necessary for understanding my situation. Waiting for advice from all the amazing people here. Thank You!
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
92,967
20,564
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
Yes - your PGWP is going to be refused. Even two part time semesters would result in refusal. Only one part time semester is allowed.

Flagpoling works well for straight-forward cases where a student has been full time throughout their studies. I would certainly not recommend flagpoling in your case.

I would honestly focus on trying to find an employer who is willing to give you a job offer and obtain an approved LMIA. You'll need to secure a closed work permit if you want to remain in Canada and work after you complete your studies.
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
92,967
20,564
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
Just to add - the issue probably won't be the breaks you took - it will be the three part time semesters during your current program.

My advice to you would be to make sure you take a full course load next semester (take extra classes even if you don't need them) - that way you will only have two part time semesters. It will most likely still end in refusal - but it's probably worth a try.
 

S.A.7

Star Member
Feb 28, 2012
58
13
Scylla,
Thank you so much for your reply. So i changed my story a little bit to not make it confusing for everyone to understand. Without going into extra details what really happened was that i had 3 courses in my previous term (Fall 2018,December term) (3+3+1.5) with 7.5 total credits. And in my current semester i am taking 2 courses (6 credits) at my current university and 1 course repeating (that i failed) at my previous university that has 3 credits. So technically, i am a full time student this term. I went to see my academic adviser today and she said since ircc has this university on your file only, we will report you as a part time student. She advised me to put the transcript of that one course as a supporting document at the time of applying pgwp. So long story short, i feel like i can justify this in the letter of explanation that i was indeed a full time student in Winter 2019 (current term) and it's just that my college on file reported me part time because i was taking one course at another college. And i really like your advice that i should take an extra course in my last term summer 2019 even though i will have 2 remaining. Other than this i have always been a full time student ever since i joined my current college with 4-5 courses in most of the terms. So the only term in question is one part time term with 7.5 credits instead of 9 which was my previous term fall 2018 December. Do you think one part time term can affect my case even though i was short of just 1.5 credits?
Again, thank you so much scylla for reading all this. I really appreciate your help.
 

S.A.7

Star Member
Feb 28, 2012
58
13
Just to add - the issue probably won't be the breaks you took - it will be the three part time semesters during your current program.

My advice to you would be to make sure you take a full course load next semester (take extra classes even if you don't need them) - that way you will only have two part time semesters. It will most likely still end in refusal - but it's probably worth a try.

Scylla,
Thank you so much for your reply. So i changed my story a little bit to not make it confusing for everyone to understand. Without going into extra details what really happened was that i had 3 courses in my previous term (Fall 2018,December term) (3+3+1.5) with 7.5 total credits. And in my current semester i am taking 2 courses (6 credits) at my current university and 1 course repeating (that i failed) at my previous university that has 3 credits. So technically, i am a full time student this term. I went to see my academic adviser today and she said since ircc has this university on your file only, we will report you as a part time student. She advised me to put the transcript of that one course as a supporting document at the time of applying pgwp. So long story short, i feel like i can justify this in the letter of explanation that i was indeed a full time student in Winter 2019 (current term) and it's just that my college on file reported me part time because i was taking one course at another college. And i really like your advice that i should take an extra course in my last term summer 2019 even though i will have 2 remaining. Other than this i have always been a full time student ever since i joined my current college with 4-5 courses in most of the terms. So the only term in question is one part time term with 7.5 credits instead of 9 which was my previous term fall 2018 December. Do you think one part time term can affect my case even though i was short of just 1.5 credits?
Again, thank you so much scylla for reading all this. I really appreciate your help.
 

S.A.7

Star Member
Feb 28, 2012
58
13
There is 100% chance that your pgwp will be refused. Like scylla said finding an employer who can help with LMIA will be your best bet.

i got my pgwp refused just because i took 1 break. so ya here i am now without any status applying for restoration as a visitor and i have no idea what is going to happen. Just being positive and hopeful
Thanks for your reply sush. Can you provide any details regarding your case? Did you apply online or flagpole? and when did you take your break?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aneep Kumar

S.A.7

Star Member
Feb 28, 2012
58
13
My course was 3 semester. i took break right after my 1st semester. Not by choice though. i was a little late for my registration for 2nd semester and i the seats were full. i went back to school for summer and fall and finished my course.

I kind of felt this was coming because the cic website states that if you take break you aren't eligible for work permit. but i still applied and ended up getting rejected.

i applied online btw as i didn't wanted to take chances with cbsa while flag polling as i had already come across the post in the cic website.
I guess it really depends on the immigration officer. A friend of mine also took a few semesters off other than summer and he was granted a 3 year pgwp after applying online. so i won't know for sure until i apply. do you know if you can apply again after a refusal?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aneep Kumar

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
92,967
20,564
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
Scylla,
Thank you so much for your reply. So i changed my story a little bit to not make it confusing for everyone to understand. Without going into extra details what really happened was that i had 3 courses in my previous term (Fall 2018,December term) (3+3+1.5) with 7.5 total credits. And in my current semester i am taking 2 courses (6 credits) at my current university and 1 course repeating (that i failed) at my previous university that has 3 credits. So technically, i am a full time student this term. I went to see my academic adviser today and she said since ircc has this university on your file only, we will report you as a part time student. She advised me to put the transcript of that one course as a supporting document at the time of applying pgwp. So long story short, i feel like i can justify this in the letter of explanation that i was indeed a full time student in Winter 2019 (current term) and it's just that my college on file reported me part time because i was taking one course at another college. And i really like your advice that i should take an extra course in my last term summer 2019 even though i will have 2 remaining. Other than this i have always been a full time student ever since i joined my current college with 4-5 courses in most of the terms. So the only term in question is one part time term with 7.5 credits instead of 9 which was my previous term fall 2018 December. Do you think one part time term can affect my case even though i was short of just 1.5 credits?
Again, thank you so much scylla for reading all this. I really appreciate your help.
I would absolutely make certain that you are a full time student in your last semester.

Technically the rules say that you are only allowed 1 part time semester and that can only be your last semester. You already have 1 part time semester in the middle of your studies. You must avoid getting a second part time semester and then hope the officer processing your application doesn't go exactly by the rules and approves a PGWP even though your part time semester was in the middle of your studies.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aneep Kumar

Aneep Kumar

Hero Member
Mar 14, 2018
475
80
Ottawa
Hi everyone. I know this issue has been discussed here in the past but i feel that my situation is a bit different so here i am looking for advice. So a little background. I have had to change 3 universities since i came to Canada in 2012. So i first came to a College called FIC and enrolled in a university transfer program. It is a transfer college located at SFU campus in Burnaby, British Columbia. After 2 years at FIC, i finally transferred to SFU in BA Economics program. After a couple of terms at SFU, i realized that i wanted to get into Accounting so I moved to another university after Fall 2015 (December) term at SFU and enrolled in 2 years Accounting Diploma. But since the international admissions take a while, i had to take Winter 2016 (January) semester off because i did not get the admission in time. Moving on, i completed my diploma just after 2 terms and graduated in Fall 2015 since i transferred most of my courses from FIC. At this point, I could have applied for a post graduate work permit but after consulting friends and family i decided to complete full Bachelors degree and moved to another university since it was cheaper. Again, this time i could not make the deadline and had to take Winter 2016 (January) semester off. During my time at this new university, there was this one course that i could not pass after 2 attempts and the problem is that it is a pre requisite for 2 more required courses that i have to take. Since i completed all of the other courses, i had to be a part time student in my previous term Fall 2018 (December) and was enrolled in 7.5 credits. Currently i am enrolled in only one course at my previous university (course that i failed twice) because i could not take it at my current university because there is a limit of two attempts. Thank you so much for reading this. I'm almost done. Anyways, next semester Summer 2019 would be my last semester and i will take my remaining 2 courses after i transfer this prerequisite course to my current university.
(1) My question is that have i messed up my chances of getting a pgwp because i will have my last 3 terms as part time and taking 2 winter semesters off earlier in 2015 and 2016 even though i have a valid reasons for it.
(2) Would applying online or flagpole be better in my case. I am more inclined towards flagpoling since at least i could explain myself to the CBSA agent that all of these reasons were valid. In the online application, i just feel like even if i attach a letter of explaination, the immigration officer might not even give it a read.

I just found out about this rule this week and have been so stressed out and can't even focus on anything. After spending 7 years in Canada and paying over a 100 grand in tuition, i just might not be given the opportunity to stay. Just the thought of it is giving me chills. Why my school never told me about this rule when i was part time that you can't be a part time being an international student and if you do here are the consequences. No one thinks about a pgwp unless you're actually going to apply for it near graduation time. I appreciate everyone who read this and I apologize for going into detail but i thought it was necessary for understanding my situation. Waiting for advice from all the amazing people here. Thank You!
I would like to know if your course was full time when you started or not ? And What were you doing when you were complaining the course requirements ?
 

hkang12

Hero Member
May 7, 2019
314
48
Hey i might be in same situation. i did co op in second last semester and two courses in last semester. My college-mates told me i’ll be considered full time when i did coop and im eligible for pgwp. please reply give me guide
 

russ6970

VIP Member
Sep 14, 2017
3,067
627
Newfoundland
Category........
FAM
LANDED..........
31-12-2020
Hey i might be in same situation. i did co op in second last semester and two courses in last semester. My college-mates told me i’ll be considered full time when i did coop and im eligible for pgwp. please reply give me guide
Were you part-time?
 

hkang12

Hero Member
May 7, 2019
314
48
i was part time in last semester in which i took two courses. but in second last semester i was doing co op with a coop work permit. im confused and worried
 

russ6970

VIP Member
Sep 14, 2017
3,067
627
Newfoundland
Category........
FAM
LANDED..........
31-12-2020
Co-op is not considered part-time as far as I know. Usually work full-time. If you were only part-time in one semester, you should be fine.
 

hkang12

Hero Member
May 7, 2019
314
48
I was worried about co op semester. hopefully i get approved i applied on may 16 with explanation letter explaining my co op with my co op work permit.