Indian research student applying for PR

[PM_2019]

Hello all,

I'm an international (Indian) student currently in the US pursuing Ph.D. (residing since 3 years now). I've been formally employed as a full-time graduate assistant for over two years and was wondering if anyone with a similar profile has applied for a Canadian PR. I'm curious about the government's consideration of a research/teaching assistantship as full-time employment:
- does 40h/week suffice to be considered full-time status in Canada?
- is IELTS academic score accepted as is IELTS general?

Looking forward to hearing from similar students!

 

[scylla]

Hello all,

I'm an international (Indian) student currently in the US pursuing Ph.D. (residing since 3 years now). I've been formally employed as a full-time graduate assistant for over two years and was wondering if anyone with a similar profile has applied for a Canadian PR. I'm curious about the government's consideration of a research/teaching assistantship as full-time employment:
- does 40h/week suffice to be considered full-time status in Canada?
- is IELTS academic score accepted as is IELTS general?

Looking forward to hearing from similar students!

- Yes, 40 hours per week will be classified as full time (anything above 30 is full time).
- No, academic IELTS will not be accepted.

 

[jes_ON]

Hello all,

I'm an international (Indian) student currently in the US pursuing Ph.D. (residing since 3 years now). I've been formally employed as a full-time graduate assistant for over two years and was wondering if anyone with a similar profile has applied for a Canadian PR. I'm curious about the government's consideration of a research/teaching assistantship as full-time employment:
- does 40h/week suffice to be considered full-time status in Canada?
- is IELTS academic score accepted as is IELTS general?

In the US, the norm is to limit the number of hours worked for graduate students, e.g. 20 hours per week. I personally have never heard of a grad student being permitted to officially work 40 hours per week (although many work much longer of course). As well, there are limits on international students, depending on type of visa. You can be sure that IRCC is well aware of this.

The number of hours you can claim is dependent on the number of hours you can document (e.g. what the university is willing to put into writing).

For IRCC, 30 or more hours per week is full-time. But you can also count part-time work experience (it is prorated based on 30 hours per week). So for example, if you worked 15 hours per week for 2 years, that would be the equivalent of 1 year of full-time experience.