LENGTH OF STUDY

[kennykay]

Please, what is the difference between a program of study for ONE YEAR/ 3 SEMESTERS and one for ONE YEAR/ 2 SEMESTERS? Will the PGWP reflect the ONE YEAR irrespective of the number of semesters?

 

[DesiPikachu]

Why would semesters matter. Total length of study is what matters.

 

[Geet7]

Why would semesters matter. Total length of study is what matters.

Could you help clarify something? Some college degrees are advertised as "2 year programs" but the real duration of studies is not actually 24 months.

How does IRCC determine how long did you study? Do you inform them about the quantity of terms studied? Credits? Hours? How do they know if they have to issue a 1 year or 3 years PGWP?

 

[DesiPikachu]

Could you help clarify something? Some college degrees are advertised as "2 year programs" but the real duration of studies is not actually 24 months.

How does IRCC determine how long did you study? Do you inform them about the quantity of terms studied? Credits? Hours? How do they know if they have to issue a 1 year or 3 years PGWP?

2 years are 2 academic years in almost all cases. A 2 year program is usually 16 months in length, in terms of the "real" duration, if there are no/negligible breaks in-between semesters.

To determine how many years of PGWP you qualify for, they follow this guide (see the 2nd link under the heading "Determining the length of the post-graduation work permit"):

• https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/study-permits/post-graduation-work-permit-program.html
• https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/study-permits/post-graduation-work-permit-program/permit.html
• https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/study-permits/post-graduation-work-permit-program/eligibility.html

 

[andrews17]

Could you help clarify something? Some college degrees are advertised as "2 year programs" but the real duration of studies is not actually 24 months.

How does IRCC determine how long did you study? Do you inform them about the quantity of terms studied? Credits? Hours? How do they know if they have to issue a 1 year or 3 years PGWP?

One year of study means 2 semesters, which are 4 months each, 8 months in total.
2-year study programs are 4 semesters or 16 months.
2-year programs normally take summer breaks, so you end up studying for 16 months and having two 4-month breaks in between. But some are called "fast-track" programs that don't have summer breaks, so they take 16 months to complete (4 consecutive semesters).

For 1-year programs, you get 1 year of PGWP
For 2-year programs, you get 2-3 years PGWP (as stated by IRCC, but I've heard almost everyone gets three years).
For 3-year programs, you get 3 years of PGWP.

Not sure about 4-year programs.

 

[Geet7]

One year of study means 2 semesters, which are 4 months each, 8 months in total.
2-year study programs are 4 semesters or 16 months.
2-year programs normally take summer breaks, so you end up studying for 16 months and having two 4-month breaks in between. But some are called "fast-track" programs that don't have summer breaks, so they take 16 months to complete (4 consecutive semesters).

For 1-year programs, you get 1 year of PGWP
For 2-year programs, you get 2-3 years PGWP (as stated by IRCC, but I've heard almost everyone gets three years).
For 3-year programs, you get 3 years of PGWP.

Not sure about 4-year programs.

Thank's! My wife is studying a 2 year Ontario College Diploma with 5 terms:

Jan 2023 - Term 1 (15 weeks)
May 2023 - Term 2 (15 weeks)
Sep 2023 - Term 3 (5 week externship)
Jan 2024 - Term 4 (15 weeks)
May 2024 - Term 5 (15 weeks)

Under this criteria, I believe she should receive a PGWP of 3 years (or 2 at the least).

Thank you for your help!

 

[RamSatt]

Could you help clarify something? Some college degrees are advertised as "2 year programs" but the real duration of studies is not actually 24 months.

How does IRCC determine how long did you study? Do you inform them about the quantity of terms studied? Credits? Hours? How do they know if they have to issue a 1 year or 3 years PGWP?

You attach a copy of your transcript when you apply for PGWP, right? That helps the immigration officer verify the length of the program. Plenty of colleges and universities have one-year programs which are 2 or 3 terms, depending on whether they have a scheduled summer break or classes during the summer term. I believe the factors in too.

I did a two-year program, that was actually only 16 months, because we didn't have a summer break. It was 4 terms, back to back. I attached my transcript that clearly mentioned the term lengths and durations and got a 3-year PGWP.