Hi everyone,
I’m currently in Canada on a PGWP working full time and looking into completing a fully online degree from a U.S. institution while staying in Canada. The program would be done entirely online with no physical attendance and no connection to any Canadian DLI. My understanding is that studying in Canada for more than 6 months normally requires a study permit, but that rule mainly applies to Canadian institutions, and foreign online programs seem to fall outside that scope since you are not entering the Canadian education system. My goal is to continue working full time, complete the degree remotely, and later use it for Express Entry assuming it gets assessed as equivalent to a Canadian credential through an ECA like WES.
I just want to confirm if this setup is actually fine from an IRCC perspective or if there is any risk of issues later. Specifically, has anyone here completed a full-length foreign online degree while on PGWP without a study permit and successfully used it for Express Entry? Also, at the PR stage, does IRCC ever question how the degree was completed during PGWP, or do they only look at the ECA and legitimacy of the credential? Any real experiences or clear guidance would be appreciated.
I’m currently in Canada on a PGWP working full time and looking into completing a fully online degree from a U.S. institution while staying in Canada. The program would be done entirely online with no physical attendance and no connection to any Canadian DLI. My understanding is that studying in Canada for more than 6 months normally requires a study permit, but that rule mainly applies to Canadian institutions, and foreign online programs seem to fall outside that scope since you are not entering the Canadian education system. My goal is to continue working full time, complete the degree remotely, and later use it for Express Entry assuming it gets assessed as equivalent to a Canadian credential through an ECA like WES.
I just want to confirm if this setup is actually fine from an IRCC perspective or if there is any risk of issues later. Specifically, has anyone here completed a full-length foreign online degree while on PGWP without a study permit and successfully used it for Express Entry? Also, at the PR stage, does IRCC ever question how the degree was completed during PGWP, or do they only look at the ECA and legitimacy of the credential? Any real experiences or clear guidance would be appreciated.
