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PGWP & SOWP for international student and spouse

vubq123

Star Member
Dec 28, 2018
195
31
Category........
CEC
AOR Received.
09-05-2020
Hello Everyone,

Hope you guys are having a good holiday!

I have a question about Post Graduation Work Permit and Spousal Open Work Permit, please advise.

I am a fulltime student with Study Permit and will be graduated 05/2019. My wife is currently staying with me in Canada under the Spousal Open Work Permit. Both permits are valid until 31/7/2019. I am working part-time and will be full-time (job NOC B) after finish my study (5/2019). So my question is I will have to apply for the PGWP first and then wait for 3 payslips (6 weeks) to extend the SOWP for my wife, is that correct?

It seems like the processing time for PGWP is getting longer. So if I apply for the PGWP in May and the processing time is more than 2 months, my wife's current SOWP will be expired before I obtain the PGWP and be able to extend the work permit for her.

Could you guys please give me some advice?

Many thanks.
 

vubq123

Star Member
Dec 28, 2018
195
31
Category........
CEC
AOR Received.
09-05-2020
Hello Everyone,

Anyone has any suggestion, please.
 

canuck_in_uk

VIP Member
May 4, 2012
31,558
7,196
Visa Office......
London
App. Filed.......
06/12
Hello Everyone,

Hope you guys are having a good holiday!

I have a question about Post Graduation Work Permit and Spousal Open Work Permit, please advise.

I am a fulltime student with Study Permit and will be graduated 05/2019. My wife is currently staying with me in Canada under the Spousal Open Work Permit. Both permits are valid until 31/7/2019. I am working part-time and will be full-time (job NOC B) after finish my study (5/2019). So my question is I will have to apply for the PGWP first and then wait for 3 payslips (6 weeks) to extend the SOWP for my wife, is that correct?

It seems like the processing time for PGWP is getting longer. So if I apply for the PGWP in May and the processing time is more than 2 months, my wife's current SOWP will be expired before I obtain the PGWP and be able to extend the work permit for her.

Could you guys please give me some advice?

Many thanks.
Hi

You can't work full-time after graduation until you actually apply for a PGWP. If your current job is NOC B, then you don't need to wait and can apply together.

Otherwise, your wife can apply to change her status to visitor before her current work permit expires.
 
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vubq123

Star Member
Dec 28, 2018
195
31
Category........
CEC
AOR Received.
09-05-2020
Hi

You can't work full-time after graduation until you actually apply for a PGWP. If your current job is NOC B, then you don't need to wait and can apply together.

Otherwise, your wife can apply to change her status to visitor before her current work permit expires.
Hi,

Thank you for your reply.
I understand that I will only work full time after graduation. What do you mean by "you don't need to wait and can apply together."?
My question is "Is there any ways I can obtain the PGWP quickly after graduation? Should I consider flagpole?

Regards.
 

canuck_in_uk

VIP Member
May 4, 2012
31,558
7,196
Visa Office......
London
App. Filed.......
06/12
Hi,

Thank you for your reply.
I understand that I will only work full time after graduation. What do you mean by "you don't need to wait and can apply together."?
My question is "Is there any ways I can obtain the PGWP quickly after graduation? Should I consider flagpole?

Regards.
Again, you can't work full-time until after you apply for a PGWP. Just graduating doesn't allow you to work full-time. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/study-permits/campus-work.html#off-campus

Exactly as I said: if you already have a NOC B job, you can apply together for PGWP and OWP.
 
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vubq123

Star Member
Dec 28, 2018
195
31
Category........
CEC
AOR Received.
09-05-2020
Again, you can't work full-time until after you apply for a PGWP. Just graduating doesn't allow you to work full-time. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/study-permits/campus-work.html#off-campus

Exactly as I said: if you already have a NOC B job, you can apply together for PGWP and OWP.
e
Hi,

Oh Sorry, I knew that I will only be eligible to work fulltime after applying for the PGWP. my expression might be not clear.

I thought we must have a NOC B job, AND 3 Payslips in hand to apply for OWP. I didn't know that we can apply for PGWP and OWP at the same time if we have a NOC B job.
 

canuck_in_uk

VIP Member
May 4, 2012
31,558
7,196
Visa Office......
London
App. Filed.......
06/12
e
Hi,

Oh Sorry, I knew that I will only be eligible to work fulltime after applying for the PGWP. my expression might be not clear.

I thought we must have a NOC B job, AND 3 Payslips in hand to apply for OWP. I didn't know that we can apply for PGWP and OWP at the same time if we have a NOC B job.
You need the payslips, hence why I said "If your current job is NOC B". Presumably, you will already have 3 payslips from your current job by the time you apply in May.

If the current job is not skilled, then you will need to wait until you have the payslips from your new job.
 
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vubq123

Star Member
Dec 28, 2018
195
31
Category........
CEC
AOR Received.
09-05-2020
You need the payslips, hence why I said "If your current job is NOC B". Presumably, you will already have 3 payslips from your current job by the time you apply in May.

If the current job is not skilled, then you will need to wait until you have the payslips from your new job.
You are right that I will already have 3 payslips job NOC B by that time. The problem is those payslips are for part-time job only, as I am currently working part-time 20hr/week. The requirement is a full-time job and 3 payslips.
 

canuck_in_uk

VIP Member
May 4, 2012
31,558
7,196
Visa Office......
London
App. Filed.......
06/12
You are right that I will already have 3 payslips job NOC B by that time. The problem is those payslips are for part-time job only, as I am currently working part-time 20hr/week. The requirement is a full-time job and 3 payslips.
The requirement is a skilled job and payslips. There is nothing requiring that the job be full-time.
 

mad_max666

Newbie
Jan 15, 2019
4
2
The requirement is a skilled job and payslips. There is nothing requiring that the job be full-time.
Lately some students' spouses OWP that I know were rejected due to part-time jobs of the primary applicant. So former student A had a part-time job in NOC 0, A, B, applied for PGWP, submitted 3 payslips, employment letter, all the documents from the college/university, and they did receive the PGWP, but the spouses did not receive the OWP.

And this question also worries me, because nothing is said apart from the category and 3 payslips, and somehow people are being rejected. I really hope that it is something else in their application than the part-time job, and you can never tell unless you have seen the application.
 

canuck_in_uk

VIP Member
May 4, 2012
31,558
7,196
Visa Office......
London
App. Filed.......
06/12
Lately some students' spouses OWP that I know were rejected due to part-time jobs of the primary applicant. So former student A had a part-time job in NOC 0, A, B, applied for PGWP, submitted 3 payslips, employment letter, all the documents from the college/university, and they did receive the PGWP, but the spouses did not receive the OWP.

And this question also worries me, because nothing is said apart from the category and 3 payslips, and somehow people are being rejected. I really hope that it is something else in their application than the part-time job, and you can never tell unless you have seen the application.
There is nothing in the law requiring the job be full-time, so if people are saying that is the reason for refusal, then they need to fight that.
 

azcuna

Star Member
Dec 3, 2018
64
8
You need the payslips, hence why I said "If your current job is NOC B". Presumably, you will already have 3 payslips from your current job by the time you apply in May.

If the current job is not skilled, then you will need to wait until you have the payslips from your new job.
Hi Canuck, should I assume that you mean it's okay to apply OWP for the wife even if the student applied for PGWP with job level C and below? They just need to wait for the 3 payslips?

Thank you
 

canuck_in_uk

VIP Member
May 4, 2012
31,558
7,196
Visa Office......
London
App. Filed.......
06/12
Hi Canuck, should I assume that you mean it's okay to apply OWP for the wife even if the student applied for PGWP with job level C and below? They just need to wait for the 3 payslips?

Thank you
No. As stated, the job must be skilled for the spouse to qualify for an OWP.
 

mad_max666

Newbie
Jan 15, 2019
4
2

canuck_in_uk

VIP Member
May 4, 2012
31,558
7,196
Visa Office......
London
App. Filed.......
06/12
Any advice in how to fight it?
Also, since I have a similar case as the person who started this topic, can you please take a look of the thread I started and give me your opinion?

https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/pgwp-sowp.606329/

Thank you.
File a complaint with IRCC. I've never seen someone refused because of being part-time and it is not a requirement stated anywhere by IRCC or in the law, so unless someone shows you a refusal letter from IRCC specifically stating that as the refusal reason, I have serious doubts about what they are telling you.