Worked Before Study Permit Renewal Approved — Need Advice

[tahmidfaiyajchowdhury]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been going through a tough time lately, and I’m genuinely worried about my PGWP application. I wanted to share my situation here and ask if anyone has faced something similar or has any advice.

Here’s my story:

• I applied to renew my study permit in August 2024 while still in school.
• I officially completed my program on January 10, 2025, and got my completion letter from the university shortly after.
• On January 20, 2025, I applied for my Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP), thinking I had followed all the proper steps.
• At that time, my study permit had not yet been renewed—it was in "applied" status, so I was technically on implied status.
• Then came a job opportunity I couldn’t ignore. I got a Manager position and started working on March 2, 2025. I truly believed I was allowed to work full-time while waiting for my PGWP decision, since I had applied and completed my program.
• I submitted my job offer letter and first payroll to IRCC through a webform right after joining.
• My study permit renewal got approved on March 26, 2025, and I submitted that approval to IRCC as well on March 31, 2025.

But just recently, I came across this line on the IRCC website (about working while waiting for your PGWP), and it hit me hard: "You can work full-time only if you had a valid study permit at the time of PGWP application."

That’s where my fear comes in — because when I applied for my PGWP on Jan 20, 2025, I did not have a valid study permit, just implied status. So technically, I didn’t meet the first condition. And since I worked between March 2 and March 25, before the renewed study permit was officially approved, I’m scared this might lead to a PGWP refusal or worse.

To make things more complicated, my wife is here on a spousal work permit, and her application is also in process, linked to mine. I'm worried that any issue with mine could affect hers as well. At this point, I honestly don’t know if anything can be done. I’ve already submitted all documents proactively and disclosed everything via webforms, but this technicality is haunting me. If anyone has been through something similar, or has legal insight or advice — even if it’s hard truth — I’d be grateful to hear it.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Naturgrl]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been going through a tough time lately, and I’m genuinely worried about my PGWP application. I wanted to share my situation here and ask if anyone has faced something similar or has any advice.

Here’s my story:

• I applied to renew my study permit in August 2024 while still in school.
• I officially completed my program on January 10, 2025, and got my completion letter from the university shortly after.
• On January 20, 2025, I applied for my Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP), thinking I had followed all the proper steps.
• At that time, my study permit had not yet been renewed—it was in "applied" status, so I was technically on implied status.
• Then came a job opportunity I couldn’t ignore. I got a Manager position and started working on March 2, 2025. I truly believed I was allowed to work full-time while waiting for my PGWP decision, since I had applied and completed my program.
• I submitted my job offer letter and first payroll to IRCC through a webform right after joining.
• My study permit renewal got approved on March 26, 2025, and I submitted that approval to IRCC as well on March 31, 2025.

But just recently, I came across this line on the IRCC website (about working while waiting for your PGWP), and it hit me hard: "You can work full-time only if you had a valid study permit at the time of PGWP application."

That’s where my fear comes in — because when I applied for my PGWP on Jan 20, 2025, I did not have a valid study permit, just implied status. So technically, I didn’t meet the first condition. And since I worked between March 2 and March 25, before the renewed study permit was officially approved, I’m scared this might lead to a PGWP refusal or worse.

To make things more complicated, my wife is here on a spousal work permit, and her application is also in process, linked to mine. I'm worried that any issue with mine could affect hers as well. At this point, I honestly don’t know if anything can be done. I’ve already submitted all documents proactively and disclosed everything via webforms, but this technicality is haunting me. If anyone has been through something similar, or has legal insight or advice — even if it’s hard truth — I’d be grateful to hear it.

Thanks for reading.

So you worked without a work permit for how long? You cannot work until PGWP (if you applied as a student on implied status) is approved, and you had to stop working once you received completion letter.

Having an approved study permit on March 31 doesn't change anything. You didn't have a valid study permit at the time of PGWP application so even when extension was approved that didn't allow you to start working. You have been working a long time illegally. Hopefully it will work out. Assume you stopped working and employers are aware that you have been working with authorization for many months.

Get a lawyer for professional advice.