What an excellent idea! -Jennifer
International students who have failed to secure coveted Canadian job experience due to the pandemic will be given another shot at meeting a necessary requirement for permanent residence, says Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino.
On Friday, Ottawa will launch a temporary policy to allow international students with an expired or expiring post-graduate work permit to apply for a new permit that will be valid for 18 months.
International students who graduate from a designated Canadian post-secondary college or university are eligible for a work permit that lasts between one and three years, depending on the duration of their academic programs.
Canadian education credentials and work experience have become increasingly crucial for foreign nationals looking to apply for permanent residence in Canada, which rewards those qualifications with bonus points in the immigrant-selection process.
In 2019, more than 58,000 international students who graduated from a Canadian institution successfully applied to immigrate permanently.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019 and 2020 cohort was left to confront a grim job market and many international graduates were let go from their employment.
Hence, they found themselves unable to fulfil their Canadian work experience requirement and faced the prospect of having to leave Canada in spite of their investments of money and time.
The tuition fees of international students are generally three to four times above what domestic students pay. The students contribute more than $21 billion annually to the Canadian economy and international education has become a default pathway for immigration to Canada.