How long will my PGWP be valid for if I have completed more than one program of study?

New guidance by the Canadian federal government impacts the length of Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs) for foreign nationals who have graduated from more than one program of study.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued a public update to its operational instructions and guidelines for immigration officers issuing PGWPs.

Prior to these changes, it wasn’t clear how the immigration department would determine PGWP eligibility and duration for individuals who had graduated from multiple programs of study.

This article will cover:

Rules governing PGWP issuances for students with more than one program of study;
General requirements that a program of study must meet to be PGWP-eligible; and
Additional PGWP eligibility requirements based on a student’s level of study.

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PGWP issuance for students with multiple programs of study

In some cases, having completed more than one program can make you eligible for a longer PGWP, up to the maximum PGWP length of three years.

“Program stacking” is the term used by IRCC to refer to cases in which students have completed more than one PGWP-eligible program from a PGWP-eligible Designated Learning Institution (DLI).

For program-stacking to influence the duration of a PGWP, both programs must be

At least 8 months in duration; and
Completed within two years of each other (as measured from the completion dates of the program) at a PGWP-eligible DLI.

The following table breaks down how the completion of different programs impacts the duration of an issued PGWP. All situations are assumed to occur on or after November 1, 2024 (the date when IRCC issued sweeping changes to PGWP eligibility):

Example situation	PGWP duration
Completing 2 PGWP-eligible programs	Issued PGWP can be based on the duration of both programs.
Completing a first program that is not PGWP-eligible and a second program that is PGWP-eligible	Cannot benefit from program stacking. PGWP will be issued based on the duration of the PGWP-eligible program only.
Completing a first program that is PGWP-eligible and a second program that is not PGWP-eligible	Cannot benefit from program stacking. PGWP will be issued based on the duration of the PGWP-eligible program only.

In situations where a student has completed more than one program of study, and only one program is PGWP-eligible, the student can receive a PGWP based only on the duration of the eligible program.

Importantly, if a student completes the PGWP-eligible program first, and the ineligible program second, then because the second program is not PGWP-eligible, the student must still apply for their work permit within 180 days of receiving confirmation that they have completed the first (PGWP-eligible) program.

What makes a program of study PGWP-eligible?

The issuance and duration of a PGWP is always contingent (among other things) on the program of study that a student graduates from, how long that program was, and whether said program meets the needed requirements to receive a work permit.

The duration of validity for a PGWP is generally tied to the duration of the program of study that a student has completed.

For a program of study in Canada to lead to a PGWP, it must:

Be at least eight months long;
Not be delivered through a curriculum-licensing agreement;
Lead to a degree, diploma, or certificate;
Be an academic, vocational, or professional training program; and
Be completed at an eligible post-secondary DLI, such as
- a college;
- a trade or technical school;
- a university;
- a CEGEP (in Quebec);
- a private post-secondary school (in Quebec) operating under the same rules as public schools in Quebec;
- a private secondary or post-secondary school (in Quebec) that offers qualifying programs of 900 hours or longer and results in the student being awarded a diplôme d’études professionnelles (DEP) or an attestation de spécialisation professionnelle (ASP); or
- a Canadian private school that can award degrees under provincial law (for example, an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree) but only if the student was enrolled in a study program that leads to a degree as authorized by the province.

DLIs are the only schools in Canada that are authorized to accept international students.

The above list is not an exhaustive account of PGWP eligibility criteria. For PGWP conditions surrounding students, needed documentation, and more, visit our dedicated webpage.

Additional rules for PGWP-eligibility based on level of study

On November 1, 2024, IRCC made sweeping changes to PGWP eligibility. In addition to adding a field of study requirement for students in college programs and certain university vocational programs, the immigration department also instituted language-testing criteria for all new international graduates.

Whether a student must meet field of study requirements is based on when they applied for their study permit. All study permit applications submitted after November 1, 2024, will be subject to field of study requirements, based on their level of study.

These changes are summarized here:

PGWP Eligibility requirements (Study permit application submitted before Nov. 1, 2024):

Level of study	Language requirements	Field of study requirements
University bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral programs	English or French language proficiency equivalent to a level 7 CLB/NCLC in all four language abilities.	N/A
University programs not listed above	English or French language proficiency equivalent to a level 7 CLB/NCLC in all four language abilities.	N/A
College program or non-university program	English or French language proficiency equivalent to a level 5 CLB/NCLC in all four language abilities.	N/A

PGWP Eligibility requirements (Study permit application submitted after Nov. 1, 2024):

Level of study	Language requirements	Field of study requirements
University bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral programs	English or French language proficiency equivalent to a level 7 CLB/NCLC in all four language abilities.	N/A
University programs not listed above	English or French language proficiency equivalent to a level 7 CLB/NCLC in all four language abilities.	Must have graduated from an eligible field of study.
College program or other non-university program	English or French language proficiency equivalent to a level 5 CLB/NCLC in all four language abilities.	Must have graduated from an eligible field of study.

Schedule a Free Work Permit Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm