Immigration Operational Bulletin 659 – October 29, 2018

This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.

Students from a 1‑year international business management program and a 4‑month freight forwarding and logistics program at the same public college (new public policy)

Summary

On October 26, 2018, Minister Ahmed Hussen established a public policy for a group of international graduates who became ineligible for the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program (PGWPP), due to misinformation regarding their program of study and eligibility for the PGWPP. The public policy does both of the following:

  • facilitates the issuance of open work permits
  • facilitates the restoration of students’ temporary resident status

To be eligible for consideration under the public policy, applications for an open work permit (from inside or outside Canada) and applications for restoration of status (if applicable) must be made by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), on December 31, 2018.

Issue

The purpose of this operational bulletin is to provide operational instructions for submitting and processing applications for an open work permit and applications for restoration of status (if applicable) that fall within the scope of the Public policy concerning individuals who partook in a 1‑year international business management program and a 4‑month freight forwarding and logistics program at the same public college.

Background

A group of international public college graduates became ineligible for the PGWPP, due to misinformation regarding their program of study and eligibility for the PGWPP.

The PGWPP requires that a program of study completed at an eligible institution must be at least 8 months in length. Additionally, the application must be submitted within 90 days of receiving written confirmation of program completion. The duration of the post-graduation work permit is calculated based on the length of the program of study.

International public college graduates who completed a 1‑year international business management program and a separate, 4‑month freight forwarding and logistics program at the same public college believed they would be eligible for a post-graduation work permit.

However, as the freight forwarding and logistics program is only 4 months in duration, it was found not to meet the minimum 8‑month duration needed to render the student eligible for a post‑graduation work permit. Furthermore, where the 90‑day application eligibility period following the completion of the 1‑year international business management program had elapsed, these graduates were no longer considered eligible to apply for a work permit, based on that credential.

This has negatively impacted these international graduates by limiting their access to the PGWPP. The disruption this has caused these international graduates warrants facilitative action from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Therefore, on October 26, 2018, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship established a public policy, under section 25.2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, to facilitate the issuance of open work permits and the restoration of temporary resident status for a group of international graduates who became ineligible for the PGWPP, due to misinformation regarding their program of study and eligibility for the PGWPP. The public policy came into force on October 26, 2018, and will end on December 31, 2018.

Public policy – Eligibility criteria and conditions

International graduates are eligible for consideration if they meet the following eligibility criteria and conditions under the Public policy concerning individuals who partook in a 1‑year international business management program and a 4‑month freight forwarding and logistics program at the same public college:

International graduates who have had their post-graduation work permit refused

  • The student’s post-graduation work permit was refused between July 25, 2018, and the date this public policy was published (October 29, 2018).
  • The only reason for the refusal was that more than 90 days had elapsed since the student received confirmation that they completed the international business management program at their public college.
  • The student received confirmation of program completion of a 1‑year international business management program at their public college and subsequently received notification of completion of a 4‑month freight forwarding and logistics program, offered by the same public college, between August 1, 2017, and September 30, 2018.
  • The student has not previously been issued a post-graduation work permit.
  • The student applied for facilitation under this public policy by 11:59 p.m. ET, on December 31, 2018.

International graduates who have not yet applied for a post-graduation work permit or have not yet received a decision on their post-graduation work permit application

  • The student completed a 1‑year international business management program at a public college, between August 1, 2017, and June 1, 2018.
  • The student completed a subsequent 4‑month freight forwarding and logistics program, on or before August 31, 2018, at the same public college, following the international business management program.
  • The student would have qualified for a post-graduation work permit if they had applied for it within 90 days of receiving confirmation that they completed the international business management program.
  • The student applied for a post-graduation work permit within 90 days of having received confirmation of completion of the freight forwarding and logistics program, or they have applied for facilitation, under this public policy, within 90 days of receiving written confirmation of completion of the freight forwarding and logistics program from their public college.
  • The student has not previously been issued a post-graduation work permit.
  • The student applied for facilitation, under this public policy, by 11:59 p.m. ET, on December 31, 2018.

Note: International graduates will be required to self-identify as eligible for consideration, under the public policy, based on the eligibility criteria and conditions set out in the public policy by writing “Public policy for international graduates ineligible for the PGWPP” on the first page of the correspondence or application.

Processing instructions

Note: Applications for this public policy will not be accepted at ports of entry (POEs). All applicants who are applying under this public policy at a POE should be referred to the Case Processing Centre in Edmonton to apply.

Post-graduation work permit applicants who have not yet received a decision on their application

International graduates can withdraw their post-graduation work permit application if they have applied under the public policy and have not yet received a decision on their post-graduation work permit application

Note: Applicants who withdraw their application before the processing has begun may receive a refund.

If an application under the public policy is submitted, and the post-graduation work permit application has not been withdrawn by 11:59 p.m. ET, on December 31, 2018, the post-graduation work permit application should be processed under the post-graduation work permit guidelines.

In-Canada applications

The public policy authorizes officers to exempt eligible applicants from the requirement that an application for a work permit must be made from outside Canada. Therefore, eligible international graduates can apply for the open work permit from within Canada.

As this is not a post-graduation work permit, applicants are not required to have a valid study permit at the time of application.

Restoration of status

The public policy authorizes officers to waive the requirement that an application to restore temporary resident status must be made within 90 days of losing temporary resident status. Therefore, if an eligible international graduate in Canada is without status and is past their 90‑day restoration period, they can still apply for restoration and an open work permit, under the public policy.

Medical exams

Applicants must provide evidence of a medical exam if either of the following circumstances applies:

  • The applicant is requesting an open work permit to allow them to work in a designated occupation.
  • The applicant visited or lived in a designated country for more than 6 months during the past year.

If no evidence of a medical exam is provided at the time of application because the above circumstances do not apply, the officer should issue the open work permit, with the condition that the applicant is restricted from working in occupations that would require a medical exam if all other eligibility criteria were met.

If the applicant has a valid medical exam on file, and they have not visited or lived in a designated country for more than 6 months since they underwent the medical exam, the officer should issue the open work permit, with the condition that the applicant is allowed to work in occupations that would require a medical exam if all other eligibility criteria were met.

See Who must submit to an immigration medical exam? for additional information on medical exam requirements for temporary residents.

A complete list of panel physicians is available through the Find a Panel Physician tool. Panel physicians are independent from IRCC and set their own fees, which are not exempt under this public policy.

Issuing an open work permit under the public policy

Officers should take the following steps when issuing a work permit under the new public policy:

  1. Confirm the applicant is eligible for consideration, under the public policy.
  2. If a copy of the applicant’s post-graduation work permit refusal letter, dated between July 25, 2018, and October 29, 2018, is not included in the application, the application should not be refused. The officer should refer to the refusal letter on file, in the previous application, in the Global Case Management System (GCMS).
  3. If evidence that the applicant submitted a post-graduation work permit application within 90 days of having received confirmation of completion of the freight forwarding and logistics program from their public college is not included in the application, the application should not be refused. The officer should refer to the list of the previous applications in GCMS.
  4. If an officer is issuing an open work permit outside Canada, they should enter “Public policy for refused PGWPP applicants” on the work permit’s notes, so officers at the POE will be aware that the work permit was issued under the public policy.
  5. When determining the validity of the open work permit, officers must assess each application under this public policy on a case by case basis, but it should generally be 2 years.

Special system coding

Special system coding is in effect to track applications and transactions that are linked to this public policy. The use of the following special program coding is mandatory and must be used in GCMS to track all related applications that are processed:

  • PP-PGWP

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