Post-Graduation Work Permit Application

I already got a full time job before graduation. My internship required for my Information Technology Business Analysis program is just 7 weeks but the company I applied gave me 4 months contract. Full time offer is pending until my internship contract is finished and I have a valid work permit. Because of this, I want to secure my Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) as soon as I can.

A PGWP is an open work permit which means that you can work for any employer in any province you would want. You must apply for a post-graduation work permit within 90 days of receiving written confirmation from your educational institution that you have met the requirements for completing your academic program. (Update Feb 14, 2019: International graduates of eligible Canadian schools now have 180 days to apply for a PGWP.) The length of the PGWP that will be given will depend on the duration of your program in Canada. If you study full-time for one year, your PGWP will also be one year. If you study 2 years (full-time), you will be given 3 years PGWP. That is why it is ideal to study for 2 years so you will have enough points and time to apply for Permanent Residency. In my case, I didn't really have that choice since I don't have enough money to sustain myself for another year. So I just took the risk and took a 1 year program. By the way, the length of the program is referring to academic year and not calendar year. So my 1 year program is technically just 10 months (base on calendar year), but it is a one academic year program. More details of Post-Graduation Work Permit can be found in this link.

Two days after my graduation, June 22, 2018, I submitted my online application for my PGWP. These are the documents that I submitted online:

1. Form IMM5710 (Application Form) - this can be found/downloaded in the official Canada Immigration website.

2. Scanned Proof of Program Completion - I attached my Final Transcript of Records and my Graduate Certificate from NBCC

3. Scanned Passport - Bio page and the Canada Visa stamp

4. Scanned Study Permit

5. Digital Photo - you can go to Walmart, Shoppers or Jean Coutu shops to have your photo taken

6. Client Information or Letter of Explanation - this is optional but I submitted this to give more context of my application

*Note: If you intend on working in healthcare or childcare, a proof of medical may be required. I suggest to always check CIC website for updates.

Total cost for Post-Graduation Work Permit is $255 and average processing time during my application was 53 days. I received my PGWP approval notification exactly on the 53rd day of my application, August 13, 2018. I received the actual/hard copy of my Work Permit in my mail after 2 days.

I was expecting that my work permit will only be up to June 2019 since I finished my program on June 2018. But I got up to December 12, 2019.

Here are the links of my references and guide when I processed my Post-Graduation Work Permit:

https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/student/intl/docs/immigration/pgwp.pdf

https://students.ubc.ca/career/career-resources/working-canada/post-graduation-work-permit/tutorial-apply-post-graduation-work-permit-within-canada-overview

After I received my PGWP, I renewed my SIN and my Medicare Health Card. The validity of these 2 were dependent on the validity of my study permit. Now that I have my PGWP, they have been extended and their validity is now depending on my PGWP. Details on where to get this is in my previous post.