If you want to work in Canada after you graduate from your studies, you must apply for a work permit under the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program.

Post-Graduation Work Permit Program

The Post-Graduation Work Permit Program allows students who have graduated from a participating Canadian post-secondary institution to gain valuable Canadian work experience.

A work permit under the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program may be issued for the length of the study program, up to a maximum of three years. A Post-Graduation work permit cannot be valid for longer than the student’s study program, and the study program must be a minimum of eight months in length. For example, if you graduate from a four-year degree program, you could be eligible for a three-year work permit if you meet the criteria. If you graduate from an eight-month certificate program, you would be eligible for a work permit that is valid for no more than eight months.

Who can apply

To obtain a work permit after your graduation, you must meet the following requirements:

• You must have studied full time in Canada and you must have completed a program of study that lasted at least eight months.
• If in your last semester of study you are registered as a part-time student because you only need a few courses to graduate, but you have been studying full-time during your studies, you are eligible to apply for a Post-Graduation Work Permit.
• In addition, you must have graduated from:
  • a public post-secondary institution, such as a college, trade/technical school, university or CEGEP (in Quebec), or
  • a private post-secondary institution that operates under the same rules and regulations as public institutions, and receives at least 50 percent of its financing for its overall operations from government grants (currently only private college-level educational institutions in Quebec qualify), or
  • Canadian private institution authorized by provincial statute to confer degrees but only if you are enrolled in one of the programs of study leading to a degree as authorized by the province and not in all programs of study offered by the private institution.
• You must apply for a work permit within 90 days of receiving written confirmation (for example, a transcript or an official letter) from your institution indicating that you have met the requirements for completing your academic program.
• You must have completed and passed the program of study and received a notification that you are eligible to obtain your degree, diploma or certificate.
• You must have a valid study permit when you apply for the work permit.

Impact of length of program of study in Canada and the length of the work permit
A Post-Graduation Work Permit cannot be valid longer than the official length of your program of study in Canada. For example, students graduating from a four-year degree program might be eligible for a three-year year work permit. Students graduating from an eight-month certificate program would only be eligible for a work permit of eight months.

You are not eligible for the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program if you:

• study in a program that is less than eight months long
• participate in a Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship Program funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT)
• participate in a Government of Canada Awards Program funded by DFAIT
• receive funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
• participate in the Equal Opportunity Scholarship, Canada-Chile
• participate in the Canada-China Scholars Exchanges Program
• participate in the Organization of American States Fellowships Program
• participate in a distance learning program either from abroad or from within Canada or
• have previously been issued a Post-Graduation Work Permit following any other program of study.

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