Post Graduate Work Permit (PGWP): How to Apply

The Post Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) is an open work permit issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). It allows eligible graduates of Canadian designated learning institutions to work for any employer, in any occupation, anywhere in Canada. The PGWP is issued once per lifetime — you cannot apply for another one if you have already held one.

Basic eligibility

IRCC: PGWP eligibility requirements

You are eligible if:

You completed a program at a PGWP eligible designated learning institution that was at least 8 months long, or 900 hours for Quebec programs.

You held full time student status in every semester. You may study part time in your final semester only.

You apply within 180 days of confirmation that you completed your program.

Your study permit was valid at some point during those 180 days.

Authorised leave of up to 150 days is allowed, but you must show your DLI approved it. Unauthorised leave can cost you the permit entirely if IRCC decides you broke your study permit conditions.

You are NOT eligible if you already received a PGWP, studied ESL or FSL, took general interest or self improvement courses, completed a non credit program other than flight school, received Global Affairs Canada funding requiring you to return home, completed more than 50% of your program by distance learning, studied at a non Canadian institution located in Canada, or studied at a DLI that is not PGWP eligible.

The field of study requirement

You are EXEMPT from the field of study requirement if any of these apply:

You graduated with a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree.

You graduated from a PGWP eligible flight school.

You applied for your STUDY PERMIT before 1 November 2024.

You submitted your PGWP application before 1 November 2024.

Everyone else, meaning graduates of non degree programs at colleges, polytechnics and universities, must have graduated in an eligible field of study.

The relevant date is when you applied for your study permit, not when you apply for the PGWP. If you applied for your study permit on or after 1 November 2024 and are enrolled in a non-degree program, you must have graduated in an eligible field of study.

Eligible fields are defined by six digit Classification of Instructional Programs codes and are tied to occupations in long term shortage in Canada. The list of eligible programs is published on the IRCC eligible programs page, and you must be on it when you submit either your study permit application or your PGWP application.

One filing trap. Because of a system limitation, the document checklist will NOT ask you for proof that you graduated in an eligible field. If you need to provide it, you upload it yourself in the "Client information" section of your account. Miss that and you have submitted an incomplete application without being told.

The language requirement

New since 1 November 2024. If you apply on or after that date, you must prove your English or French.

Read that table again, because the split is not what people assume. It is UNIVERSITY versus COLLEGE, not degree versus non degree. A non degree program at a university still needs CLB 7.

Accepted tests: CELPIP General, IELTS General Training, and PTE Core for English. TEF Canada and TCF Canada for French. IRCC says tests should be taken in person, and results must be less than 2 years old when you submit. See IRCC for current accepted tests and minimum score requirements.

Submit incomplete language proof and IRCC says plainly that your application may be refused for not meeting the requirement.

If you are extending a PGWP only because your passport expired early, you do not need to provide language proof again.

How long your PGWP will be

IRCC: PGWP length rules

The length depends on your program and on your passport, whichever runs out first.

It does not apply to certificates or diplomas, only master's degrees.

Two limits people trip over. Your PGWP cannot outlast your passport, so renew the passport BEFORE you apply. And the PGWP is only valid for the time you actually studied IN Canada. Time studying online from outside Canada after 31 August 2024 is deducted.

If you completed more than one eligible program, you may be able to combine their lengths, but each program must independently meet every eligibility requirement, including the higher language threshold if one of them demands it.

The 180 day rule, and how not to lose your right to work

You have 180 days from confirmation of completion to apply. Your study permit has to be valid at some point in that window.

To prove you finished, you need a degree, diploma or certificate, or an official letter from your school, or an official transcript. You also need proof of full time enrolment, which is your official transcript.

You can work full time while waiting for the PGWP decision, but only if all three of these are true:

Your study permit was valid at the moment you submitted the application.

You completed your program.

You were eligible to work off campus without a permit while studying, and you did not exceed your allowed hours.

Work authorization during PGWP processing depends on your current immigration status and the type of application. For current requirements, see the IRCC PGWP eligibility requirements.

But if you let your study permit expire and then restore your status, you cannot work until the PGWP is actually approved.

So: do not let your status lapse while you wait for marks. If your permit will expire first, either apply for a visitor record to stay legally, or leave Canada and apply from abroad.

If your status has already expired

You have up to 90 days after your study permit expires to apply for the PGWP and restore your status as a student.

If your status has expired, you must apply for restoration and the PGWP separately. Fees apply for each application. For current amounts, see the IRCC immigration fees page.

You cannot work during this period.

Past 90 days, you must leave Canada. See the IRCC PGWP application instructions for your options.

Fees

IRCC: Current immigration fees

Pay BOTH the work permit fee and the open work permit holder fee. IRCC's page says so in bold, because people pay one and not the other.

Biometrics are needed once every 10 years, and you get 30 days from the date of the letter.

Since 23 December 2024, flagpoling is no longer available for work or study permit applications. Applicants must apply directly to IRCC.

Applying from inside or outside Canada

IRCC: How to apply for a PGWP

You can apply from within Canada or from another country.

Common eligibility issues to check

IRCC does not publish a formal refusal list, but these are the documented disqualifiers:

Having already held a PGWP.

A program under 8 months, or under 900 hours in Quebec.

A DLI that is not PGWP eligible, or a curriculum licensing program past the cut off dates.

More than 50% of the program completed by distance learning.

Applying more than 180 days after completion.

A study permit that was not valid at any point in those 180 days.

Unauthorised leave from your program.

Incomplete language proof, or test results 2 years old or older.

Working more hours off campus than you were allowed.

Source: IRCC PGWP eligibility requirements.

Questions people actually ask

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Reviewed by Mathews Benny, RCIC, CAPIC Member, Commissioner of Oaths for Ontario. Last reviewed August 2026. General information, not legal advice.