According to Canada's Star Island daily, recently, Canada's Immigration Department revised the contents of student and work visas. International students studying online courses in Canada in the autumn of 2020 can still apply for a three-year "post graduation work visa" (pgwp) after arriving in Canada. The amendment will take effect in the autumn of 2020.
It is understood that pgwp allows international students to obtain work experience in Canada after completing education courses in "designated learning institutions" (DLI), but international students must complete at least 8 months of full-time courses before they are eligible for pgwp. Their courses of study must be at the level of a diploma, degree or certificate. The length of time to obtain pgwp depends on the progress of the student's study in Canada.
Generally speaking, when applying for pgwp, online courses will not be counted, but the epidemic has hindered global travel. The Immigration Department of Canada has allowed international students who participate in online courses overseas to apply for work visas after graduation.
It is understood that new international students can participate in online courses held by designated learning institutions in Canada from the autumn of 2020. Among them, the courses completed overseas cannot exceed half of the total courses. Upon completion of the course, students are eligible for pgwp and work in Canada. Canada's Immigration Department said that international students' pgwp will not be deducted because they are overseas.
Working experience in Canada is also helpful for international students to apply for immigration programs. According to the annual survey of international students conducted by Canada's International Education Bureau, 60% of international students plan to apply for pgwp. In the current "express entry" comprehensive scoring system, international students can get extra points for studying and working in Canada.
Canada's Immigration Department announced that it would encourage more international students to study in Canada, because it hopes that international students who eventually immigrate to Canada can make full use of their time away from Canada to complete part of their study courses, but they are also qualified, which can also reduce the cost of going abroad. Similarly, this policy is good for Canada's economy and employment.
Before the outbreak, there were about 640000 international students in Canada, contributing $22 billion annually to the Canadian economy and filling about 170000 job vacancies.