Positive policies for Canadian students are coming, and these methods can obtain permanent residence status!
Recently, Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced a new temporary policy on international students - from November 15, 2022 to December 31, 2023, Canadian international students can work off campus for more than 20 hours a week, which will benefit Canada's existing more than 500,000 international students.
The new temporary policy applies to the following situations:
1. The student's student visa has been issued.
2. The student’s student visa has been approved, but I have not arrived in Canada yet.
3, submitted a student visa application before October 7, 2022, and is waiting for approval.
Currently, international students can complete up to 20 hours off-campus work every week during normal semesters, and can work full-time during winter and summer vacations without courses. The purpose of this policy is to allow international students to support themselves financially, while also ensuring that international students focus on completing their studies rather than focusing all their energy on their work.
However, in the post-epidemic era, Canada is working hard to cope with the rare labor shortage in history. Statistics Canada reported that Canada's unemployment rate in September fell to 5.2% from 5.4% in August.
Faced with nearly one million job openings, Canada has to temporarily relax this regulation and allow international students to complete more work outside of school.
also explained that this new policy is aiming to alleviate the labor shortage that provinces are experiencing.
Study abroad is very popular in Canada
Canada is one of the major destination countries for studying abroad in the world. In 2021, Canada welcomed more than 620,000 international students, doubled compared to 20 years ago. Last year alone, Canada issued nearly 450,000 student visas.
Canada has become one of the most popular countries to study abroad, such as Canada's high education quality, diverse cultures, and a large number of job opportunities and permanent residence channels.
Fraser pointed out in the announcement that between January and August 2022, Canada has processed more than 452,000 student visa applications, an increase of 23% from 367,000 in the same period in 2021.
According to a study by the Canadian Bureau of International Education (CBIE), most international students say they are interested in staying in Canada as permanent residents after completing their studies. Research by the Canadian Bureau of Statistics shows that international students who have obtained the Canadian permanent residence can often quickly integrate into the Canadian labor market, thanks to their work and study experience in Canada and their proficiency in English and French.
The above research also explains why Canada provides a series of favorable policies for international students to help them find jobs in Canada and apply for permanent residence status.
So what methods can international students obtain permanent residence status?
In recent years, especially during the epidemic, more and more international students have become the main source of permanent residents in Canada. For example, in 2021, Canada relied heavily on international graduation to achieve the goal of ushering in 405,000 new immigrants.
International Student Graduation Work Visa (PGWP) is an open work visa with a maximum validity period of three years. Graduates can work for any employer in Canada with this visa, and it can also help international students obtain permanent resident status.
In June this year, Sean Fraser also announced through Twitter that the PGWP of International Students can be extended for 18 months! related reading: good news, the work visa for international students to graduate by 18 months, Canada will launch a permanent immigration channel for international students!
In this way, Canadian international graduates can transition from work visas to permanent residents. Those who have at least one year of working experience in Canada and can master one of the two official languages of Canada can obtain Canadian permanent resident status through Canadian Experience Immigration (CEC) in the fast track.
In addition, Quebec and the provincial nomination program (PNP) across the country provide permanent residence channels for international graduates as a means to encourage them to stay in the province or region and continue to contribute to the labor market as a means of immigration.
Some international graduates, especially those with master's and doctoral degrees, may choose to apply for permanent residence directly instead of applying for a graduation work visa after graduation. For example, BC Province master's and doctoral channel, you only need to graduate from a designated school and major in BC Province, and submit your application within three years after graduation to obtain permanent residence status in Canada.
In addition, Canada will also introduce some temporary measures to help international students obtain identities, such as TR2PR immigration amnesty channel in May 2021. Fraser is also authorized by Prime Minister Trudeau to find other ways to obtain permanent residence for international students and temporary foreign workers.
As a humanized country, Canada provides spouse work visas for international students' spouses. The children of international students can attend Canadian public schools for free, and enjoy free medical care in Canada. These are also one of the reasons why Canada attracts international students.
