Immigration Minister Sean Fraser of Canada has announced a work permit extension for PGWP holders.

The Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) allows overseas students to get work experience in Canada, which can aid in their transition to permanent resident status.

Sean Fraser, Canada's Immigration Minister, recently stated that anyone with an expired Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) will be eligible to apply for an Open Work Permit renewal beginning April 6, 2023.

Anyone whose PGWP expires in 2023 will be able to apply for an Open Work Permit extension. It will also be available to those whose PGWP expires in 2022 and who requested for an extension of their Open Work Permit with IRCC last year.

Candidates will be able to request for the extension on the IRCC website beginning April 6. Applicants will receive an email with an interim work permit permission, which they can present employers in order to continue working legally in Canada.

Those whose legal status in Canada has expired will be allowed to apply for reinstatement at the same time, even if their status terminated outside of the 90-day grace period provided by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). This means that such individuals will be able to regain their status while also obtaining an interim Open Work Permit permit as early as April 6.

Starting on April 6, IRCC will send messages to people who are eligible for the extension, inviting them to go into their online IRCC Secure Account.

International students who graduate from an authorised educational programme at a Canadian designated learning institution are eligible for Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWP) (DLI).

DLIs are government-approved colleges, universities, and other educational institutions that admit international students.

PGWPs allow international graduates to work in Canada for any business of their choice for a maximum of three years (the length of a PGWP is determined by the length of the educational programme completed by the international graduate).

Because of the nature of Canada's economic class immigration schemes, PGWPs are widely sought after by international students.

Many of these programmes give preference to applicants who have studied and worked in Canada.

According to Statistics Canada research, such study and work experience can aid in the labour market integration of international students who go on to become Canadian permanent citizens.

Gaining a Canadian education plus work experience, increasing one's English or French abilities, and creating social networks in Canada are all regarded to help to these immigrants' economic integration.

PGWPs are highly sought after by overseas students because to the nature of Canada's economic class immigration policies.

Many of these programmes prioritise applicants who have studied or worked in Canada.

According to Statistics Canada, such study and job experience can help international students who become Canadian permanent residents integrate into the labour market.

Gaining a Canadian education plus work experience, developing one's English or French abilities, and creating social networks in Canada are all viewed to aid to these immigrants' economic integration.

At the end of 2022, Canada had over 800,000 overseas students, an all-time high.

The bulk of temporary residents (TRs) who transfer to permanent residence are PGWP holders (PR).

Nearly 98,000 PGWP holders became permanent residents in 2022, accounting for almost 82% of all TRs who became PRs.

Canada expects to welcome a record 465,000 new permanent residents in 2023, with a goal of 500,000 by 2025.

Canada does not have a specific number of TRs it wishes to convert to PR, but Minister Fraser has indicated repeatedly his intention to promote such conversions.

According to the mandate letter issued to Minister Fraser by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, one of his priorities is to ease more TR to PR conversions through Express Entry.

Due to the high demand for PGWP holders to become permanent residents, IRCC has given two exceptions in recent years, allowing people whose PGWPs have expired to apply for Open Work Permit renewals.

The goal of these exceptions has been to offer these people additional time to apply for permanent residency.

The final exception was for people whose PGWP expired between September 2021 and December 31, 2022.

According to IRCC, there will be over 286,000 PGWP holders in Canada by the end of 2022. About 127,000 PGWPs expire in 2023, however about 67,000 PGWP holders have already qualified for permanent residency and will not need to extend their work permit through this scheme.