The Public Policy Guidelines for a Group of Former International Students Who Were Denied Post-Graduation Work Permits Between September 01, 2014 and March 15, 2016

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Operational Bulletin 631 – October 17, 2016 

The Public Policy Guidelines for a Group of Former International Students Who Were Denied Post-Graduation Work Permits Between September 01, 2014 and March 15, 2016

Summary

Minister John McCallum established a public policy on September 27, 2016. This public policy aimed at:

  • Facilitating the issuance of three year open work permits

  • Restoring the Temporary Resident status and,

  • Waiving the related fees for these services

This public policy applied to a group of former international students whom the authorities denied Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs) between September 01, 2014 and March 15, 2016. This is because these students had completed the majority of their coursework by distance learning in their final programs of study.

In order to be eligible for consideration under the provisions of this public policy, these students would need to make the necessary applications. In particular, they would need to make the following applications latest by March 17, 2017:

  • The application for a fee-exempt three year open work permit (from inside or outside of Canada) and,

  • The application for the restoration of status (if applicable)

 Issue

The objective of this Operational Bulletin (OB) is to provide officers with the relevant operational instructions. These instructions pertain to the submission and processing of applications for the three year open work permit as well as the applications for the restoration of status (if applicable). In particular, these instructions concern the applications that typically fall within the scope of the public policy.

Background

In December 2015, the Federal Court granted the judicial review of an applicant whose Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) the authorities refused. The authorities refused this work permit because five of the six courses that the applicant completed in the last program of study came under the designation of ‘distance learning’.

The Federal Court, in Appidy v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration, 2015 FC 1356), ruled that the authorities would need to consider the entirety of an applicant’s Canadian post-secondary studies leading to a diploma, degree or certification. This would include the transferred credits from a different institution as well. The Federal Court ruled that the authorities would need to avoid considering only the coursework for the final programs of study when they assess the eligibility of applicants for Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs). Instead, the authorities would need to consider the above-mentioned aspects when they assess the eligibility of applicants for Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs).

For these reasons, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) established a public policy under section 25.2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) on September 27, 2016. This public policy aimed at:

  • Facilitating the issuance of three year open work permits

  • Restoring the Temporary Resident status and,

  • Waiving the related fees for these services

This public policy applied to a group of former international students whom the authorities denied Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs) between September 01, 2014 and March 15, 2016. The authorities provided guidance concerning the assessment of Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs) to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) officers on September 27, 2016, further to the Federal Court decision in Appidy v. Canada.

It is worth highlighting that this public policy came into force on September 27, 2016. It will cease to be in effect on March 17, 2017.