Guide: Steps for PGWP Application (Inside & Outside Canada)

How to apply for a post-graduation work permit

You can apply for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP) from inside Canada or from another country, as long as you’re eligible.

You have up to 180 days after you graduate to apply for a PGWP.

When you apply, you must confirm the following:

• that you attended and completed your program
• the name of your program and
• the length of your program

You can confirm these by submitting any of the following:

• your degree or diploma
• your transcript or
• an official letter from your school

If your study permit will expire before you get your marks, you have 2 options. You can

• apply for a visitor record to stay in Canada longer or
• leave Canada and apply for your PGWP

If your study permit expires before you apply

If you don’t change your status to visitor and your study permit expires, you have up to 90 days after your study permit expires to apply for a PGWP and restore your status as a student.

To restore your status as a student, you must

• apply online for your PGWP and pay the correct fee ($255) and
• pay the fee to restore your status as a student ($350)
  • Because of system limitations, you must pay the fees to restore your status as a student online and attach a copy of the receipt to your PGWP online application. You don’t need to make a separate application to restore your status as a student.

You can’t work until your study permit and work permit have been approved.

If you don’t apply within the 90 days, or if the 90 days have already passed, you must leave Canada.

Get your documents ready

Before you can apply for a PGWP, you need one of the following to prove you’ve completed your studies:

• a degree or diploma
• an official letter from your school
• an official transcript, or a copy of your transcript from your school’s website

We may request other documents once we receive your application.

How you can apply for a PGWP depends on where you’re applying from. In most cases, you must apply online.

To work in a field that requires a medical exam

If you want to work in a field that requires a medical exam, you can get an upfront medical exam (no more than 90 days before you apply). With valid results from a medical exam on your file, your PGWP won’t have a condition that restricts the types of jobs you may work in.

If you need to extend your PGWP or change its conditions

You must apply on paper if you’re extending or changing the conditions of your PGWP. You can only extend your PGWP if your passport expired before your PGWP’s validity period.

This would be indicated in a note on your initial PGWP.

You may need to change the conditions on your PGWP if you need to provide an additional document, like a medical exam, after you already applied.

How to remove the job restrictions on your PGWP
There may be restrictions on your PGWP because you didn’t have a medical exam before you came to Canada. These restrictions prevent you from working in

• jobs that bring you into close contact with people, such as
  • workers in health care settings
  • clinical laboratory workers
  • patient attendants in nursing and geriatric homes
  • medical students admitted to Canada to attend university
  • medical electives and physicians on short-term locums
  • workers in primary or secondary school settings or workers in child care settings
  • domestics
  • workers who give in-home care to children, the elderly or people with disabilities
  • day nursery employees
  • other similar jobs
• jobs in agriculture, if you’ve visited or lived in 1 of these countries for more than 6 months during the past year

You must get a medical exam within 90 days of your arrival. You will need a chest X-ray and blood test.

You may need to pay a fee for this exam.

Once you get your medical exam results, you can ask to have these restrictions removed. To do this, you must follow the instructions below to apply for an open work permit in Canada. Then, we can issue you a new work permit without job restrictions.

How applying online helps you:

• no courier fees or mail delivery time—we get your application instantly
• your application may be processed more quickly
• it helps you make sure your application is complete before you submit it
• you can quickly submit more documents online (if we ask you to)
• you get updates on the status of your application directly in your online account