Applied on May 17th
IRCC requested for additional documents on Aug 22
Uploaded documents on Aug 27
Review of Eligibility started on September 5
Approved on September 5
Hey guys, I can't believe I'm finally writing a post about my permit approval here. I'd like to thank all the people who have been uploading updates of their permit status and helping each other by answering their questions that helped keep myself sane and be patient until the final decision was made. This thread was literally my lifesaver. My situation was quite unusual in comparison to other people's who were guaranteed to receive the PGWP, which is why I think it's worth sharing my application process for those who are in the same boat, perhaps.
For me,
I had a calculated risk to get my PGWP rejected since I took 2 part-time studies during my academic semesters, one including the very last semester and another one in my second year in the second semester(according to the IRCC you're supposed to maintain a full-time student for every academic semester except for the very last one to be fully qualified to apply for the PGWP). At first, I wasn't sure if I should even consider applying and sign up for a 3-month waiting-game and not being able to visit my family in my hometown until the final decision was made whether that be positive or negative. After talking to one of my acquaintances who was an immigration consultant I decided to give it a try and apply since she told me it's still worth applying regardless of the possibility of getting rejected. She said if I'm lucky enough I might be able to get it.
Later on August 22nd, I was fortunate to get a request letter for an additional document instead of receiving a rejection letter right away - the IRCC knew I took 2 part-time studies based on my official transcript and wanted to know the reason why I did so and asked other questions alongside. I then had to write a personal statement draft about the various reasons that led me to take part-time and what I was doing back then to keep actively pursuing my studies. I wouldn't elaborate the whole thing here but my case was based on humanity and compassion since I had to go through depression and financial struggles myself. I also explained I had to work three different jobs while taking a semester off to save up money for the tuition fees and how hard I worked for my grad project at school.
The deadline to submit the additional document was due August 29th but I managed to upload it on the 27th. There were no updates or whatsoever since then for about a week which was very nerve-wracking. And finally, I noticed there was an update for my application status early in the afternoons today and that the review of eligibility had started(by the way I didn't receive any emails from them regarding the update). About half an hour later I signed in to my account again and realized my permit finally got approved
Long story short, if you happened to take 2 part-time studies and are worried that you won't get your PGWP I would recommend that at least you try to give it a shot and apply anyway because you never know.
Thanks for reading and I really hope all the best to those people who are still waiting for their permit. Good luck, everyone!