Hi, i'm in a bit of a confusing situation and hoping somebody who has gone through this or has worked with a lawyer previously to clarify this.
I applied for my very first study permit to study undergrad in 2019 and got it issued at the airport at entry with the following condition printed:
- may work 20 hours per week off campus or full-time during regular breaks if meeting criteria outlined in paragraph 186(v) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.
My study permit was set to expire a year before the end of my degree so i applied for an extension early 2022. I maintained a full-time status throughout my degree and worked 20 hours per week during study term. My extended study permit got issued in summer of 2022, before the old study permit expiry. However, this new study permit excluded the condition listed above. It said nothing about working on or off campus. I renewed my SIN around the same time too. Now, at this point, I was completely unaware that the missing condition overrules the eligibility criteria for off-campus, as I reviewed that and met all of the conditions. I got employed to work off-campus part time during a study term, up to 20 hours per week, and I took it. I worked the whole academic term part-time, until a consultant at university pointed that I worked unauthorized. I lost my shit. I tried everything to get the information to clarify this; called IRCC agent, told my employer and asked them to connect me to their immigration law team to go through my case and as an extreme step, flagpoled to Niagara hoping for an amendment. The CBSA officer at Niagara told me that the missing condition is ok, it's just to let students know and getting SIN issued but it doesn't overrule the R186 rules if I already have employment and a SIN number. The law team at my office apparently confirmed it with their IRCC liaison officer too and they said i'm authorized to work.
Now, in my last academic term, I failed a course and had to enrol in one last course to complete my degree. As my study permit was expiring again, I applied for an extension to complete the course. This time I mentioned my employment history completely and requested the work condition to be printed explicitly to avoid issues of any sort in the future. All this while, I was employed part-time with the same employer, working up to 20 hours per week. I received my new extended study permit on friday by mail and they seemed to have refused my request (?) and printed a remark saying:
- this permit does not authorize the holder to engage in employment in Canada.
so i have lost my shit again...
I terminated my employment instantly and spoke to IRCC agent on call and he said he doesn't understand why it was printed and it could be an error of the officer. He advised me to apply for an amendment. It could be because I'm a part-time student but this is my last academic semester and the only part-time one.
I'm so scared that they issued this because of they found my previous employment record to be unauthorized work and i'm in deep shit for PGWP or future paperwork. I have about 2 months before I graduate and will be eligible to apply for PGWP but with the current remark, I'm obviously not allowed to work in the interim period. (or am I, if this is an error?) I'm considering applying for an amendment after a few weeks as I have a trip to US planned and I need my study permit on me to come back. I'm okay to not work for the 2 months but do feel like it will risky with my job offer to not be able to start on an implied status as soon as I graduate.
Sigh. I'm feeling very stressed lately about this and would appreciate so much if anyone has any advice or experience with this. Most IRCC pages read to me like I'm still eligible under R186 but the remark prohibits me.
I applied for my very first study permit to study undergrad in 2019 and got it issued at the airport at entry with the following condition printed:
- may work 20 hours per week off campus or full-time during regular breaks if meeting criteria outlined in paragraph 186(v) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.
My study permit was set to expire a year before the end of my degree so i applied for an extension early 2022. I maintained a full-time status throughout my degree and worked 20 hours per week during study term. My extended study permit got issued in summer of 2022, before the old study permit expiry. However, this new study permit excluded the condition listed above. It said nothing about working on or off campus. I renewed my SIN around the same time too. Now, at this point, I was completely unaware that the missing condition overrules the eligibility criteria for off-campus, as I reviewed that and met all of the conditions. I got employed to work off-campus part time during a study term, up to 20 hours per week, and I took it. I worked the whole academic term part-time, until a consultant at university pointed that I worked unauthorized. I lost my shit. I tried everything to get the information to clarify this; called IRCC agent, told my employer and asked them to connect me to their immigration law team to go through my case and as an extreme step, flagpoled to Niagara hoping for an amendment. The CBSA officer at Niagara told me that the missing condition is ok, it's just to let students know and getting SIN issued but it doesn't overrule the R186 rules if I already have employment and a SIN number. The law team at my office apparently confirmed it with their IRCC liaison officer too and they said i'm authorized to work.
Now, in my last academic term, I failed a course and had to enrol in one last course to complete my degree. As my study permit was expiring again, I applied for an extension to complete the course. This time I mentioned my employment history completely and requested the work condition to be printed explicitly to avoid issues of any sort in the future. All this while, I was employed part-time with the same employer, working up to 20 hours per week. I received my new extended study permit on friday by mail and they seemed to have refused my request (?) and printed a remark saying:
- this permit does not authorize the holder to engage in employment in Canada.
so i have lost my shit again...
I terminated my employment instantly and spoke to IRCC agent on call and he said he doesn't understand why it was printed and it could be an error of the officer. He advised me to apply for an amendment. It could be because I'm a part-time student but this is my last academic semester and the only part-time one.
I'm so scared that they issued this because of they found my previous employment record to be unauthorized work and i'm in deep shit for PGWP or future paperwork. I have about 2 months before I graduate and will be eligible to apply for PGWP but with the current remark, I'm obviously not allowed to work in the interim period. (or am I, if this is an error?) I'm considering applying for an amendment after a few weeks as I have a trip to US planned and I need my study permit on me to come back. I'm okay to not work for the 2 months but do feel like it will risky with my job offer to not be able to start on an implied status as soon as I graduate.
Sigh. I'm feeling very stressed lately about this and would appreciate so much if anyone has any advice or experience with this. Most IRCC pages read to me like I'm still eligible under R186 but the remark prohibits me.