Apply PGWP, SP almost expires (Need extension or not?)

[richardlin]

Hello everyone,

I kindly ask for help/suggestion if you can.

Here is my situation:
- I am eligible and planning to apply for PGWP as soon as I am done my study program. This is my last term, so I will be done by the end of December 2015.
- My SP will expire on January 1st, 2016.

My concern is there is not much time between the end of my study program and my SP validity. So, I called CIC a couple months ago and got this information:

"Please note that students whose study permit (SP) will expire before they can apply for a PGWP, because they are waiting to receive written confirmation they have met the requirements for completing their academic program, will need to apply for a SP extension with an explanation letter and a letter of enrolment issued by the educational institution. "

So I was planning to apply for SP extension. But, during the process I figured out that my University can already give my written confirmation letter, basically saying that this is my last term and If I successful in the current courses, I will meet the requirements to graduate.

Now my question is, can I use that letter to apply for PGWP? Because if I can then, then I don't need to apply for SP extension.

I need to be sure on this, because if I already decided not to apply for an extension and this letter is not accepted, it will be too late for me to apply for SP extension. And I will be screwed up!

Please help and thank you very much!

 

[ndrs11]

That letter won't be accepted.
please take a look at this text from brock university about confirmation of graduation letters:

"Remember that you can only request this letter after Registrar's office can confirm you have completed all your degree requirements. Any letter without this confirmation will not be accepted by CIC for processing this PGWP. If you have received a letter states: “upon successful completion of ... courses and all degree requirements, the degree requirements will have been met for the conferring of a Bachelor of…”, DO NOT use it to apply for PGWP. You will be rejected because this letter dose not confirm that you HAVE completed all degree requirements."

as the text is saying, you need a letter that states that you HAVE finished your requirements. These letters are normally issued after you finish your term and the grades are submitted to the registrar.
Now, in most universities, grades from fall courses are not released until a month after the term is done, meaning that probably your grades will be available at some point in January, you should consult with your University when those grades would be released

Only after the grades are released is that they will issue you a letter stating that you have finished your requirements

My recommendation would be to apply for an extension of your study permit and then once you have that wait for the actual letter and apply for the PGWP

 

[richardlin]

Hi ndrs11, thank you for your quick response. I really appreciate it.

Your answer makes a lot of sense! I wasn't sure about this. I will consult with my university registrar about that and apply for SP extension asap. I'm just wondering though, if this kind of "conditional letter" can't be use for PGWP, why would the university make this letter? What is this letter usually for?

That letter won't be accepted.
please take a look at this text from brock university about confirmation of graduation letters:

"Remember that you can only request this letter after Registrar's office can confirm you have completed all your degree requirements. Any letter without this confirmation will not be accepted by CIC for processing this PGWP. If you have received a letter states: “upon successful completion of ... courses and all degree requirements, the degree requirements will have been met for the conferring of a Bachelor of…”, DO NOT use it to apply for PGWP. You will be rejected because this letter dose not confirm that you HAVE completed all degree requirements."

as the text is saying, you need a letter that states that you HAVE finished your requirements. These letters are normally issued after you finish your term and the grades are submitted to the registrar.
Now, in most universities, grades from fall courses are not released until a month after the term is done, meaning that probably your grades will be available at some point in January, you should consult with your University when those grades would be released

Only after the grades are released is that they will issue you a letter stating that you have finished your requirements

My recommendation would be to apply for an extension of your study permit and then once you have that wait for the actual letter and apply for the PGWP

 

[ndrs11]

Well, maybe for Canadians who need some kind of verification that they're on their last term. maybe for an employer, applyying for an internship or any other use.

These letters aren't just issued to international students. So probably there's some other use for this letter in specific that the university is offering you. However not for PGWP, you need the one that clearly states that you have finished.

And since we're on this topic, I would suggest that when you ask the university for this letter, you also to ask them to specify in the letter the date of your expected graduation, the length of the program and the length that you were a student in there.


good luck!

 

[richardlin]

My university registrar officer actually thought that I can use that letter to apply for PGWP. This is the problem with a smaller university, they don't have an officer who really understand immigration stuff.

Btw, you are right ndrs11.
I called CIC this morning just to make sure, and the agent said that letter won't be accepted.

However, I got another confusion. The agent told me this morning, that in my situation, I don't need to apply for SP extension!
Instead, if my study permit expires while waiting for the final grades / appropriate letter to apply for PGWP, I can just apply for a Restoration of temporary resident status along with the PGPW. This kinda makes sense also.

I am not surprised that different CIC agents give different answers/solutions. I have heard that it happens a lot.

So, do you have any idea which solution is better/right?

Apply for SP extension or Restoration of status?

Anyone is welcome to answer.

Thank you!

 

[ndrs11]

The officer is right, you can apply for restoration of status and PGWP as well at the same time.

However, in my opinion that is a risky business because it means you will be out of status to start with.

Furthermore, in order to be able to work while waiting for a PGWP you need to apply for it while it's still valid. The conditions are here:

R186(w):
(w) if they are or were the holder of a study permit who has completed their program of study and
(i) they met the requirements set out in paragraph (v), and
(ii) they applied for a work permit before the expiry of that study permit and a decision has not yet been made in respect of their application.

If your student permit expires before you apply for a PGWP you are out of status and you won't be able to work while waiting for your PGWP.
Waiting for a PGWP is very hard right now since it's taking over 4 months. and in some cases even more.
So if you get a job while waiting that is a positive thing since you won't stay 4 months at home doing nothing and you can get proactive and make some money.

If your student permit expires before applying, you won't be able to do so.
the current processing times for student permit extensions is a little over a month, so if you apply now you might get it before your permit expires or you might get it the first weeks of january.
And once you have your letter at the end of january, you apply with a valid student permit and you can continue working.

that would me by advice.

 

[richardlin]

Hi ndrs11,

So the officers are both right. Both ways will work.
However, I agree with you. I will just send my SP extension application ASAP. That's a less risky way.

I thank you again very much for your insightful response. You've been very helpful.

Best,
Richard

The officer is right, you can apply for restoration of status and PGWP as well at the same time.

However, in my opinion that is a risky business because it means you will be out of status to start with.

Furthermore, in order to be able to work while waiting for a PGWP you need to apply for it while it's still valid. The conditions are here:

R186(w):
(w) if they are or were the holder of a study permit who has completed their program of study and
(i) they met the requirements set out in paragraph (v), and
(ii) they applied for a work permit before the expiry of that study permit and a decision has not yet been made in respect of their application.

If your student permit expires before you apply for a PGWP you are out of status and you won't be able to work while waiting for your PGWP.
Waiting for a PGWP is very hard right now since it's taking over 4 months. and in some cases even more.
So if you get a job while waiting that is a positive thing since you won't stay 4 months at home doing nothing and you can get proactive and make some money.

If your student permit expires before applying, you won't be able to do so.
the current processing times for student permit extensions is a little over a month, so if you apply now you might get it before your permit expires or you might get it the first weeks of january.
And once you have your letter at the end of january, you apply with a valid student permit and you can continue working.

that would me by advice.

 

[humdrumdum]

Hey there,

I was in the same situation as you were earlier this year. I finished school in June and my SP expired on June 30. I applied for an extension in May and they gave me 90 days (but it wasn't approved until September). Luckily, my school issued my documents in the nick of time and I was able to apply on June 27 with a few days to spare. They approved my PGWP application on Oct 22.

It's your call but I wouldn't take risks. It's always nice to have a Plan B.

 

[richardlin]

Hey humdrumdum, thank you for your response. Much appreciated. It's nice to know someone with the same situation sharing the experience.

I wonder why your SP extension took so long to get approved. Did you apply by paper? I am going to apply online and right now the processing times is 36 days. So you were not able to start working after you finished school until you got your extension in September, right?

Thank you

Hey there,

I was in the same situation as you were earlier this year. I finished school in June and my SP expired on June 30. I applied for an extension in May and they gave me 90 days (but it wasn't approved until September). Luckily, my school issued my documents in the nick of time and I was able to apply on June 27 with a few days to spare. They approved my PGWP application on Oct 22.

It's your call but I wouldn't take risks. It's always nice to have a Plan B.

 

[humdrumdum]

At the time, the posted processing time was 100+ days for some reason. I applied online. It should work out for you

I started working in July under implied status cause of my PGWP application. The job wasnt directly related to my field though, so when my PGWP was approved, I started looking for a job in my field.

 

[richardlin]

November-13-2015 - SP extension application sent
December-15-2015 - application approved

Application was done online.

Thank you everyone for the help