This is just to ask the esteemed members of this forum, whether they are aware of the major changes that have been taking place in work permit trends for international students in ONTARIO. Also, to take your opinion on whether these changes are expected to be long term and therefore a problem for current students?
I am an international Masters student in a University in Ontario. 16 month (4 semester) program.Rumors are that, the University used to earlier give some certificate saying that it was a 24 month program and saying that the students used to avoid the summer break and make it 16 continuous month. Apparently, that certificate was enough for it to be regarded as a 2 year program and get a 3 year work permit. I don't know whether that was legal or not. News is that,the Uni got caught by CIC and fined as well. Seems they have stopped issuing 3 year work permits, they are issuing 16 month permits now (equivalent to study period). If this is a change going forward, it is disaster for international students. 16 months aren't even enough to recover the loans taken by some of us from our home countries (lets be honest, the Intl student avenue was always a way to get a PR, rather than getting the degree - no company back in our home country is gonna pay us shitloads of money just coz we have a Canadian degree).
So my question is, given that there is a good chance that we will get a 16 month work permit,
1) Is 16 month usually enough to get a provincial nomination at least, if not the whole PR?
2) If the answer to the first question is yes, is it easy to extend your stay legally if you have the provincial nomination, even if you haven't got the PR yet (the extension is with the intention of continuing to stay until you get the PR)
3) Worst case scenario, if the provincial nomination takes more than 16 months, is it easy to extend your work visa (especially if you already have a part time job which may become full time after graduation)?
I am an international Masters student in a University in Ontario. 16 month (4 semester) program.Rumors are that, the University used to earlier give some certificate saying that it was a 24 month program and saying that the students used to avoid the summer break and make it 16 continuous month. Apparently, that certificate was enough for it to be regarded as a 2 year program and get a 3 year work permit. I don't know whether that was legal or not. News is that,the Uni got caught by CIC and fined as well. Seems they have stopped issuing 3 year work permits, they are issuing 16 month permits now (equivalent to study period). If this is a change going forward, it is disaster for international students. 16 months aren't even enough to recover the loans taken by some of us from our home countries (lets be honest, the Intl student avenue was always a way to get a PR, rather than getting the degree - no company back in our home country is gonna pay us shitloads of money just coz we have a Canadian degree).
So my question is, given that there is a good chance that we will get a 16 month work permit,
1) Is 16 month usually enough to get a provincial nomination at least, if not the whole PR?
2) If the answer to the first question is yes, is it easy to extend your stay legally if you have the provincial nomination, even if you haven't got the PR yet (the extension is with the intention of continuing to stay until you get the PR)
3) Worst case scenario, if the provincial nomination takes more than 16 months, is it easy to extend your work visa (especially if you already have a part time job which may become full time after graduation)?