Hi Everyone. Hope to hear your thoughts on this situation:
I took an approved leave of abscence from my PhD program after my first year. During that time I left Canada and returned to my country. I then resumed program a year later, have since renewed study permit twice with no problems. Now that I'm about to graduate and apply for PGWP, my university claims that:
a) I may not be eligible for the permit at all because the leave was more than 150 days; and that
b) even if I were eligible, I can't start working immediately upon submission because of the leave and instead have to wait for the permit to be issued.
I disagree with their reading of the policy (not that my disagreeing makes any difference, sigh) as I believe that the 150 day leave applies to students staying INSIDE Canada. During my leave of absence. IRCC states that if a leave is longer than 150, a student must change status or leave Canada or else risk being non-compliant with conditions. I understand this to mean that leaving Canada is one way to avoid being non-compliant with Study Permit conditions which in turn would mean that I could start working immediately upon application submission.
Some universities like Carlton specifically state that although leaves longer than 150 affect the PGWP/ implied status eligibility, leaving Canada during absence allows for an exception from this policy.
Any thoughts/ expereinces?
more context:
I'm in a real bind here: I have a teaching job that starts days after I submit dissertation and I'd lose the job if I couldn't start on time. Even though some PGWPs are being processed quickly, I only have a few days between the date I can get letter from my school confirming degree completion and job start date--so not enough time. I already have a CSQ but I'm not eligible for any of the work permits (ANY!!! yes, just my luck).
I took an approved leave of abscence from my PhD program after my first year. During that time I left Canada and returned to my country. I then resumed program a year later, have since renewed study permit twice with no problems. Now that I'm about to graduate and apply for PGWP, my university claims that:
a) I may not be eligible for the permit at all because the leave was more than 150 days; and that
b) even if I were eligible, I can't start working immediately upon submission because of the leave and instead have to wait for the permit to be issued.
I disagree with their reading of the policy (not that my disagreeing makes any difference, sigh) as I believe that the 150 day leave applies to students staying INSIDE Canada. During my leave of absence. IRCC states that if a leave is longer than 150, a student must change status or leave Canada or else risk being non-compliant with conditions. I understand this to mean that leaving Canada is one way to avoid being non-compliant with Study Permit conditions which in turn would mean that I could start working immediately upon application submission.
Some universities like Carlton specifically state that although leaves longer than 150 affect the PGWP/ implied status eligibility, leaving Canada during absence allows for an exception from this policy.
Any thoughts/ expereinces?
more context:
I'm in a real bind here: I have a teaching job that starts days after I submit dissertation and I'd lose the job if I couldn't start on time. Even though some PGWPs are being processed quickly, I only have a few days between the date I can get letter from my school confirming degree completion and job start date--so not enough time. I already have a CSQ but I'm not eligible for any of the work permits (ANY!!! yes, just my luck).
