PGWP question

[night1234]

Hi,
I am an international student who completed my degree recently.
Official course completion letter is yet to be issued by the University.
Final grades are out online but not yet reflected in transcripts.

My question is am I eligible to work 20 hours parttime till I get course completion letter.
Will this impact my PGWP application in any way.

There is a lot of conflicting information available online. Looking for suggestions from someone who have gone through this stage.

 

[primaprime]

You're not allowed to work after completing your studies.

 

[bongoman]

You can work part time until you receive confirmation that you have graduated, my understanding is that this is not necessarily any official letter of graduation but its just as soon as the school tells you you have graduated in some way. After that you have to stop working until you apply for PGWP, if you apply for PGWP with a valid study permit (and some other conditions) you can start working full time immediately.

 

[Impatient Dankaroo]

You can work part time until you receive confirmation that you have graduated, my understanding is that this is not necessarily any official letter of graduation but its just as soon as the school tells you you have graduated in some way. After that you have to stop working until you apply for PGWP, if you apply for PGWP with a valid study permit (and some other conditions) you can start working full time immediately.

How does IRCC keep track of who's worked when they're not supposed to and likewise

 

[bongoman]

How does IRCC keep track of who's worked when they're not supposed to and likewise

They dont

 

[primaprime]

They dont

Or rather, they don't actively keep track of students violating their conditions. IRCC and CBSA's inland enforcement resources are mostly devoted to organized crime, terrorism, and other serious threats. So they rely on information acquired from you, your DLI, the CRA, etc. It is possible to get away with working illegally, but that doesn't mean people haven't been caught and deported over it.

 

[Impatient Dankaroo]

Or rather, they don't actively keep track of students violating their conditions. IRCC and CBSA's inland enforcement resources are mostly devoted to organized crime, terrorism, and other serious threats. So they rely on information acquired from you, your DLI, the CRA, etc. It is possible to get away with working illegally, but that doesn't mean people haven't been caught and deported over it.

So as long as you're not stupid about it such as being a truck driver working 40 hrs a week and susceptible to traffic stops then you're good

 

[bongoman]

Or rather, they don't actively keep track of students violating their conditions. IRCC and CBSA's inland enforcement resources are mostly devoted to organized crime, terrorism, and other serious threats. So they rely on information acquired from you, your DLI, the CRA, etc. It is possible to get away with working illegally, but that doesn't mean people haven't been caught and deported over it.

Correct, they basically have to stumble across you working illegally somehow.

 

[primaprime]

So as long as you're not stupid about it such as being a truck driver working 40 hrs a week and susceptible to traffic stops then you're good

Yes, it's no coincidence the most notorious recent case of an international student being deported for illegal work involved one who had been pulled over while driving a truck.

 

[Tete]

You're not allowed to work after completing your studies.

Let me clarify this post so it won't be misinterpreted: you are not allowed to continue working after you complete your studies. However, if your chosen program in your DLI is PGWP-eligible then you may start working under that PGWP.

 

[bongoman]

You can continue working 20h/week until your confirmation of completion, then you can only start working full time again once you applied for PGWP given you meet the allowed to work on implied status conditions.

 

[ataeni]

Hi everyone. Hope you’re all doing great. I’ve stumbled on this forum while searching online for answers about my situation. It has been bugging me for weeks.

So, I arrived in Canada in May and was enrolled for a program supposedly starting in May. But because of COVID, I was automatically deferred to Fall term. I gave the Border services my original documents which reflects I am enrolled in May. I got a job in August- a month before my deferred program starts. In the conditions, it states that work is allowed when the program starts. I did not intend to defer- but bec of COVID things happened. And I arrived in Canada in May and the program started in September. That’s 4 months of not being able to do anything. I’m hoping at least they wouldn’t be strict to cases affected by COVID.

Would working before Sept jeopardize my PGWP application later on? If so, how? Is there a way to correct this?

 

[primaprime]

You can't work before your studies start. If you did there's nothing you can do except apologize and hope they don't refuse your PGWP application.

 

[bongoman]

Hi everyone. Hope you’re all doing great. I’ve stumbled on this forum while searching online for answers about my situation. It has been bugging me for weeks.

So, I arrived in Canada in May and was enrolled for a program supposedly starting in May. But because of COVID, I was automatically deferred to Fall term. I gave the Border services my original documents which reflects I am enrolled in May. I got a job in August- a month before my deferred program starts. In the conditions, it states that work is allowed when the program starts. I did not intend to defer- but bec of COVID things happen. And I arrived in Canada in May and the program started in September. That’s 4 months of not being able to do anything. I’m hoping at least they wouldn’t be strict to cases affected by COVID.

Would working before Sept jeopardize my PGWP application later on? If so, how? Is there a way to correct this?

That's unauthorized work as you have said you need to start studies before you can work, unless they have changed some rule, so it COULD affect all immigration applications but as mentioned IRCC doesnt really make much effort to check if you worked illegaly so it is unlikey they would find out or care too much.

 

[Impatient Dankaroo]

Hi everyone. Hope you’re all doing great. I’ve stumbled on this forum while searching online for answers about my situation. It has been bugging me for weeks.

So, I arrived in Canada in May and was enrolled for a program supposedly starting in May. But because of COVID, I was automatically deferred to Fall term. I gave the Border services my original documents which reflects I am enrolled in May. I got a job in August- a month before my deferred program starts. In the conditions, it states that work is allowed when the program starts. I did not intend to defer- but bec of COVID things happen. And I arrived in Canada in May and the program started in September. That’s 4 months of not being able to do anything. I’m hoping at least they wouldn’t be strict to cases affected by COVID.

Would working before Sept jeopardize my PGWP application later on? If so, how? Is there a way to correct this?

highly advise you stay under the radar until you get your pgwp. No, there's no way to correct as you've already broken the rule and you can't unbreak a rule but what you can do is make sure you don't put yourself in a situation where you will get caught.