I am in the same situation. The best option is to request the university to issue the graduation letter earlier and apply for PGWP before study permit expiry, but not all universities are able to do that due to technical reasons.
I consulted some students who were in the same boat last year, they told me that they ended up applying for a visitor record to extend their stay, as they don't have any more credits to take after the study permit expiry, and then applied for PGWP.
I have also decided to extend my stay as a visitor, just because I saw people around me succeeded in doing so. IMO, I prefer this option because it requires fewer documents to prepare and is cheaper, but the thing really bothers me is that I don't know if I also need to renew my CAQ.
Does anyone know if I need to renew my CAQ while extending my stay as a visitor?
Students who graduated last year do not have this problem since all CAQs in 2020 are automatically extended to the end of the year, but this does not apply to 2021. Perhaps things are going to change soon but at this point nobody knows.
I consulted some students who were in the same boat last year, they told me that they ended up applying for a visitor record to extend their stay, as they don't have any more credits to take after the study permit expiry, and then applied for PGWP.
I have also decided to extend my stay as a visitor, just because I saw people around me succeeded in doing so. IMO, I prefer this option because it requires fewer documents to prepare and is cheaper, but the thing really bothers me is that I don't know if I also need to renew my CAQ.
Does anyone know if I need to renew my CAQ while extending my stay as a visitor?
Students who graduated last year do not have this problem since all CAQs in 2020 are automatically extended to the end of the year, but this does not apply to 2021. Perhaps things are going to change soon but at this point nobody knows.