Not having the burden and added stress of having to find a job only three months after graduating from a post-graduate program has made a world of difference for foreign students studying in Canada.

Foreign student Buri Sen from the University of Windsor, who will be completing his Master's degree this August, was pleasantly surprised when he received an e-mail from student services announcing that the federal government had discarded the prerequisite that foreign students obtain employment in their field of study within 90 days or be forced to leave the country.

"It's a huge gift," Sen commented over the phone from Windsor.

The new rules, which came into effect in April of this year, barely registered on the Richter scale of most Canadians, but come as a huge relief to International students studying here, as well as academic institutions attempting to allure new students into Canadian post-graduate institutions.

The new rules, which were initiated by the Conservative government, allow students to obtain post-graduate permits, valid up to three years, and not necessarily in their field of study. The length of the permit is dependant on how long they studied here. It must be applied for within 90 days of graduating, but is not dependant on a secured job, which is an enormous weight off recent graduates, who are often hard-pressed to find suitable employment right away. This is a boon for Immigration, according to Darcy Rollins, director of international education for the Manitoba government, who claims this much needed change gets rid of "ridiculous requirements" that turned off potential foreign students.

The new rules are a benefit to foreign students that are already fully immersed in their lives in Canada, have picked up the language skills and developed social and networking communities as well as labour market experience. There are more than 64,000 international students in Canada.

Immigration Minister Diane Finley announced concerning the changes "Our ability to retain international graduates with Canadian qualifications, work experience and familiarity with Canadian society will help increase our competitiveness and benefit Canada as a whole."