The announcement will encourage more international students to study in Canada this fall, rather than delaying their studies.
International students who enrol in online courses while abroad this fall will still be eligible for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) after moving to Canada.
Before the change to the PGWP, international students, who were enrolled in online courses, could not apply for a work permit. However, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has decided to change study and work visa regulations because of coronavirus-related travel disruption around the world.
Who can apply?
New international students will be able to begin their programmes at a Canadian learning institution online in fall 2020 and complete up to 50% of the programme while abroad, and then still be able to obtain a permit to work in Canada after completing their studies.
In addition, international students will not have time deducted from the length of their work permit for the period they spent outside Canada, up to 31 December, 2020.
Hypothetically, a new international student can begin their programme at a Canadian university online this coming fall, and still be eligible for a work permit for the maximum three years so long as they arrived in Canada by the end of 2020 and completed a programme of at least two years’ duration.
How will the new rule benefit schools?
The announcement will encourage more international students to study in Canada this fall, rather than delaying their studies. The reason for this is that international students who wish to eventually apply for Canadian immigration will want to capitalise on the opportunity to complete a portion of their studies in their countries of origin, while still being able to access the same benefits had they been required to physically study in Canada.
Source: CIC NEWS
