Question Period Note: International Students – Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic

International students in Canada or planning to study in Canada have been impacted by the health and travel restrictions imposed to address COVID-19 pandemic. The Department has put in place measures to assist international students during these uncertain times.

• International students make immense economic, cultural and social contributions to Canada. We have put in place a number of measures to help them deal with the uncertainties of the pandemic.

• For example, students who are studying online in Canada or abroad can remain eligible for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP). Measures include ensuring that studies completed outside Canada will count towards a future PGWP up to the end of 2021, and allowing students to complete their entire program online from abroad and still be eligible for a PGWP.

• In addition former students in Canada with expired or expiring PGWPs have the opportunity to apply for an additional open work permit with a duration of 18 months until July 27, 2021.

• International graduates actively contribute to Canada’s economy. For this reason, from May 6 to November 5, 2021, a new pathway to permanent residence will be open to international graduates presently working in Canada.

Travel exemptions and requirements for international students:

• Since October 20, 2020 study permit holders and those approved for a study permit are exempt from the travel restrictions as long as they are attending a Designated Learning Institution (DLI) that has a provincially or territorially approved COVID-19 readiness plan in place.
o The list of DLIs with approved plans can be found on IRCC’s website and includes over three-quarters of the 1286 post-secondary institutions.
o Most Provinces and Territories (PTs) have provided approval to receive K-12 international students.

• Current travel restrictions require that study permit exempt foreign nationals, including those who seek to attend a course or program of 6 months’ duration or less, hold a study permit to enter Canada. With a study permit, these students will be allowed entry as long as they are attending an institution with a PT-approved COVID-19 readiness plan and they meet all other entry requirements.

• All current public health measures for travelers apply to international students, including pre-departure and post-arrival testing, with two exceptions:
o Cross-border students (both K-12 and post-secondary) are exempt from a perpetual state of quarantine, as long as their DLI has a PT-approved COVID-19 readiness plan and the quarantine exemption has been approved by the PT.
o International students who are unaccompanied minors are exempt from the three-day mandatory hotel stopover and are allowed to proceed to their suitable quarantine destination.

Measures to support status renewal and documentation requirements:

• The Department has implemented a public policy that provides an extension for foreign nationals applying for restoration in Canada beyond the normal 90-day timeframe. Former students along with former workers and visitors whose status expired between January 30, 2020 and May 30, 2021, and who remained in Canada, have until August 31, 2021, to apply to restore their status, provided they meet the requirements for the type of status and authorization they are applying to restore.

• The Department had put in place special measures to exempt temporary resident applicants applying from within Canada, such as study permit and PGWP applicants, from having to give their biometrics.

• As of April 12, 2021, IRCC is giving applications with missing documents a final request letter with a 30-day deadline for submission. An additional extension may be granted where a reasonable explanation and proof has been provided by the applicants.

Study permit processing:

• IRCC ceased the 2-stage approval process which had been in place since July 2020 for international students who could not submit all of the documentation needed to complete processing of their application. This temporary measure ended on January 31, 2021 and has not been extended.

• As services resume, applicants will be required to submit remaining documents and receive a study permit approval before being allowed to travel to Canada.

• Students who have submitted a complete study permit application online and who are destined to a DLI with an approved COVID-19 readiness plan continue to benefit from priority processing.

• Once current backlogs are cleared, the processing times will likely fall within the service standards, and study permits will likely be processed much faster as a result of the backlog being cleared.
o Processing service standards for regular study permit applications is 60 days, 20 days for those submitted through the Student Direct Stream, and 14 days for those submitted through the Visa-Exempt Study Permit Abroad stream.

Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) and Distance Learning:

• The PGWP provides international students with the opportunity to work in Canada for up to three years following their graduation, depending on the length of their program. Under normal circumstances, 50% of the program of study must be completed in-Canada and in-class, and time spent studying outside of Canada is deducted from the length of the work permit.

• IRCC has implemented a series of temporary changes to the PGWPP to ensure international students can remain eligible for the program if they study online in Canada or from their home country.

• Most recently, on February 12, 2021, IRCC announced an extension and expansion of the previous policy changes put in place. The new measures benefit international students who begin or began a program in any semester from spring 2020 to fall 2021, or whose program was already in progress in March 2020 by:
o counting studies completed outside Canada until December 31, 2021, towards the eligibility and length of a future PGWP; and
o allowing up to 100% of a student’s program to be completed online from outside Canada while remaining eligible for a PGWP.

• These measures are available to students who have a study permit, a study permit approval, or applied for a study permit prior to starting their program of study and are eventually approved. All other PGWPP criteria must be met.

Former students in Canada with expired or expiring Post-Graduation Work Permits:

• On January 8, 2021, the Department announced a new temporary public policy that will facilitate the issuance of open work permits with durations up to 18 months to foreign nationals in Canada with an expired or expiring Post-Graduation Work Permit. The public policy is effective from January 27, 2021 to July 27, 2021.

• This additional open work permit will provide current and former PGWP holders with additional time to acquire required work experience to qualify for permanent residence programs, the ability to support themselves in Canada, and the opportunity to help fill Canadian labour market needs.

• To apply, foreign nationals must:
o have a PGWP that expired on or after January 30, 2020, or a PGWP that expires in four months or less from the date they apply;
o be in Canada when the public policy takes effect (January 27, 2021) and remained in Canada; and
o have a valid temporary status, or are applying to restore their status

New pathway to permanent residence for 40,000 international graduates:

• On April 14, 2021, IRCC announced that, effective May 6, 2021, it will begin accepting applications from international graduates who have completed an eligible Canadian post-secondary program within the last 4 years, and no earlier than January 2017.

• Graduates must have proficiency in one of Canada’s official languages and be present, authorized to work and working in Canada at the time of their application to qualify.

• To promote Canada’s official languages, an additional stream with no intake cap has also been launched for French-speaking or bilingual candidates.

None