The Canadian government has released more information following recently announced changes to Post-Graduation Work Permit eligibility and language requirements. Please note that the announcement will have minimal impact on current students.
Here is a summary of the changes relevant to University Canada West students. The full version can be viewed on the Canadian government’s website at Study program requirements – Canada.ca.
Those who have their study permit and apply for a PGWP before November 1, 2024 only need to meet the current eligibility criteria and the new requirements do not apply.
If you submit your study permit application on or after November 1, 2024, and are applying for a PGWP on or after November 1, 2024, you must also meet the new requirement that applies to your situation:
- If you graduated from a university bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or doctoral degree program:
- Language requirement: You must prove your English or French language skills with a minimum level of Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) 7 in English or Niveaux de competence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) 7 in French in all 4 language areas.
- Field of study requirement: All fields of study are eligible. There is no additional field of study requirement.
The government uses the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) for English. For example, the IELTS General Training equivalency to CLB 7 is achieving a score of 6.0 in all four bands.
The government accepts the following language test results:
- The CELPIP-Generaltest of the CELPIP: Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program
- IELTS General Trainingoption of the IELTS: International English Language Testing System
- The PTE Core option of the PTE Core: Pearson Test of English
The test results must be less than 2 years old when the application is submitted.
