China News Service, May 18, according to the Canadian "Sing Tao Daily" report, the Immigration Department of Canada has revised the content of the student and work visa a few days ago. International students studying in Canada online courses in autumn 2020 can still do so after arriving in Canada. Applying for a 3-year "post-graduation work visa" (PGWP), the relevant amendments will take effect in the fall of 2020.
It is understood that PGWP allows international students to obtain work experience in their home country after completing educational courses at a "designated learning institution" (DLI) in Canada, but international students must complete a full-time course of at least 8 months to be eligible for PGWP. Their course of study must reach the level of a diploma, degree or certificate. The length of time to obtain PGWP depends on the progress of the student ’s course in Canada.
Generally speaking, when applying for PGWP, online courses will not be counted, but the epidemic has blocked global travel, and the Canadian Immigration Department has allowed international students who participate in online courses overseas to also qualify for a work visa after graduation.
It is understood that new international students can participate in online courses organized by Canadian designated learning institutions starting in the fall of 2020. Among them, the courses completed overseas cannot exceed half of the total courses. After completing the entire course, students are eligible to obtain PGWP and work in Canada. The Canadian Immigration Department said that PGWP for international students will not be deducted for being overseas.
Working experience in Canada is also very helpful for international students to apply for immigration programs. According to the Canadian International Education Agency's annual survey of international students, 60% of international students plan to apply for PGWP. In the current "express entry" comprehensive scoring system, international students can get extra points for studying and working in Canada.
The Canadian Department of Immigration announced that it will encourage more international students to study in Canada, because it is hoped that international students who eventually immigrated to Canada can make full use of the time not in Canada to complete part of the study course, but they are also qualified, which can also reduce the cost of going abroad. Similarly, this policy is good for the Canadian economy and employment.
Before the outbreak, there were about 640,000 international students in Canada, contributing 22 billion Canadian dollars to the Canadian economy each year and filling about 170,000 job vacancies.