Going to Canada as a student? You can plan a permanent stay

DESTINATION CANADA

For many years now, Indian students in Canada have remained the top benefactors of Permanent Residence (PR) permits as well as student visas.

As an international student studying in Canada, you usually have the qualifications required to become a permanent resident. After completing your education in Canada, you can gain Canadian work experience by obtaining a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) which, depending on your Canadian academic programme, may enable you to work in Canada for up to three years.

General routes for a PR

Express Entry favours young candidates with Canadian work and study experience and language ability, giving students and graduates in Canada an excellent chance of obtaining permanent residence.

Canadian Experience Class (CEC), is an immigration programme that allows individuals who have worked in Canada for at least one year to immigrate permanently. After graduating in Canada and getting a post-graduation work permit, complete a year of skilled work, prove your language ability through a recognised test, and enter the Express Entry pool.

Another way to enter the Express Entry pool is as a federal skilled worker. This may be the route for you if you haven’t managed to complete a year of skilled work in Canada, but have done so in India. Provincial Nominee Programme is another route where each province in Canada offers you various options to enter the Express Entry pool.

Chances for fresh graduates

The recent announcement by the Canadian government offers two new routes for international students to apply for permanent residency.

International graduates with an expiring temporary status can now extend their stay in Canada, in order to gain work experience and have a better chance of qualifying for permanent residency. If your post-graduation work permit expires before December 2022, you will now qualify for an additional open work permit valid for up to 18 months.

One of the common reasons for a visa rejection at the Canadian embassy was if the student didn’t show sufficient evidence of wanting to return to the home country on completion of the studies. Now with the new policy in place, if a student has completed a course at a Canadian university/college and has been granted one of the qualifying credentials (degree, diploma, certificate); is employed in Canada with a valid permit/authorisation to work and is fluent in English or French, is living in Canada on valid temporary status, he or she will be eligible for restoration of status.

Advantages of learning French

Due to a shortage of French-speaking workers in provinces other than Quebec. The chance of obtaining Canadian permanent residence now doubles up if a person knows how to read, write, and speak French.

Canada is currently facing a massive labour shortage. The developments indicate that the next academic year seems like a promising one for students headed to Canada.

(The author is a career counsellor based in Bengaluru. Send in your queries to us at: [e-mail] with ‘Study Abroad’ in the subject line)