The post-graduation work permit (PGWP) allows graduated students to work in Canada for up to 3 years.  The duration of the WP depends on the duration of the studies.  To be eligible you must:

• Have completed your study program:  Provide a certificate of completion and a final transcript from the Registrar's Office confirming that you have met all the requirements of your program.  These documents are available once Polytechnique recommends your graduation ("recommandation de diplôme").  Graduates of the following programs are eligible for the post-graduation work permit program:
  • Bachelor of Engineering (BEng)
  • Certificate in Engineering
  • DESS
  • Course-based Master (non-thesis) (MEng)
  • Research-based Master (thesis) (MASc)
  • PhD
• Hold a valid study permit if you are in Canada at the time of application;
• Submit your PGWP application within 180 days of the date of your graduation recommendation by the Registrar's Office;
• Have held a valid study permit at some point during the 180-day period following confirmation of the end of studies;
• Have no prior post-graduation work permit on record following the completion of another study program;
• You should have studied full-time during your program (= every term in the case of research-based programs).  An exception will be made for students who will have been granted a leave by the school that does not exceed 150 days (see what qualifies as "leave" here).
• Holding the results of a language test less than two years old demonstrating a minimum level of proficiency in French or English. This condition applies to all applicants, including those who have completed their entire academic career in either language and who were not required to take a language test upon admission to Polytechnique. We recommend that you plan to take such a test a few months before the planned end of your studies, so as not to be caught unprepared. 

A PGWP is an open work permit, meaning that it’s not connected to a specific employer. Therefore, you can request a PGWP before you are offered a job.  

Application processing fees are $155. An additional $100 is charged as an open work permit holder fee.  An additional 85$ biometrics fee may apply.

Attention!   The agent who will process your application will closely examine your transcript to see if you have complied with PGWP requirements.   Your PGWP application could be refused if you have not complied with any of the above-mentionned conditions. If it is obvious from your transcript that you do not meet some of the requirements, make sure to provide a letter of explanation (dated and signed) and give proofs, such as a copy of a plane ticket if you were not registered for a term and had left Canada.  Also provide proofs and explanations if you were granted a leave of less than 150 days by the school.  In all these cases, the agent will decide based on the information provided whether he issues the PGWP or not.

If you are not eligible to a PGWP, you might meet requirements for other types of work permit.  Take note that our service does not provide counselling on work permits that are not directly related to the study permit.

To apply from within Canada, you must hold a valid study permit and apply within 180 days of the availability of documents attesting to the completion of your studies. Please note that your study permit expires on the date indicated on the document, or 90 days after completion of your program, whichever comes first.  

If you were unable to submit your PGWP application before your study permit expired, you must submit a PGWP application, along with the payment of the restoration of student fee within 90 days of losing your status. 

You must apply online for a PGWP, as mail-in applications are now accepted only in rare cases.

If you're abroad, you will have to apply online for a post-graduation work permit.  This application will then be processed by a Canadian visa office (CVO).  Unlike applicants submitting an application from within Canada, you do not have to meet the condition of holding valid student status at the time of applying for a PGWP, but you are still required to apply within 180 days of the date of confirmation of completion of studies by Polytechnique and to have held a valid study permit at some point during that period.  

Note that if you have not provided your biometrics to IRCC within the last 10 years, you will need to go to a Visa Application Center to do so.  Biometrics fees of 85$ will be added to the processing fees and to the open work permit fees (see section on biometrics below). 

Once the application has been accepted, the CVO will issue a letter of introduction for the PGWP and a temporary resident visa or, if needed, an electronic travel authorization (eTA).  Your PGWP will be issued by a Canadian border service agent upon your arrival in Canada.  Note that this agent will take the final decision in regards to your eligibility to remain as a worker in Canada.  We thus invite you to have with you a copy of the forms and of your supporting documents used in your application, including proofs of your financial capacity, especially if you have yet to find employment.

You cannot apply for a PGWP at a Canadian port of entry, whether by land or air.   You must apply online, by following the instructions given above for applicants in Canada or abroad.

Students who have completed their academic activities and who are admissible to off-campus work by virtue of their study permit can continue working a maximum of 24h/week until the date of recommendation of their degree by Polytechnique.  They must then cease working under their SP.  

The reception of a confirmation of end of studies can take several weeks, after having completed the last academic activity.  Here's the sequence of events, by program:

• Course-based programs (Bachelor’s, DESS and Non-Thesis Master’s): Exams, internship reports or final projects are corrected, final grades are entered into the student’s file and the Registrar’s Office verifies that all the conditions for graduation described in the academic rules have been satisfied;
   
• Research programs (Thesis Master’s or PhD): Corrections requested by the thesis defense committee/Registrar’s Office are made by the student and the Registrar’s Office verifies that all the conditions for graduation described in the academic rules have been satisfied.

If you have a valid study permit at the time of submitting your application:

• Article 186(W) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations states that graduands whose study permit authorizing off-campus work is still valid at the time of their PGWP application may work full-time from the day that they submit their application. You don’t have to wait to receive the permit in order to start working. If a permit is issued, you can simply continue working. However, if your application is rejected, you must stop working.

If you are awaiting renewal of your student status at the end of your studies and your study permit has expired in the meantime:

• You must first wait for your study permit application to be approved.  You can then apply for the PGWP and start working as soon as the application has been submitted.  If the PGWP is approved, you can continue working; if the permit is denied, however, you must stop working. 

If you had to submit a PGWP application, combined with a restoration of your student status: you will have to wait for your PGWP to be issued before you can work.  Please note that you normally have to remain in Canada while your application is being processed.