Last Updated On 12 September 2024, 8:46 AM EDT (Toronto Time)

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Canada has long been a destination for international students, with the promise of a pathway to permanent residency through its immigration programs.

By the end of 2023, the country had issued post-graduation work permits (PGWPs) to 396,235 international students, nearly tripling the number from 2018.

Many of these graduates contribute significantly to the country’s labour force, filling roles in various sectors.

However, recent changes in immigration policies have left tens of thousands of these individuals, many of whom have invested years into building a life in Canada, uncertain about their future.

Simultaneously, Canada’s immigration target for 2024 under the economic immigration category stands at approximately 305,000, as the government seeks to bring in skilled workers who can contribute to key sectors.

However, despite this seemingly ambitious target, many temporary residents, including international graduates on PGWPs, are finding that they do not fit into the new criteria for permanent residency.

This policy shift has left a significant portion of this community out of options, causing anxiety and frustration among those who had hoped to make Canada their permanent home.

International Students and the Path to PR: A Shifting Landscape

For years, international students have come to Canada with the understanding that completing a Canadian education and gaining work experience would pave the way for permanent residency (PR).

The introduction of PGWPs enabled these students to gain valuable Canadian work experience after completing their studies, a key criterion in Canada’s immigration programs.

Many students viewed this as the perfect opportunity to transition from temporary status to PR.

However, the situation changed drastically between 2021 and 2023.

While Canada granted PR to 90,000 temporary workers and PGWP holders during the pandemic as part of an emergency measure to address labour shortages, these policy provisions were later revoked.

In addition, the criteria for obtaining PR through the Express Entry system, which ranks candidates based on a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), shifted significantly.

French speakers and individuals in fields like healthcare, skilled trades, agriculture, transportation, and STEM fields began receiving priority over candidates with Canadian-specific education and work experience.

The consequences of these changes are now being felt, with tens of thousands of international graduates facing expiring PGWPs and a closed door to permanent residency.

Policy experts estimate that between 70,000 and 130,000 PGWP holders will see their permits expire in 2024 and 2025, with little chance of visa extensions or PR invitations due to Ottawa’s focus on reducing the number of temporary residents and low-wage foreign workers.

The Human Toll of Immigration Policy Changes

“There is a lot of panic amongst people who have now been here for years studying and working and paying their taxes,” said Vasanthi Venkatesh, a law professor at the University of Windsor specializing in immigration law.

“They came to this country through student programs that were arguably presented by policymakers as a path to permanent residency. Now you have rule changes coming out in piecemeal fashion every few weeks, and that has a real effect on people who are already here.”

This uncertainty has left many in limbo, unsure whether they will be forced to leave Canada after having invested years in education and work experience.

The impact is widespread, particularly for those whose PGWPs are expiring without an opportunity to transition to PR.

Sarabjit Singh, a mechanical engineer from Punjab, India, came to Canada in 2020 to pursue a business management diploma at Algoma University’s Brampton campus.

Like many international students, he believed that obtaining a Canadian diploma would increase his chances of securing PR.

However, PR draws for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) were paused between August 2021 and May 2024, leaving him stranded in the system.

Now working as a machinist in Brampton, his PGWP expires in September, and he remains unsure of his next steps.

“Some people got lucky. They got PGWP extensions. Some of them even got PR straightaway. I got unlucky. I paid so much to study here, and I’ve been working hard, paying my taxes. What did I do wrong?” Singh shared in frustration.

Similarly, Mehakdeep Singh, who studied to become an HVAC technician at Fleming College in Peterborough, has struggled to navigate the changing immigration landscape.

After working as a supervisor for a security company and then switching to a baker role in North Bay to qualify for the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), his PGWP expired in July.

With no PR invitation, he is now on a visitor visa, uncertain about his future in Canada.

Immigration Experts Warn of Non-Transparent PR Selection

The unpredictable nature of the current immigration system has left many international graduates feeling abandoned.

“Nobody knows the probability of a successful permanent residency transition now because the PR selection system has become highly non-transparent and unpredictable,” explained Mikal Skuterud, an economist at the University of Waterloo.

“What we do know is that the government is not going to grant extensions to expiring visas, so there will now be many people in situations where they either remain in Canada undocumented or leave.”

Skuterud and other experts estimate that approximately 131,000 PGWPs could expire in 2024 alone, though the exact figure remains unclear due to the variable duration of the permits.

As a result, many of these individuals face the harsh reality of having to leave Canada despite contributing to its economy and society.

The Naujawan Support Network, a labour advocacy organization based in Brampton, estimates that 70,000 PGWP holders will be forced to leave Canada in 2024 and 2025 unless drastic policy changes are made.

These numbers represent not just the loss of individuals but also the loss of a skilled workforce that Canada has heavily relied on, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rising Frustration and Calls for Fair Pathways

As the number of international graduates facing expired PGWPs increases, so does the outcry for policy reform.

In Brampton, groups of affected individuals, including Sarabjit Singh and Mehakdeep Singh, have set up a protest site demanding visa extensions and a “fair pathway” to permanent residency.

They are advocating for regular PR draws from all streams of the Express Entry system, ensuring that international graduates who have been living, studying, and working in Canada are given a chance to stay.

“For years, the government framed education not as an end in itself, but as a means to live in the country permanently,” said Parmbir Gill, a Toronto-based labor lawyer and member of the Naujawan Support Network.

“Their own slogan was ‘Study. Explore. Work. Stay.’ Nobody from India or elsewhere would ever have come to Canada just to pay exorbitant tuition fees to a third-rate private career college in a Brampton strip mall, and then leave. They’ve come here to stay, on the terms set by the government.”

The Dark Side of Immigration: Exploitation and LMIA Scams

Amid the growing desperation of PGWP holders, an insidious trend has emerged: exploitation by bad actors preying on vulnerable students.

As many international graduates find themselves out of options, unscrupulous job recruiters are taking advantage of their desperation by offering fraudulent job offers through the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process.

An LMIA is a document required by employers who wish to hire foreign workers, proving that no qualified Canadian workers are available for the job.

In some cases, these LMIAs are being sold to desperate graduates for as much as $35,000, promising a temporary work permit in exchange.

Both Sarabjit and Mehakdeep shared stories of being offered LMIA jobs for large sums but rejecting the offers due to the exorbitant fees.

“These students are being presented with paths that seem like they will help them stay in the country, but in reality, many of these paths lead to dead ends and further exploitation,” noted Gill.

“Each of these paths is presented to these students as a way to maintain status and continue working, but each path will lead most people to a dead end eventually and expose them to greater debt and exploitation along the way.”

Temporary Solutions, Long-Term Problems

In January, Ottawa announced a two-year cap on international student admissions and ceased issuing PGWPs to students from schools operating under a public-private partnership model.

This change specifically targeted private colleges that have seen a surge in international students enrolling due to partnerships with public institutions.

However, experts like Dr. Venkatesh argue that these policy tweaks do little to solve the immediate problem of expiring PGWPs and the lack of a permanent residency pathway for those already in Canada.

“We wanted these people in when we were struggling with a labour shortage. Now we are reneging on our promise of a pathway to PR and chasing them out. The right thing to do is to grant them PR status,” she said.

Canada’s immigration policy has long been heralded as a model for other nations, particularly due to its focus on economic integration through pathways like the PGWP.

However, the recent policy changes and the resulting uncertainty have cast a shadow over this narrative.

Tens of thousands of international graduates who were once viewed as key contributors to Canada’s economic and demographic future now face the prospect of returning to their home countries without the permanent residency they were promised.

As these individuals continue to raise their voices, the government will need to address the growing discontent and find solutions that honour the commitments made to those who chose Canada as their home, contributing their skills and hard-earned education to the country’s labour force.

Whether through policy reform, visa extensions, or guaranteed pathways to PR, it is clear that action is needed before more talented individuals are lost to the very system that once welcomed them.

Kamal Deep Singh, RCIC

Kamal Deep Singh, RCIC (Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant) licensed by CICC (formerly known as ICCRC) with member number R708618. He brings extensive knowledge of immigration law and new changes to rapidly evolving IRCC.