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: You must obtain a letter from the Registrar’s Office indicating that you have satisfied all the conditions of your program (called an “attestation de fin d'études” in French) as well as a final transcript. At Polytechnique, graduates from the following programs are eligible for a post-graduation work permit:
  • Bachelor of Engineering (BEng)
  • Certificate in Engineering
  • DESS
  • Course-based Master (non-thesis) (MEng)
  • Research-based Master (thesis) (MASc)
  • PhD
• Apply within 180 days following the availability of the confirmation of end of studies and final transcript;
• If you are in Canada, you must hold a valid temporary resident status at the moment of applying for the PGWP:  you must either hold a valid study permit (SP) or a visitor status; 
• 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).
• For applications made as November 1st, 2024: hold 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 valid temporary resident status and apply within 180 days of the availability of documents attesting to the completion of your studies. 

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

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 your study permit covers the full duration of your last term of enrolment in your program, but expires before the school can confirm the end of your studies, you must complete an application to change the conditions of your stay to visitor status before your student status expires, in order to maintain valid temporary resident status in Canada. Accompany your application with a letter (dated and signed) explaining that you wish to extend your stay as a visitor, as you are waiting for the school to notify you of your graduation before submitting an application for PGWP.

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 or visitor 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.  

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.

As of June 21, 2024, it is no longer possible to apply for a PGWP at a Canadian port of entry, whether by land or air.  You can no longer apply at the U.S.-Canada border (commonly known as "flagpoling"").  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 can continue working a maximum of 24h/week until they receive a written confirmation of the end of their program, on the condition that their study permit is not expired.  Students must stop performing any work authorized under their SP as soon as Polytechnique confirms that their study program has ended. 

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 student status 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. Unlike other types of work permits, 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 your study permit expires, while awaiting renewal of your student status at the end of your studies:

• 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 your study permit expires and you have a valid visitor status or are in transition to a visitor status at the time you apply for the PGWP:

• You are not allowed to work until you have obtained your PGWP.  PGWP applications submitted by visitors in Canada are processed by visa offices abroad and subject to processing times of these offices. Once your PGWP application has been approved by the visa office, you will receive a letter with which you must present yourself at a port of entry to have your WP issued.
  
  As overseas processing does not confer maintained status on applicants (i.e. legal status), you must ensure that your visitor status remains valid until your PGWP can be issued.