Canada's Post-Graduation Work Permit: Field-of-Study Rules and Eligibility for ASEAN Graduates

What the PGWP is

The Post-Graduation Work Permit is an open work permit for graduates of an eligible Canadian designated learning institution. It lets you work for almost any employer in Canada without a job offer lined up first, and time on the PGWP counts toward permanent residence pathways such as Express Entry's Canadian Experience Class.

How permit length is decided

Your PGWP length depends on how long your study program ran, not your degree level alone. Programs of 8 months up to under 2 years get a permit matching the program length. Programs of 2 years or more, and master's programs shorter than 2 years, qualify for a 3-year permit. Programs under 8 months are not PGWP-eligible at all.

Field of study rules for college graduates

If you submitted your study permit application on or after 1 November 2024, IRCC requires your college program to link to one of a set of priority fields, covering areas such as agriculture and agri-food, healthcare, STEM, and trade and transport, to qualify for a PGWP. Applicants whose study permits were submitted before 1 November 2024 are not subject to this field of study rule. IRCC then removed the field of study requirement specifically for college bachelor's degree graduates on 12 March 2025, reported by CIC News , meaning a college bachelor's degree qualifies regardless of subject while a college diploma or certificate still needs to match a priority field.

Language requirements

Applicants who submitted their study permit application from 1 November 2024 must also meet a minimum language level to get a PGWP. University bachelor's, master's and doctoral graduates, along with college bachelor's graduates, need Canadian Language Benchmark level 7. College diploma and certificate graduates need level 5.

Study permit caps and what they mean for you

Canada capped total study permits nationally starting in 2024. For 2025, IRCC planned to issue 437,000 study permits, about 10 percent below the 2024 level, including graduate students under the cap for the first time. For 2026, the plan allows up to 408,000 permits, split between newly arriving students and extensions for current students. Provinces and territories receive their own allocations under this cap, so your chosen province affects how competitive your study permit application is, separate from your PGWP eligibility once you are studying.

How to apply

Apply for your PGWP within 180 days of receiving written confirmation that you met your program requirements, and apply before your study permit expires or use your 90-day implied status window if it already expired. The application fee is CAD 255, covering the work permit processing fee and the open work permit holder fee, plus CAD 85 for biometrics if required.

What this means for ASEAN applicants

Check your intended program against the priority field list before you apply if you are choosing a college diploma or certificate route, since a mismatch could cost you PGWP eligibility entirely. Since study permits are capped, apply early in your intake cycle and confirm your province's allocation status through your school's international office.

What counts as a designated learning institution

Only programs at a designated learning institution qualify for a PGWP, and not every DLI has PGWP-eligible programs. Public colleges, polytechnics and universities generally qualify, but many private career colleges do not, and some private institutions only have PGWP eligibility for specific partnership programs with a public college. Confirm your specific program's PGWP eligibility on your institution's official page before you enrol, since eligibility is tied to the exact program rather than the school's general reputation.

The bridging open work permit

If you apply for your PGWP before your study permit expires, and you meet the other requirements, you generally continue working full-time under your existing study permit conditions while your PGWP application is processed, through what IRCC calls maintained status. This matters if processing takes longer than expected, since it lets you keep working without a gap while you wait for a decision.

Applying for and using the PGWP

A PGWP is available only once in your lifetime, so time your application carefully if you plan to complete more than one eligible program in Canada, since combining consecutive programs into one PGWP application after your final program sometimes gives a longer permit than applying after your first program alone. Once granted, the PGWP is an open work permit, meaning you do not need a specific employer or job offer to use it, and the work experience you gain on it counts toward Canadian permanent residence programs such as the Canadian Experience Class.

Full-time enrolment and program switching

To keep PGWP eligibility, you generally need to have studied full-time in each academic session of your program, with limited exceptions for your final academic session or approved leave. Switching schools or programs partway through your studies affects your eligibility calculation, so confirm with your school's international office before making a change, particularly if you are close to the minimum 8-month threshold.

What ASEAN students should verify before enrolling

Given how often these rules changed between 2024 and 2025, verify current field-of-study, language and program-length requirements directly on the IRCC PGWP eligibility page before signing an offer, rather than relying on an agent's or school's summary alone. Ask your prospective institution directly whether their specific program is currently PGWP-eligible, since some schools update their public marketing more slowly than IRCC updates its rules.