The federal government of Canada is rolling out a series of measures aimed at making it easier for international students who will be beginning their fall semesters taking online courses from Canadian schools, while COVID-19 restrictions remain in place.

The government says it will be allowing students to count the time spent studying online while abroad towards their eligibility for a post-graduation Canadian work permit if at least 50 percent of their post-secondary program is completed in Canada.

As well, the government is allowing international students who are not able to submit all of the documentation needed to process their post-graduation work applications due to COVID-19-related closures but still want to begin their studies while in another country to do so.

Ottawa has announced the International students make immense cultural and social contributions to Canada, and generate more than $21 billion in economic activity. Since the onset of the pandemic, the Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, has made a number of temporary policy changes to support and reassure international students and learning institutions.

These changes will give students more certainty about their ability to enter Canada once travel and health restrictions are eased in Canada and their own home countries. They mean that students will be eligible to work in Canada after graduation, even if they need to begin their studies online from overseas this fall.

The changes will continue Canada’s reputation as a premier destination for international students and demonstrate the importance of the international student program and the contributions international students make to Canada.

The new measures include:

providing priority study-permit processing for students who have submitted a complete application online, to ensure that permits are processed as quickly as possible allowing students to count the time spent pursuing their studies online abroad toward their eligibility for a post-graduation work permit, if they have submitted a study permit application and if at least 50% of their program is completed in Canada providing reassurances to international students who cannot submit all of the documentation needed to complete processing of their applications, and who choose to pursue programs through distance learning, by implementing a temporary 2-stage approval process.

The temporary stages for approval are approval-in-principle and eligibility/admissibility:

Applicants who pass the approval-in-principle stage—which includes showing that they have been accepted at a Canadian learning institution, have the available funds and are otherwise eligible for the study permit—will be notified of a first-step approval. Once the approval-in-principle is issued, applicants can begin studying online abroad and have that time count towards their post-graduation work permit, provided they meet other criteria and that they eventually receive full approval of their study permit. An applicant will receive final approval once they have met all eligibility and admissibility requirements, including submitting biometrics and necessary documents such as an immigration medical exam and a police certificate. Only once final approval is received will an applicant be able to travel to Canada.

New international students will be able to begin their programs at a Canadian DLI online in fall 2020 and complete up to 50 percent of the program while abroad, and then still be able to obtain the PGWP to work in Canada after completing their studies.IRCC also noted that international students will not have time deducted from the length of their PGWP for the period they spent outside of Canada, up to December 31, 2020. In a hypothetical scenario, a new international student can begin their program at a Canadian DLI online this coming fall and still be eligible for a PGWP for the maximum three years so long as they arrived in Canada by the end of 2020 and completed a qualifying educational program at a DLI of at least two years in duration. The PGWP is highly coveted among Canada’s international students since it enables them to work in Canada for up to three years after completing their studies. Such work experience provides them with a major advantage when submitting their federal and/or provincial immigration application, which 60 percent of international students plan to do, according to the Canadian Bureau for International Education’s annual survey of foreign students.

In 2019, Canada hosted over 650,000 international students at the post-secondary education level and more than 58,000 former international students have become Canadian permanent residents.