Post-graduation work permit (PGWP) is an open work permit given to international students who have graduated from a participating Canadian post-secondary institution to gain valuable Canadian work experience. It is an open work permit that allows the holder to work for any employer anywhere in Canada. 

To obtain a PGWP, you must have graduated from a PGWP-eligible designated learning institution (DLI), and you must hold valid temporary status or have left Canada. The application must be submitted within 180 days of the completion of your study program, and a PGWP is usually valid for between 8 months to 3 years. Therefore, it is important to plan wisely to maximize the validity of your PGWP to 3 years. Since you can only apply for a PGWP once in a lifetime, verifying the PGWP eligibility of your choice of institution and program of study before you apply for school admission is wise.

Another point to note is that the validity period of your PGWP may not go beyond your passport validity date. Suppose your passport expires before the validity period of the PGWP. In that case, the officer will only be able to issue the partial validity period of your PGWP, and you will have to apply for an extension upon the renewal of your passport to receive the entire validity of your PGWP.

The work experience obtained through the PGWP program may help support your application to become a Canadian permanent resident. By bridging Canadian education into meaningful full-time work experience, your Canadian education credential and work experience will gain additional points under the immigration programs (e.g. Express Entry and PNP). In other words, you will be better positioned amongst the many other applicants to obtain permanent residency.  

Feel free to contact or follow EGI to obtain further details concerning the PGWP program and Canadian immigration options for international students.