According to many international students in Canada, studying in the country is only the first step of their life. The post-graduate ability to remain and work in Canada after the completion of graduation level is considered a major objective of many who seek to establish a career with probable possibility of settling permanently. But to make this transition into the status of a skilled worker according to the Canadian immigration legislation there are a number of steps and legal requirements that have to be fulfilled. It is also important to know how this process works in order to successfully go through the system in achieving a smooth transition of immigration status. By meeting with a skilled Toronto immigration attorney, you will be able to get advice during this process.
Understanding the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program
PGWP program is one of the key avenues through which international graduates can change their status to skilled workers. This program enables those students who graduated in Canadian designated learning institutions to have a work permit in Canada to work up to three years after doing their studies. The PGWP can give the student real world work experience that can help them gain permanent residency within different immigration streams.
Students intending to apply PGWP must be sure that they will match all the requirements such as a full time program of study of a minimum period of eight months. The application to obtain the work permit has to be done within 180 days upon confirmation of successful completion of the program. Such failure to meet this window can lead to the loss of an opportunity to attain good working experience under the program that is usually an important part of the skilled worker immigration process.
Qualifying for Skilled Worker Immigration Programs
Once the foreign graduates have acquired work experience during the PGWP or by another way, they may qualify as the skilled worker under immigration programs. Express Entry is the most frequent pathway: it oversees applications in three federal economic immigration programs called Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class. The Canadian Experience Class is especially applicable to the graduate having work experience in Canada since candidates who have Canadian experience to work as well can claim a permanent residency.
In order to qualify under Canadian Experience Class, one needs to have at least one year of skilled work experience in Canada during the last 3 years. This work experience should fall within the National Occupational Classification (NOC) under skill type 0, A or B. These requirements may be tricky and therefore consulting a professional immigration lawyer or someone who has a lot of experience in this field can get an immigrant a sound analysis of his/her status and a good application.
Preparing Your Application for Permanent Residency
After becoming eligible to a skilled worker program, there is a set of the detailed application package that should be prepared by applicants. This involves the collection of documentation including educational documents, employment references, language exam scores and documentation of work experience. Precision and fully completed application will have to be given to prevent the delays and rejections. Any misrepresentation or missing information can have serious consequences.
The services of a lawyer can offer real help to many foreign graduates when they need to go over their application materials. An attorney can also be used to make sure that the documents that are provided will gratify the required level of the law and that the application process will be executed as per the standards of the Canadian immigration policies. When residing in Toronto or its area, a face-to-face meeting with a Toronto immigration lawyer could establish a personalized service to serve best interests.
Maintaining Legal Status During the Transition
It is important to have a legal status in Canada as switching a student permit to a work permit and then a permanent residency. A student within their study permit period can take out a PGWP and keep their legal status as long as their application to study is considered as stated under implied status and they continue to stay in the position they are working in legally. It is necessary to have information about the deadline of applying to the permits and extensions to prevent losing one of the statuses.
In case of any uncertainty or difficulty arising in the transition, the legal complications can be avoided by consulting a lawyer. A lawyer too is able to help on appeals that might come about as well as status issues. This advice cannot be or will not come cheap; however, considering the difficulties of the immigration law and the gravity of the situation at hand to international students, the advice comes in handy and is priceless.
Also read: Changing Your Name in California: Legal Requirements Explained
To become a skilled worker and leave the status of a student under the Canadian immigration law is a feasible gravid step, yet a complex one. It is important to plan and detail out the way one can avail advantage of schemes such as Post-Graduation Work Permit and be eligible under skilled worker immigration streams. The process of preparing documents and meeting deadlines and other eligibility requirements should be communicated to the international graduates. Talking to a lawyer or a Toronto immigration lawyer will also help a lot in ensuring that he or she has great success in the transition and finally settling in Canada. Foreign students can be a great asset to Canada as they have the capacity to become great skilled workers by being guided through the law.
