Canada is ending the issuance of Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWP) at its borders to curb a practice called flagpoling where foreign nationals leave the country and re-enter the same day to get immigration services immediately and avoid lengthy processing times.
“While we continue to support and recognize the contributions of international graduates to Canada’s labour market, ‘flagpoling’ is unnecessary,” says Immigration Minister Marc Miller.
“The time and effort required to process applications from ‘flagpolers’ takes officers on both sides of the border away from their crucial role in protecting the safety, security and prosperity of Canadians and Americans. This measure will help prevent this practice, while maintaining the integrity of our immigration system.”
From March 1 last year to the end of February this year, PGWP applicants represented about one fifth of the foreign nationals who attempted to flagpole, notes Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
“Flagpoling places an undue burden on our border services officers,” says Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc.
“With this change, we’re taking a measured approach to combating the issue and putting an even greater focus on maintaining the integrity of our shared border with the United States.”
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Study permits usually expire 90 days after the expected completion of an international student’s study program. When an eligible graduating student applies online for a PGWP before their study permit expires, he or she can work full-time while awaiting approval and receive an automated letter which can be shown to employers. When a work permit is approved, it is then mailed directly to the applicant.
Ottawa’s move to nix PGWP applications at the border comes in the wake of its decision earlier this month to limit foreign nationals from flagpoling at 12 border crossings.
The 12 checkpoints which saw flagpoling limited this month were:
- Armstrong, Quebec
- Fort Erie (Peace Bridge), Ontario
- Saint Armand/Philipsburg, Quebec
- Saint Bernard-de-Lacolle, Quebec
- Stanstead Route 55, Quebec
- Aldergrove, Pacific Region
- Douglas, Pacific Region
- Niagara Falls Rainbow Bridge, Ontario
- Queenston-Lewiston Bridge, Ontario
- Pacific Highway, Pacific Region
- Boundary Bay, Pacific Region
- Abbotsford-Huntingdon, Pacific Region
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has said this is being done to increase efficiency during peak travel times and to ensure officers focus on other high-priority items such as trade facilitation, high-risk travellers, and asylum seekers.
South of the border, the United States has expressed its displeasure with flagpoling by foreign nationals trying to gain faster entry into Canada.
American Government Fed Up With Flagpoling At Canadian Border
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has gone so far as to claim flagpoling it is “putting the Niagara Falls and western New York economy at risk by increasing traffic and wait time here at the border.”
Canada is also consulting with the provinces on future changes to the PGWP in a bid to both cut down on the number of international grads working while on these permits in Canada and yet still meet the labour needs of employers.
Among the questions included in a letter sent to the provinces earlier this year is one which asks whether the eligibility criteria for the PGWP should apply this year or grandfather existing international students so that they can still get these work permits once they graduate.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is also asking the provinces which groups of international students, if any, should be exempt from these upcoming changes to the PGWP and how often the occupational shortage list should be revised.
Other questions in the letter sent to the provinces include requests for suggestions as to any additional criteria that might be required of international students, such as language skills, to qualify for a PGWP – and asking if international students should be required to prove the job offer they have received does indeed align with an occupational shortage.
Last year, the number of international students granted study permits in Canada shot up 70.6 per cent to 683,585 from 400,590 in 2022, the latest IRCC data shows.
Under pressure to curb inflation, particularly in the housing sector, Canada’s immigration minister has placed a cap on study permit applications this year.
The cap of 606,250 study permit applications in this year for new international students is expected to result in a drop of 40 per cent in the number of new international students in Canada, with only 292,000 such applications now expected to be approved by the end of this year.
Despite changes to the PGWP, Canadian immigration officials have been noting international students will still be able to apply for regular work permits upon graduation.
“The change in post-graduation work permit criteria does not prevent a graduate of one of these programs from applying for a different type of work permit upon graduation,” notes the IRCC.
“For occupations that face a labour shortage in Canada, a graduate could apply for a work permit supported by an employer’s approved Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), for example.”
