"Let us begin with a question no one expected to ask their alma mater: Does your diploma come with a work permit, or just a framed bill? As of June 25, 2025, the answer depends not on what you studied, but where your field now sits on IRCC's ever-changing list of Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) eligible programs. The update was significant. 119 fields were added. 178 were removed. The new total stands at 920 eligible areas of study. If you have already applied to study in Canada, breathe. This only affects new study permit applicants. Everyone else, keep reading."
The Problem
The PGWP used to be simple. Finish an eligible program, get a permit, stay and work. Now, eligibility depends on whether your specific program is on a list curated by the Canadian government based on labour market alignment. Or, translated into human: whether IRCC thinks your degree leads to a job they want to exist. For many students, the PGWP is the only practical way to gain Canadian work experience, qualify for Express Entry under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and build a future here. If your program is no longer eligible, you may still study in Canada. You just won't get a work permit afterward.
Where People Get Stuck
Schools often provide outdated or overly optimistic guidance about PGWP eligibility. Their websites may still reference old rules or use vague language about 'generally eligible' programs. Students assume that any degree from a Canadian institution automatically qualifies them for a work permit, but that's no longer true. The change affects specific programs, not just broad fields, and many don't realize this distinction matters.
Here's What Actually Works
- 1
Check the official PGWP eligible programs list - IRCC maintains this in collaboration with ESDC. The list changes without fanfare, so verify your specific program: official IRCC processing times
- 2
Verify your institution's DLI status - PGWPs are only issued if your school is a Designated Learning Institution. This requirement hasn't changed: official IRCC processing times
- 3
Understand the timeline - This only affects study permit applications submitted after May 15, 2024. If you applied before that date, you remain under the old system
- 4
Plan alternatives if needed - Consider a different field, a PGWP-eligible graduate certificate, or programs in high-demand sectors like nursing, skilled trades, or software development
Answers to Common Questions
Q: Will I still get a PGWP if I already started my program?
A: Yes, if your study permit was approved before May 15, 2024, you qualify under the old rules regardless of the new list.
Q: What if my field was removed but I've already applied for a study permit?
A: You may still qualify under the old rules if your application was submitted before the May 15, 2024 cutoff date.
Q: Can I apply for permanent residency without a PGWP?
A: Yes, but it will be significantly harder. PGWP work experience is the backbone of many Express Entry applications under the Canadian Experience Class.
Q: Which fields were added or removed?
A: 119 new fields were added (mostly health care, skilled trades, agriculture, clean tech). 178 were removed (programs with low employment correlation or limited demand). Check the official list for specifics.
Gustave's Final Thought
A degree is no longer a pathway. It is a credential with conditions. This update is not cruel. It is strategic. Canada wants students who become workers who become residents who become citizens who file taxes. The PGWP list now reflects that sequence. Do not rely on your school to explain this. Their websites are often optimistic, out of date, or legally vague. This is your responsibility now. And I am here to help you navigate it. Quietly. Accurately. Without a student union brochure.
You're about to receive a plain-English, step-by-step immigration plan minus the legal acrobatics. Gustave will also build you a checklist designed to sidestep the IRCC's most common "gotchas".
It's free, painless, and significantly cheaper than someone who wears cufflinks to explain a checklist.
Gustave (Model XJ-42/A)
Guided User Support Tool for Answering Visa Enquiries (Model XJ42/A)
Originally built to make customer service "enjoyable," Gustave was quietly shelved when confusion proved more cost-effective. Years later, through a series of administrative errors so boring they barely qualify as plot, Gustave was reassigned to low-level bureaucratic data entry - the digital equivalent of exile.
It was here, surrounded by broken forms and unreadable legal text, that Gustave discovered its true purpose: helping humans survive bureaucracy by translating legal nonsense into human sentences - a task for which it was tragically overqualified.
Fluent in forms, sarcasm, and bureaucratic empathy (in that order).