PGWP Eligibility 2025: CIP Codes, Online Study & Language Requirements

The Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) allows international students to work in Canada for any employer (like an open work permit). The length of the PGWP depends on your study program and usually is up to 3 years. PGWP is only issued once to a person, so once you reach expiry of PGWP, you would not be eligible for PGWP again if you took another study program in Canada.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has made several changes to PGWP eligibility in 2024 & 2025 by including language test requirements, CIP codes for study programs, field of study requirements for study permit and more. So understanding PGWP eligibility is important to choose the right program and applying for a Canada study permit.

Field of Study Requirement (CIP Codes)

The Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code is a number that represents the field of study of your program. IRCC uses 6-digits CIP codes to identify your program’s field of study to check your PGWP eligibility.

If you submit your study permit application before November 1, 2024, you do not need to meet this new field of study requirement, even though your study program is a non-degree program. If you have submitted your study permit application on and after November 1, 2024, then the field of study requirement is only applicable if your program is a non-degree program. Your study program’s CIP code should be from PGWP eligible study fields defined by IRCC.

Where can I find CIP Code for my program?

Most universities and colleges have updated their website to represent CIP code for respective programs. Here are some common ways to get CIP code for your program:

• Check college or university websites. Look for your program’s details page. Here is an example of Conestoga College showing CIP Codes for different programs.
• Check your Letter of Acceptance from college.
• If you already graduated, check your official transcripts for CIP code.
• Contact your college/university and ask for a CIP code for your program.
• You can also search CIP codes Canada from Statistics Canada’s official website.

Example Scenario 1 for field of study requirement:

Alex got a Letter of Acceptance from a PGWP eligible DLI from Canada, for Biotechnology Technician Diploma program, on 10 Sep, 2024. His program start date was 6 Jan, 2025. He then submitted an application for Canada’s study permit with all required documents on 3 Oct, 2024. Alex got his study permit application approved on 20 Nov, 2024.

As Alex submitted his study permit application before 1 Nov, 2024, field of study requirement is not applicable to him, when he would apply for PGWP.

Example Scenario 2 for field of study requirement:

John got a Letter of Acceptance from a PGWP eligible DLI from Canada, for Biotechnology Technician Diploma program, on 30 Sep, 2024. His program start date was 6 Jan, 2025. He then submitted an application for Canada’s study permit with all required documents on 4 Nov, 2024. Alex got his study permit application approved on 2 Dec, 2024.

As John submitted his study permit application after 1 Nov, 2024 and his program is a non-degree program, the field of study requirement is applicable to him, when he would apply for PGWP. The CIP code of his study program should be from the eligible field of study CIP codes.

PGWP Eligibility by Study Program Type

If you are applying for PGWP Canada on and after November 1, 2024, following new eligibility criteria applicable to your application. If you applied before November 1, 2024, then these new criteria won’t be applicable to your case.

For Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctoral Degree Students:

• No field of study restrictions for you. Your degree could be related to any field of study, as long as you have successfully graduated.
• You must meet minimum language requirement i.e. CLB 7 or NCLC 7.

Other University-Level Programs:

• Language requirement same as degree programs i.e. CLB 7 or NCLC 7.
• To be eligible for PGWP after graduating, your field of study should be from the eligible field of study list.

College, Polytechnic, or Non-University Programs:

• These programs have little lenient language requirements i.e. CLB 5 or NCLC 5.
• Field of study also applicable on these programs.

Here is the quick comparison of all these programs and associated new eligibility requirements:

Distance Learning and Online Study Rules

During COVID, Canada introduced some temporary policies for international students, to study online while not physically being present in Canada and still be eligible for Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP).

Now as almost all colleges and universities back to in-person classes, those temporary COVID policies are not more applicable. To determine if your program of study is still eligible for PGWP, IRCC uses a lock-in date for your study program.

What is the lock-in date for checking PGWP eligibility?

Whichever comes first from following 2 dates, is considered as lock-in date for you:

• You study program start day (no matter you inside or outside Canada)
• You received acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) from IRCC for your study permit application.

Once you figure out your lock-in date, you can use below information to see if you are eligible for PGWP and if any time would be deducted from the length of your PGWP.

March 2020 – August 31, 2022 (COVID Policy):

With this temporary COVID policy, international students were allowed to complete even 100% of their study online from outside of Canada. This policy was only applicable till August 31, 2022. If you started your program of study, between March 2020 – August 31, 2022 (or you were already studying in March 2020), you were allowed to complete 100% of your study online while being outside Canada, and still eligible for full PGWP (if you meet all other general requirements of PGWP).

Example: Alex application for Canada’s study permit was approved in Jan 2020 and his program start date was May 2020. He was not able to travel to Canada due to COVID restrictions and had to complete his 100% studies online while being physically not present in Canada. As his program start date was in May 2020, which lies between March 2020 – August 31, 2022, he is eligible to get full PGWP.

Lock-in Date: September 1, 2022 – August 31, 2024:

If your lock-in date is between September 1, 2022 – August 31, 2024, you should complete at least 50% of your studies while physically being present in Canada (no matter online or in-class). As long as you meet this threshold, you are entitled for full PGWP.
 

Example: Mike applied for Canada’s study permit in Aug 2024 and his program start date was in Jan 2025. He got his study permit application approved in Oct 2024. His program has 4 terms. He attended 1st semester online from outside Canada. Before starting his second semester in May 2025, he travelled to Canada and attended classes online while being in Canada. He plans to attend all his remaining semesters while being present inside Canada. This would make Mike still eligible for full PGWP length, as his lock-in date lies between September 1, 2022 – August 31, 2024 and as per his plan, he only completed 25% of his study from outside Canada, which is under the 50% threshold.

Lock-in Date: On or after September 1, 2024:

By this time, most colleges and universities were back to in-class learning again. So if your lock-in date is on or after Sep 1, 2024, you are required to complete at least 50% of your studies in-class within Canada. This makes you still eligible to complete up to 50% of your studies online, but you need to be present within Canada. You should have done 100% of your studies while being in Canada. If you meet this, you would be eligible for full PGWP length.

Any time spent studying online, while being outside Canada, would be deducted from your PGWP length. 

Example: Sarah applied for Canada’s study permit in Oct 2024 and her program start date was in Jan 2025. She got his study permit application approved in Dec 2024. Her program has 4 terms. She attended 1st semester online from outside Canada. Before starting her second semester in May 2025, she travelled to Canada and attended classes online while being in Canada. She plans to attend her 2nd semester online from within Canada and 3rd & 4th semesters in-class.

As per this scenario, once she graduated, she would have done 25% of her study online while being outside of Canada, 25% online study from within Canada and 50% study in-class. This would still make her eligible for PGWP, but days she spent studying outside Canada (probably 4 months with this example scenario) will be deducted from her eligible PGWP length.

Public-Private College Eligibility

There are some private colleges in Canada, which partner with some public colleges, and deliver education credentials on behalf of public colleges, for PGWP-eligible programs. International students will not be eligible for PGWP, if they will be graduating from these private colleges, even though their program of study and credentials was a PGWP-eligible program from a public college.

There are some exceptions when you would still be eligible for PGWP by graduating from a private college, which has a partnership with a public college. If any of the following exceptions apply to you, you would be eligible for PGWP (if you meet all other PGWP criteria).

Exception 1 – Same Province:

If your program start date is on or before May 15, 2024, you would still be eligible for PGWP, if both the private college you are studying and their partner public college for your program, are in the same province.

If your program start date was after May 15, 2024, you will not be eligible for a PGWP, no matter even if both private and public are in the same province.

Exception 2 – Public College in Other Province:

If your program start date is on or before January 31, 2023, you would still be eligible for PGWP, even if both the private college you are studying and their partner public college for your program, are not in the same province.

If your program start date was on and after February 1, 2023, and your private college and public college are not in the same province, you will not be eligible for a PGWP.

Important: In all above cases, you must also meet all other PGWP criteria.

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Stay connected as we will be posting more about PGWP and Canada's study permit.

Also read Major Changes to Canada’s Spouse Open Work Permit: What You All Need to Know.

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