ARCHIVED – Public policy concerning individuals refused post-graduation work permit access between September 1, 2014 to March 15, 2016

Public Policy

I, Minister John McCallum, hereby establish pursuant to section 25.2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, that there are sufficient public policy considerations warranting an exemption from the requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations listed below to facilitate the issuance of open work permits and facilitate the restoration of Temporary Resident Status for a group of former students.  These former students were refused Post-Graduation Work Permits between September 1, 2014 and March 15, 2016, the date when guidance regarding the assessment of Post-Graduation Work Permits was provided to Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada officers, further to the Federal Court decision in Appidy v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration, 2015 FC 1356).

Conditions (eligibility requirements)

Based on public policy considerations, delegated officers are advised to consider granting an exemption from the requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations listed below for individuals who meet the following conditions:

• the Post-Graduation Work Permit was refused between September 1, 2014, and March 15, 2016;
• the reason for the refusal was that the majority of their coursework was completed via distance learning; and
• the entirety of their program of study, including transfer credits, was not considered when the determination was made that the majority of their coursework was via distance learning.

Requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations for which an exemption may be granted:

1. an exemption from the requirement under subsections 299(1) of the Regulations to pay the application processing fee for an open work permit and from the requirement under subsection 303.2(1) of the Regulations to pay the privilege fee.
2. an exemption from the requirement to be described under paragraph 200(1)(c) of the Regulations.

In addition, for those individuals who meet the conditions listed above and who remained in Canada after being refused a Post-Graduation Work Permit:

3. an exemption from the requirement under section 197 of the Regulations that a foreign national makes an application for a work permit before entering Canada;
4. an exemption from the requirement under subsection 182(1) of the Regulations that an application for restoration be made within 90 days of losing temporary resident status;
5. an exemption from the requirement under subsection 306(1) of the Regulation to pay the application processing fee for restoration of temporary residence status; and,
6. an exemption from the requirement under paragraph 200(1)(e) to submit to a medical examination if,
   • they had previously completed an Immigration Medical Exam and complied with surveillance requirements, if required, for inactive tuberculosis; and
   • they had not visited a designated country for a period of 6 months or more within the 12 months prior to the application submission.

This public policy comes into force on the day it is signed.

This public policy ends on March 17, 2017.

John McCallum, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Dated at Ottawa, this day of 27^th September 2016