After Your Studies - Employment

If you are interested in remaining in Canada after your studies, you must apply to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) under the skilled worker class to become a permanent resident of Canada. Permanent residence status gives a non-Canadian the right to live in Canada. Permanent residents enjoy most of the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizens, though they must meet certain residency obligations to maintain their status.

• Immigrating to Canada as a skilled worker is based on a point system. International applicants with Canadian education and Canadian employment experience will have enough points to give them an excellent chance of being accepted for permanent residency.
  
  
• The Government of Alberta values skilled immigrants who can effectively compete and succeed in the country's knowledge-based economy. Skilled worker immigrants are chosen for their ability to become successfully established in Canada.
  
  
• The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act introduces new selection criteria with more emphasis on applicants' education and such flexible skills as language rather than on their intended occupation.
  
  
• Skilled workers are defined as those who have education, work experience, knowledge of English and/or French and other abilities that will help them to establish themselves successfully as permanent residents in Alberta, Canada.

Applying to come to Canada as a skilled worker is not difficult. Please consult the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) website, or visit the nearest visa office to find all the information and forms you need to make your application.

Working Off-Campus

The off campus work program allows international students at participating publicly funded post-secondary educational institutions to work off campus while completing their studies. The work permit allows international students to work up to 20 hours a week during regular academic sessions and up to 40 hours a week during regular breaks (e.g., winter or summer holidays and spring break).

To be eligible for an off campus work permit, you will have to:

• have a valid study permit
  
  
• be studying in a province or territory that has signed a memorandum of understanding with CIC
  
  
• be a full-time student at an eligible post-secondary institution that has signed an agreement with one of those provinces or territories
  
  
• have been a full-time student at one of those institutions for at least six of the 12 months preceding your application for a permit
  
  
• be in good academic standing
  
  
• sign a form authorizing the institution, the province and CIC to share your personal information (in order to confirm that you are continuing to study full-time and that you are in good academic standing)
  
  
• complete a work permit application provided by your institution.

You will not be able to apply for an off campus work permit if you are:

• participating in a Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship Program funded by Foreign Affairs Canada
  
  
• participating in a Government of Canada Awards Program funded by Foreign Affairs Canada
  
  
• receiving funding from the Canadian International Development Agency
  
  
• attending an eligible post-secondary institution in order to complete an English-as-a-second-language or French-as-a-second-language program.

Post-graduation work permits

International students who graduate from a Canadian post-secondary institution may apply to work in Canada in their field of study for up to two years. The following conditions apply:

• You must have successfully completed a program of at least two years of full-time studies at a university, community college, publicly funded trade/technical school or at a private institution authorized by provincial statute to confer degrees
  
  
• You must have a job offer from an employer for a job that is related to your studies (however, the job offer does NOT require Service Canada confirmation)
  
  
• You must apply for a Work Permit within 90 days of graduation from your college or university
  
  
• You must have a valid study permit when you apply for the work permit

International students who already hold a one-year work permit and who meet the eligibility criteria may be eligible to apply for a one-year extension of their post-graduation work permit.

To be eligible, you must have done ALL of the following:

• Studied for at least two years at a publicly funded Alberta institution
• Graduated from this institution
• Worked for one year in your field of study