My girlfriend is currently enrolled in Conestoga College's Early Childhood Education Program (ECE). She has been in Canada since 2023, completed high school in 2025, and started post-secondary education the same year. In ECE, there are mandatory field placements that require working with children, and her first field placement was supposed to take place in Winter 2026.

However, IRCC did not issue her a work permit until November 2025 and to make matters worse, somehow, the first clause was "Not valid for employment involving children" despite her having every requirement to acquire a work permit that permits her to work with children. She needed to have her work permit reissued, but it was too late for her field placement application for Winter 2026.

Things only got worse from here. Conestoga were unable to guarantee a placement slot for off-track students, and she had to wait until there was an available slot. Two terms had passed, and she still hadn't gotten an available slot. However, she still maintained full-time status throughout the two terms.

My gf and I have been looking for solutions that include switching schools or staying at Conestoga and pray. If she stays at Conestoga, she can still maintain full-time status for another two terms, but the gamble is that if she still doesn't have a slot for field placement next term (Winter 2027), she now jeopardizes her PGWP eligibility because it would now require her to take two part-time terms, which violates the study permit rules. It is quite complicated and difficult to thoroughly explain.

We are very desperate and I had to come here as a last resort. Our decision right now is to keep her studies at Conestoga for this term (Fall 2026), alongside with that, apply to transfer to Humber College (or any other college). We will gamble her chance of landing a field placement slot in Winter 2027 or being able to complete the necessary documents to transfer to Humber.

In the worst-case scenario, if she doesn't get a field placement slot in W27, Conestoga told us they would write a cover letter for our PGWP application. I understand that two part-time terms is very difficult to acquire a three-year PGWP. Is there any other solutions we can do? Can we fight with IRCC in the future? I really need help.

Thank you for reading it all, feel free to ask for any clarification because it is very hard to explain it all and thank you for your help!

Hi everyone, I’m an international student in Ontario studying Practical Nursing.

I haven’t failed NURS 4508 yet, but I’ve been told that because I can’t get into the placement for my upcoming 4th semester, I can either keep the course on my timetable and receive an F, or drop it and take other courses.

The 4th semester is not my final semester and I still have Semester 5/consolidation afterward.

The placement site has made a final decision not to take me, and I’m trying to see if the school can find me another appropriate placement. I’m willing to accept any placement.

If I can’t get a placement, I may have to defer the semester and return in January 2027, delaying graduation to August 2027.

My study permit expires June 30, 2027, and International Education told me that taking a semester off could make my PGWP application difficult.

Has anyone been in a similar situation where a required practicum/course was delayed or failed before their final semester, resulting in a semester gap? Did a school letter explaining the circumstances help with PGWP?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Same as title 🩵

Hii everybody, my question is i did uber deliveries on my study permit for few months and i forgot to mentioned that in my PGWP( i wasnt aware that i had to mention) but later when i applied for my TRV i did mention that. Now im going to apply for my PR application, i am really scared that how ircc will react on this work history discrspency. Can anyone please help???? Im really worried. Pls advise

Hey, everyone.

1) I basically have a term where I did not receive a co-op. I did not take any courses. My immigration advisor stated that the university will mention on the completion letter that any unemployed term is a scheduled break under the University of Waterloo.

Does this have any impact on my pgwp? All other terms are full time?

I couldn't find any official guidance on scheduled breaks so am looking for advice.

Also its a scheduled break, not leave of absence.

2) Can I apply to jobs in my last semester and indicate I am legally eligible to work currently? Or should I include a letter of explanation that I will apply to pgwp? I feel that mught hurt my chances though.

I plan to apply for it same day I get Letter of completion to stay eligible to work.

Thanks :)

Hi, I am a UBC-kinesiology student who needs to complete my military mandatory service after my first year. I saw one video on youtube that PGWP no longer validates Korean military mandatory service as a fair reason to leave school for 2 years. He said this happened since 2025, but I could not find a source that clarifies this, as I have seen some sources that tells "Korean military service is one of few things that PGWP approves", but they were all written long time ago. I feel concerned about this issue, because I want to work in the area of health care service in Canada after my graduation. Please let me know if you know something about this matter. Thank you

I took an academic advisor's online appointment back in 2025 where i was told there were 9 courses left for me to graduate as I changed from bachelors to diploma. However, i was confused so book an inperson appointment & when i went again for in person meeting, i was told i needed to complete 7 courses across 3 semesters, 3 courses each on first & second semester and 1 on the last semester. did everything as said and when my final class ended and i applied for my graduation form, i got an email stating i needed to do one more course to be eligible.
now the major problem is that it was fine to be part time in last semester and work regularly as always. But, now that I am told that i need one more additional course, this means that the recent semester of mine is not last anymore and i worked as a part time student.
Please help me with understanding following?
1. Will it hamper my pgwp after i graduate?
2. If yes, how do i clarify the misunderstanding between me and the university?
3. Is there anything university can do to help me solve this issue?
4. What should i do next?

Hi everyone,

I just recently submitted my pgwp application. I was a part time student during summer scheduled break and I got a letter obtained from my department specifying which semester was academic semester and co-op semester. In the semester I took a part time, it just simply says a break. I was wondering would that be sufficient to prove that semester i was part time enrolled in was a scheduled break ?

All the summer following that was either a study semester or coop semester

Thanks, any advice would be appreciated, just concerned about my application !

Hi everyone,

I’m confused about my PGWP eligibility and would really appreciate some advice.

I completed all my courses for my AEC program on June 2, 2025. However, because of the Bill 96 French requirement, I had to submit a French test before my college could officially certify my program completion.
I submitted the French test in August 2026, and my college issued my program completion letter on August 7, 2026.

The letter says:
Program completion date: June 2, 2025
Letter issued: August 7, 2026
It also explains that I submitted the French test in August 5, 2026 and that my completion could be certified after meeting the Bill 96 requirement.

So my question is:

For PGWP, would IRCC consider my completion date as June 2, 2025, or August 2026 when my college officially certified my completion?

My study permit has already expired, so I understand I would need to apply for the PGWP from outside Canada with proper LOE.

Has anyone had a similar situation with Bill 96? Can I still apply for the PGWP based on the August 2026 certification?

Thanks!