Indian students protest in front of their college in Calgary, Canada, after the government refused to grant them a work permit.
Thousands of students, most of them Indians, who attended a business administration diploma program offered through Portage College and the Canadian Osteopathic Institute in Calgary, are left in limbo because they have not obtained a post-graduation work permit in Canada.These graduates claimed that Immigration Canada changed a rule and made non-credit programs ineligible for this work permit. But they applied for a work permit before the rules changed. Meanwhile, IRCC said there has been no change in any rule. Some students from the same institution obtained a work permit.“My father spent his whole life saving for me,” Jaspinder Kaur told CTV News. “After completing my two-year degree, I thought I would be able to work and gain some Canadian experience.”Mukul Rana said that the students who received the rejection are now suffering financially and mentally after losing the ability to work. “This is a betrayal of thousands of international students; it is not just an administrative crisis, it is a humanitarian crisis,” Rana said.As the unfolding situation shifts responsibility for the situation to the college, the administration has not commented on it.Calgary immigration lawyer Laura Ann Goulding of Shory Law says her office has been contacted by dozens of affected students, and her office alone is dealing with 200 students.
What is a post-graduation work permit in Canada?
A post-graduation work permit is an open work permit issued by the Canadian government that allows qualified international students to work in Canada after completing a qualifying program at a designated educational institution. There are two critical factors: the eligible program and the institution. This work permit provides work experience in Canada for international students, and although it cannot be renewed, it provides a path to Canadian permanent residency.
Huge controversy on social media over the protest video
While Canadian media covered the students’ protest on Friday, social media users pointed out that there were only Punjabi students and not international students. Some users argued in favor of the government denying them a work permit, and said that students should leave after their studies, and a two-year diploma should not guarantee a work permit followed by residency. Some highlighted a scam by college who took all the money promising a work permit at the end of the course knowing all along that they would not be eligible for a work permit.
