Hold a work permit? Since 4 September 2026 you can take a course of six months or less without a study permit.
What it means →
Post-Graduation Work Permit — document checklist
Prepared by CHK Immigration Services Inc. · government fee $255 incl. open holder fee
Post-Graduation Work Permit — document checklist
Every document an officer will look for, grouped in the order they are read. The ones marked refusal risk are where these applications actually fail — a complete file is not the same as a persuasive one.
9 documents 5 where refusals happen Government fee $255 incl. open holder fee
Identity
Who is this person, and is the story consistent?Where files fail here: Names, dates or passport details that disagree across documents.
Study permit history
Your study permit must have been valid at some point during the 180 days after you completed the program.
Valid passport
The permit is issued only for as long as your passport is valid — a short passport shortens the PGWP. Renew first.
Eligibility
Do they meet this program's bar, on paper?Where files fail here: A requirement evidenced by assertion instead of a document.
Completion letter from your institution
This starts your 180-day clock — not your convocation date.
Final official transcript
Proves you completed, full-time, at an eligible institution.
Language test result — CLB 7 or CLB 5
Required for applications since 1 November 2024. CLB 7 in all four abilities for bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral and other university programs; CLB 5 for college, polytechnic and other non-university programs. Flight school graduates are exempt.
Upload the language result even though the checklist calls it optional
IRCC’s own generated document checklist marks proof of language as optional. It is not. This single mismatch is one of the most common avoidable PGWP refusals.
Proof your program is PGWP-eligible
Field-of-study rules apply to non-degree and other university programs only — bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral graduates are exempt. Your CIP code qualifies if it was eligible when you applied for either the study permit or the PGWP. The list is frozen for all of 2026.
Upload the field-of-study proof manually
The generated checklist will not ask for it. Where it is required, upload it under “Client information” in your account or it never reaches the officer.
Proof of full-time status each term
Full-time in every semester. The only exception IRCC publishes is part-time study in your final semester.
General information, not legal advice. This checklist is prepared by CHK Immigration Services Inc. and was checked against the Government of Canada’s published requirements on the date shown. Requirements change and vary by case, and IRCC generates a personalised document list for many applications — where that list or canada.ca differs from this document, they govern.
Lead times are planning estimates, not guarantees. Police certificates and credential assessments in particular vary widely by country and provider. IRCC makes all final decisions.
CHK Immigration Services Inc. is an immigration consultancy with offices in Brampton and London, Ontario. Our consultants are regulated by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC). Nothing in this document creates a client–consultant relationship.
Current version: https://chkimmigration.ca/checklists/pgwp
Checked against the official IRCC page for this application in September 2026. Where that page disagrees with anything here, it wins. General information, not legal advice. Lead times are planning estimates, not guarantees — police certificates and credential assessments in particular vary widely by country and provider. IRCC also generates a personalised checklist for many applications, and that list governs. IRCC makes all final decisions.
Having the documents is not the same as having a persuasive file.
Every item above can be present and correct and the application can still be refused — on intent, on a date that does not reconcile, or on a lead time that ran out. A licensed consultant reads it the way an officer will.
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Send a few details. A licensed RCIC reads your profile personally, then replies with the routes that genuinely fit, the ones that do not, and the consultation fee and next available times.
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CHK Immigration Services — Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (CICC). Offices in Brampton and London, Ontario. Submitting this form does not create a client–consultant relationship; IRCC makes all final decisions.