One of the very frequently questions comes from potential / existing international students is:

Can I combine two one-year certificate / diploma programs in Canada for PGWP applciation?

Before I explain further, let’s look at what IRCC is saying about this to avoid any further confusion later to my explanation.

 

That means it’s clear that you can combine two one-year certificate / diploma programs while applying for your PGWP application to get the most benefit (03 years) out of it. However, you must be extremely careful about selecting the programs as both must be eligible for PGWP. You must pay extra attention to the changes that have been made recently to the study permit.

The announcement of these changes by IRCC can be found here.

Many a time, students are not aware of the fact that an individual is allowed to apply for PGWP only once in a lifetime regardless of the duration you have received initially.  The only exception is if you were awarded less than you are supposed to receive because of your passport validity. Otherwise, if you have completed one program (any duration) and then have applied for PGWP for that one, then you are no more eligible to apply for apply for PGWP again regardless of your program / duration in future.

Sometimes, this might also be a situation where you could not enroll in two one-year certificate / diploma programs back-to-back. No worries, you are good so long you could manage within 150 days of enrolling in the second one from the completion of your first one. The details about this scenario (authorized study break) are explained in this article.   

Good luck with your higher education and thereafter your work and life in Canada.

Disclaimer: The above writing is not intended to be a source of legal advice. Please seek legal advice and use your own good judgement before choosing to act on any information provided above. If you choose to rely on this article, you do so entirely at your own risk.