- Manan Gupta
- 2024/06/23
On June 21st the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, has announced that foreign nationals can no longer apply for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP) at the border, effective immediately. This measure will help reduce what is known as “flagpoling.”
Flagpoling occurs when temporary residents of Canada bypass the normal wait times involved in applying for a work or study permit online by leaving the country and then immediately re-entering to receive same-day immigration services.
According to the IRCC, flagpoling uses significant resources at the border, taking officers away from enforcement activities, causing delays for travellers and slowing down the movement of goods. From March 1, 2023, to February 29, 2024, PGWP applicants represented about one fifth of the foreign nationals who attempted to flagpole.
The Government of Canada is taking measures to encourage applicants to apply in Canada rather than flagpole. It continues to improve processing times, and is moving toward a more integrated, modernized and centralized working environment to help speed up application processing globally.
The change announced on June 21st increases fairness amongst applicants and is another step that the Government of Canada is taking to reduce flagpoling.
Things to know:
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In most cases, a study permit expires 90 days after the expected completion of an international student’s study program. When an eligible graduating student applies online for a PGWP before their study permit expires, they can work full-time while they wait for approval on a work permit and receive an automated letter that can be shown to employers. When a work permit is approved, it’s mailed directly to them.
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Flagpoling hours were recently reduced at 12 ports of entry across Canada to allow border services officers to efficiently process the large volume of travellers in peak periods and to focus on other key priorities, including high-risk travellers and trade facilitation.
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Other recent measures to address flagpoling have included
- speeding up processing times for in-Canada work permit applications
- simplifying online application forms and processes so foreign nationals can continue working while they wait for a decision on their new application
- authorizing workers to start working for a new employer right away, rather than waiting to have their new work permit application processed before changing jobs
