Archive · 2 Dec 2025
Canada Work Permit Expiry Puts Graduates at Risk
Many international students in Canada are worried because their work permits are about to expire.
These permits let them work after they finish their studies.
If they don't get a new permit within 90 days after it expires, they have to leave Canada or they might get deported.
Some of these students took on a lot of debt to study in Canada and hope to stay permanently.
The government doesn't know exactly how many people stay after their permits expire, but some experts think it could be close to a million.
Last year, about 18,000 people were deported, but we don't know how many of them were students.
The number of expiring permits this year is much lower than last year, but it's still a big problem for many students.
31,610 postgraduate work permits are set to expire by December 31, 2023.
Permit holders have 90 days after expiration to restore their work permit and stay in Canada.
Failure to leave Canada after the 90-day period may result in deportation.
The federal government aims to reduce the temporary resident population to 5% by the end of 2027.
Only 12% of postgraduate work permit holders in 2025 had their permits extended or moved to another permit.
- Who
- International graduates with postgraduate work permits in Canada
- What
- Risk of deportation due to expiring work permits
- When
- By December 31, 2023
- Where
- Canada
- Why
- Work permits expire and are not extended, leading to potential unauthorized stay
- Number of expiring permits
- 31,610
- Permit validity duration
- 8 months to 3 years
- Temporary residents in Canada
- 3 million (7.3% of population)
- Deportations in 2023
- 18,000
- Permit extensions in 2025
- 12%
- Permanent residents from PGWP in 2022
- 12%
- International students in 2023
- Over 1 million
- Postgraduate work permits in 2023
- 240,200