Study Abroad: IRCC updates list of eligible fields for Canada’s PG work permit for non-degree programmes

Study Abroad: The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has updated the list of fields of study that qualify for Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWP) for international students enrolled in non-degree programmes, that is, diploma or certificate courses. The new list, published on June 25, now has a total of 920 fields.

The PGWPs are for Canada student visa holders who wish to stay and work in the country after completing their studies. Students graduating from certificate or diploma programmes are eligible for the PG work permit only if their programmes are in a field currently facing long-term labour shortage in Canada. A relatively recent change in the Canada visa policy, this requirement was introduced for all international students in November of last year and then withdrawn in March for those pursuing degree programmes.

The list of eligible fields has been updated to reflect Canada’s 2025 “express entry priorities”. As many as 178 fields have been removed from the list as Canada no longer faces workforce shortages in them; 119 new fields have been added in high-demand sectors such as healthcare, social services, education and skilled trades.

However, students who applied for a study permit before June 25, 2025, will not be affected by the updated list. They will still qualify for a PGWP if their field of study was on the approved list at the time they applied.

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The diplomatic tensions between India and Canada, coupled with the country’s tightening of control over immigration, had caused the number of Indians going to study in Canada to fall last year by over 95,000. Relations have now thawed.

Canada Work Permit Visa: List of eligible fields

The IRCC has taken all transport-related programmes off the list of courses that qualify for a PGWP, and only one programme in Agriculture and Agri-food – “meat cutting/meat cutter” – is still eligible. The newly-added programmes are linked to jobs in sectors that face worker shortages.

Given below are some examples of fields – organised into broad sectors – that have been added and dropped.

Canada Job Visa Eligibility: Healthcare and Social Services

Given below are the newly-added fields for PG work permits in the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) field.

Canada PG Work Permits: Eligible fields in STEM

In education, several fields have been added to the eligible list, many to do with special education or multilingual education, but none dropped from the original list.

Canada Work Permit: Eligible fields in education

The list also has several new fields for trades related to construction. A select list is given below.

Canada PGPW: Eligible fields within the trades

The complete list is on the IRCC website