PGWP refused? What to do in the first 15 days

Stop working. IRCC says that if your PGWP application is rejected or refused, you need to stop working as soon as it notifies you. If you do not, future work or study permits may not be approved, and you may be asked to leave the country. Tell your employer in writing.

Then, in this order:

1. Save the refusal letter and the officer decision notes.
2. Check the date you were notified. Your 15-day Federal Court limit counts from there.
3. Check what status, if any, you still hold, and when it ends.
4. Speak to a lawyer before day 15 if you think the refusal is wrong.

Because an officer found you did not meet one of the eligibility rules. IRCC lists general rules, rules based on your study permit, language and field of study requirements where they apply, and rules based on where you are. The officer’s notes will say which one.

Rules that often cause problems:

• School and program: the program must be at a PGWP-eligible designated learning institution and at least 8 months long (or 900 hours for Quebec programs).
• Full-time status: you must have maintained full-time status in each semester, with a part-time final semester allowed.
• Timing: you must apply within 180 days of confirmation that you completed your program, and your study permit must have been valid at some point in those 180 days.
• Language and field of study: proof of language skills and, for some graduates, an eligible field of study, depending on when you applied.
• Past PGWP: you are not eligible if you already received a PGWP.
• Ineligible study: for example English or French as a second language, general interest courses, or non-credit programs.

Our PGWP guides explain each rule, and the PGWP eligibility checker lets you test your own situation.

It depends on what status you held when you applied and whether it has since expired. If your study permit expired while you waited for the PGWP decision, the refusal can leave you without status. Check the documents you hold today and their end dates.

IRCC says you can apply to restore your status if you apply within 90 days of losing it and meet the requirements. You can normally stay in Canada while the restoration is processed, but you are not allowed to work until your status is restored and a new work permit is issued. If the restoration application is refused, you have to leave Canada.

Sometimes. A new application can work if the refusal was about something you can fix, such as a missing document, and you are still inside the 180-day window with a study permit that was valid at some point in that period. If the 180 days have passed, or the refusal was about the program itself, a new PGWP application is unlikely to succeed.

Your officer decision notes should say exactly which rule was not met. Since 29 July 2025, IRCC sends notes with work permit refusals, including extensions. See GCMS notes if you did not receive them.

When the officer made an error on facts you had already proven, for example by miscounting your semesters or missing a completion letter you submitted. A PGWP decision on an application made inside Canada is usually a matter arising in Canada, so the limit is 15 days from when you were notified (IRPA section 72).

Judicial review cannot give you a PGWP directly. If you win, the file is sent back to be decided again. Compare your paths in Reapply or go to Federal Court?

A PGWP refusal ends that path, not every path. Depending on your situation, other options can include a work permit tied to a specific employer, a new study permit for further studies, or leaving Canada and applying from outside. Each has its own requirements, and none is guaranteed.

Be careful not to apply for something only to stay in Canada. An application you do not qualify for can lead to another refusal, which makes future applications harder. Ask a lawyer or licensed consultant which option matches your facts before you file.

• Continuing to work after you are notified of the refusal.
• Letting the 15-day court limit or the 90-day restoration window pass while you wait for advice.
• Filing a new PGWP application after the 180-day window has closed.
• Applying for a status you do not qualify for just to stay in Canada.