Hundreds of Work Permits Refused Without Warning

Nearly 480 international students who completed continuing-education diploma programs at Portage College in Calgary, delivered through third-party partner the Canadian Institute of Osteopathic Therapy (CIOT), have found themselves in immigration limbo after Canada's federal government refused their Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) applications. The students, many of them Indian nationals, gathered on July 17 to publicly demand the decision be reversed.

What Students Were Promised at Enrollment

Sikander Singh, who holds an Administrative Professional diploma, said he and his peers were told when they enrolled in their two-year, non-credit programs in 2024 that they would remain eligible for a PGWP provided they held a valid study permit, maintained a full-time course load at a designated learning institution, and had enrolled before May 2024. Singh said he and hundreds of others met all three conditions.

Of the students who applied for their PGWPs after graduating, only around 50 were approved. Hundreds of others received refusal letters earlier this month. "We did everything on time... then we got our refusal letters in the mail," Singh said. "I have no words to explain what we are feeling on this day, because we were supposed to be eligible for our conditional terms."

A Rule Change Applied Retroactively

According to a timestamp on the Canadian government's official PGWP eligibility webpage, the policy clarification excluding non-credit programs from work permit eligibility was made on June 24, 2026, years after the affected students began their studies and 18 to 21 months after many had already submitted their permit applications. Refusal letters obtained by local media cite this change, along with a statement that non-credit courses are no longer eligible for post-graduation work permits.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), however, has denied that any change was made to underlying eligibility rules. "We updated our PGWP webpage in June 2026 to clarify the existing eligibility requirements related to non-credit programs of study," the department said in a statement, adding that eligible applicants must complete a program leading to a degree, diploma, or certificate from a designated learning institution. Neither Portage College's Calgary campus nor CIOT currently appear on the federal list of designated institutions for PGWP purposes, a database that was itself modified on July 16.

Students Left With a Ticking Clock

Affected students now have 90 days to secure a valid work permit before their study visas expire. A students' union letter has been submitted to IRCC requesting a formal review of the timing of the policy clarification, with further legal action under consideration if that request is unsuccessful. A Change.org petition has also circulated, calling on Canada's immigration minister to pause the refusals, apply the June 2026 change only to students who enrolled after it was published, and reconsider every refusal issued since June at no cost to applicants.

Legal Response Scaling Quickly

Immigration lawyer Laura-Anne Goulding of Shory Law LLP, who attended the students' gathering, said her firm's caseload on this issue grew from around 40 clients to more than 200 within a single week. Goulding said the situation appears to be a mass refusal issued on similar grounds around the same time, and has advised students to wait for a possible update before Monday, July 20, before pursuing individual reconsideration requests, which would need to be resolved quickly to avoid visa expiry.

The Human and Financial Toll

Students described the financial and emotional strain of the sudden refusals. Mukul Rana, who began his program on May 8, 2024, just a week before an earlier round of related policy changes, said the denials were already affecting students' ability to cover basic living costs. "It's hard to survive, it's very hard to manage their bills or expenses or their rents," he said. Jaspinder Kaur, an only child whose parents funded a significant portion of her studies abroad, said the impact went beyond money. "We can't even sleep, we can't even eat properly. It's a depressing moment for us," she said.

College Says Decision Rests With Immigration Authorities

Portage College has stated it is not issuing letters of support for affected students' PGWP applications, citing legal advice that such letters would not be relevant to how immigration authorities assess eligibility. The college said it does not make immigration decisions and is seeking clarification from government and sector contacts regarding how the requirements are being applied to graduates of the affected programs.