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New Path to Permanent Residency for International PhD Students

November 02, 2011
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Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced today that Canada intends to accept up to 1000 international PhD students per year as Permanent Residents through the Federal Skilled Worker Program.

Starting November 5, 2011, many international PhD students will be eligible to submit applications for processing as federal skilled workers. To be eligible, they must have completed at least two years of study toward the attainment of a PhD and remain in good academic standing at a provincially recognized post-secondary educational institution in Canada.

Those who have recently graduated from a Canadian PhD program will also be eligible to apply, provided they do so within 12 months of their graduation. See full details: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/index.asp

Paul Davidson, President of the Association of University and Colleges of Canada welcomed the announcement, stating that “This initiative will provide Canadian universities with one more competitive edge in attracting and retaining top international talent to pursue their doctoral studies in Canada.”

For more information on other immigration streams available to international graduate students, please see Staying in Canada.

UPDATED on December 2, 2011 to add useful links:

We've also created a chart of Immigration Options for International Graduate Students to provide an overview of the academic requirements and basic processes for each of these categories, based on our available knowledge at this time. 

April 18, 2013

See also:  Immigration Update on Federal Skilled Worker Program: PhD Stream

Comment Guidelines

2 comments
aurelia March 16, 2012 5:37 PM
who do eligible applicants talk to for detailed information on the application process? is there a number we could contact? an office we can ask questions at?
1 Reply » Reply
Carolyn Hanna March 19, 2012 9:52 AM
If you are eligible for any of the BC provincial nominee programs, it's best to contact them directly at 604.775.2227 or PNPInfo@gov.bc.ca. If you are eligible for any of the federal programs and have questions, Citizenship & Immigration can be reached at 1.888.242.2100. You can also contact the International Services for Students Office at 778.782.4232 or intl_advising@sfu.ca.
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