启德北京美加部4月22日接到加拿大移民局发来通知，继美国4月初释出重大留学利好（OPT延长至29个月）后，加拿大移民局紧急跟进，4月21日公布加拿大留学生毕业后工作签证由原来的1－2年延长至3年，且不限定工作和专业对口，要点如下：
Highlights include:
- extension of the work permit length from 1 or 2 years to THREE years；工作签证从原来的1－2年（温哥华、多伦多、蒙特利尔工作签证允许1年，其他地区2年）均延长至3年；
- removal of the requirement that the job be related to the student's degree；不需要所学专业和工作领域相关；
- removal the requirement that the student must first have a job offer；取消之前必须有公司录用后才能申请工作签证的规定；
- removal of the requirement that the work permit be "employer specific" (i.e. post-graduation work permits will now be "open" work permits).
根据上海交通大学发布的《世界大学学术排名》，加拿大的大学学术水平在英语国家中仅次于美国、英国之后，位于第三位。全球前100名的大学中加拿大有4所，前200名大学中加拿大有7所。加拿大留学费用一年在15万－20万人民币之间，在英语国家中具有很大优势。同时，加拿大临近美国，毕业后既可以在加拿大就业，也可以到美国就业或者回国，发展前景十分广阔。
加拿大联邦移民部长范茵丽(Diane Finley)昨日在温哥华宣布，实时放宽国际学生毕业后的工作签证，不再要求国际学生毕业后申请工作签证时，需要提出雇主聘用证明；亦不要求毕业学生要从事与所学相关的工作，即可申请从事任何工作的开放工作签证(Open Work Permit)。有国际留学生形容新措施犹如向他们大派礼物，相信此举有助吸引国际学生到加国升学。
根据移民部公布国际学生毕业后转申请工作签证的新方法，只要是在加拿大公私立大专以上院校，完成学位、文凭或是证书，毕业前至少全职就读8个月，即可取得一个可留在加拿大，从事任何工作的开放工作签证(Open Work Permit)。工作签证期限最长达到3年，比旧规定的2年，还要延长一年。
范茵丽说，她相信新规定，对想来加拿大求学，毕业后又想在加拿大就业，甚至计划申请移民的国际学生来说，极具吸引力。她说，这同时是为与移民部稍迟于今年夏天推出的加拿大经验移民类别(Canadian Experience Class)接轨，作为事前的配套措施。范茵丽表示，透过延长签证时间，且放宽申请规定，等于为加拿大经验移民类别计划推出时的申请人，建立人才库。
她又称，放宽国际学生毕业后的工作签证，主要目的是为加拿大留住这些学有专长，又懂英文的人才，他们在加拿大受过教育，且具备各省经济所需的专才，加拿大不设法留住他们，他们很容易被其它国家如美国、澳洲及纽西兰抢去。
范茵丽强调，新措施等于是多赢，对留学生有好处，对本地的专上院校招收国际学生亦有帮助，接收国际学生留下来加拿大工作，弥补目前各省出现的缺工不足，对加拿大整体经济发展又是有好处。
范茵丽解释，旧规定要求国际学生在毕业后必须进入与所学相关的领域，且需要得到雇主的聘用，才能申请工作签证，至于工作签证时间在大都会区为1年，在非大都会区则是2年，一些国际学生在工作签证期满必须离开，回到原居地重新申请技术移民，一等又是很多年，如此对国际学生并不公平。
范茵丽说，国际学生来到加拿大后，开始一点一滴建立与本地的连系，工作或是恋爱都有可能，移民部设法让留学生能够留在加拿大，协助他们缩短融入加拿大的时间。
唯一需要注意的是，如果只是就读8个月的全职课程，那么学生取得工作签证的有效期不能超过就读全职课程的时间，也就是只能有8个月。
去年总共有6.3万名国际学生来到加拿大，比前一年增长4.6%。
以下为加拿大移民局官方网站信息来源：
Government of Canada introduces changes to work permits for international students, making Canada more attractive for skilled individuals
Vancouver, April 21, 2008 — The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, today announced changes to work permits for international students who graduate from eligible programs at certain Canadian post-secondary institutions, making it easier to attract foreign students to Canada.
Effective immediately, and for the first time, these international students would be able to obtain an open work permit under the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program, with no restrictions on the type of employment and no requirement for a job offer. In addition, the duration of the work permit has been extended to three years across the country. Previously, the program only allowed international students to work for one or two years, depending on location.
“The Government of Canada wants more foreign students to choose Canada and we want to help them succeed,” said Minister Finley. “Open and longer work permits provide international students with more opportunities for Canadian work experience and skills development. This will, in turn, help make Canada a destination of choice, and help us keep international students already studying in Canada.”
The increased flexibility offered by the expanded program will benefit graduates and employers alike as the program will help international students get important work experience while responding to Canada’s labour market needs. Canada will benefit in the long run as the professional experience gained will help graduates meet the requirements to stay permanently in Canada.
“As we move toward the implementation of the Canadian Experience Class, these changes will help create a pool of individuals who, with work experience, will find it easier to apply to immigrate to Canada,” added Minister Finley. “Our ability to retain international graduates with Canadian qualifications, work experience and familiarity with Canadian society, will help increase our competitiveness and benefit Canada as a whole.”
The Post-Graduation Work Permit Program allows students who have graduated from an eligible program at a post-secondary institution to gain valuable Canadian work experience. Preliminary 2007 data indicate that 63,673 international students came to Canada that year, representing a 4.6 percent increase over the previous year.
For further information (media only), please contact:
Tim Vail
Press Secretary
Minister’s Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-954-1064
Karen Shadd-Evelyn
Media Relations
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-952-1650
Backgrounder
• Post-Graduation Work Permit Program |
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