Pursuit of Permanent Status and Career Choices for International Students in Canada

International students constitute an important part of Canada’s population, and a large portion of international students intend to settle permanently in Canada after graduation. The post-graduation work permit program (PGWPP) is a major potential pathway for international students to achieve that goal. Regarding the situation of post-graduation work permit (PGWP) holders in Canada’s labour market, although there is extensive literature about how temporary immigrant status affects an individual’s career outcome, it is unclear how pursuing permanent status will affect an immigrant’s career and life. My thesis is centered on this puzzle. Building on existing research on immigrant insecure legal status and school-to-work transitions, drawing on theories of precarious work, my current study aims to answer the following research questions: How does the pursuit of permanent legal status affect international student graduates’ career plans and trajectories? Furthermore, how does the pursuit of permanent status affect other aspects of immigrant lives? To collect empirical data, I conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 17 international student graduates from Canadian universities who had experiences using PGWP to work in Canada and intended to gain permanent legal status. I coded my interview data thematically, informed by data analysis methods including abductive analysis and flexible coding. My findings reveal that PGWP holders frequently engage in trade-offs to strategically prioritize their immigration goals. These trade-offs involve but are not limited to career decisions, education plans, and taking on more uncertainties regarding their future. PGWP holders face obstacles at various stages of their labour market experiences due to the temporary nature of their status: they are more disadvantaged when seeking jobs, they are at risk of potential exploitation from employers, and they encounter increased difficulty when attempting to switch jobs. Meanwhile, career trade-offs aiming at pursuing permanence often effectively reinforce existing labour market inequalities faced by temporary immigrants, because individuals tend to accept or remain in unsatisfactory jobs as part of those trade-offs. When looking at aspects of immigrant lives other than career, I find that PGWP holders face a lack of institutional support and sufficient information as they navigate their own status and when they go through the process of applying for permanent residency. They are often placed in precarious situations when unexpected policy changes occur. My research has yielded valuable insight into international students’ experiences with the PGWPP. Although the PGWPP does not directly contribute to people’s immigration intention, it greatly enables the formation of the latter. Many of my study participants said that they did not plan to immigrate when they first arrived in Canada, but the availability of the PGWP encouraged them to remain longer in Canada, and the time they spent studying and working in Canada often led to their subsequent immigration intention. However, the prospect of having an open work permit for up to three years does not always play out as ideally as hoped, and the PGWP policy does not give international student graduates a direct and smooth pathway to gaining permanence in Canada. People face challenges in the labour market due to their temporary status as PGWP holders, making it difficult to fully convert the time granted by the PGWP into satisfactory Canadian work experience that builds towards their immigration goal.

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