Post Sept. 2023 only students of public institutions will get work permits in Quebec province of Canada

CEGEP GIM, Montreal Campus emerges as a credible option to study in Quebec

Chandigarh . The Canadian province of Quebec, along with the national government, is shutting down a route towards permanent residency that was used by some private colleges to entice large numbers of international students, the majority of whom were from India.

The announcement of the measure to “tighten access to post-graduation work permits for certain graduates of non-subsidised private educational institutions”, was made in June 2022 jointly by Quebec’s Minister of Immigration Jean Boulet and Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser in Quebec City.

Between 2016 and 2018, the number of foreign students obtaining a study permit from such educational institutions was estimate at 4,900, according to the release. That jumped to 11,500 for the 2019-21 period. Indian students were vulnerable to such a lure. Earlier this year, nearly a thousand were left in the lurch when three such institutions, M College in Montreal, CED College in Sherbrooke, and CCSQ College in Longueil, closed down.

The CEGEP GIM Montreal Campus, is the credible option to study in Quebec. It is a bilingual college of general and vocational education, with an English section, in Gaspé, Quebec, Canada. In 1967, several institutions were merged and became public ones, when the Quebec system of CEGEPs was created, a network of public colleges throughout the province. The CEGEP GIM is affiliated with the Colleges and Institutes Canada (CiCan), which is an association of publicly funded community colleges or institutions in Canada, and   Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) the national governing body for organized sports at the collegiate level in Canada. 

Mr. Martin Betts, Director and Representative of Matrix College in the partnership, states that “the program integrity in this partnership is maintained by the fact that students are paying their tuition fees into the CEGEP account, they studying at a public institution wherein the program is delivered by teachers hired by the CEGEP, and the final diploma and transcript are awarded by the CEGEP.”  He goes on to add that the partnership is going strong and has positively impacted the lives of international students by providing them with skills necessary to succeed in the workforce in Canada.

Mr. Stan Belevici, Senior Immigration Consultant, representative of Matrix College in the partnership provides immigration support to international students at the campus. Mr. Belevici is also the current Chair Board of Directors Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC).  He is reassuring that “the policy change announced on June 7, 2022 revoking the privilege of Post Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) is for private colleges operating in Quebec and has no impact on this partnership. He goes on to add that as per the current Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) regulation and policy students studying at a public institution like Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Iles – Montreal Campus are eligible for the entitlement of PGWP.  He also states that “recently, the Canadian government has announced measures to increase the workforce to process temporary resident files and feels that in the coming months the visa processing delays would reduce significantly.”

Mr. Srinath Molugu, South Asia representative of Matrix College who spearheads recruitment for Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Iles – Montreal Campus states that “the admission criteria, rigor in the quality of student files that are being recruited, and adherence to the Student Direct Stream (SDS) process has ensured a high visa ratio of 84%. In the past”