Indian students in Canada who were denied work permits went on a hunger strike. Several Indian students at Portage College in Calgary, Canada, have gone on a hunger strike as part of an ongoing protest against Immigration Canada’s decision to deny them post-graduation work permits. They said that they are waiting for some positive result as they have been protesting for several days now, but now they have to start a 24-hour protest to attract the attention of the authorities. While a thousand students were protesting, about 5-6 students went on a hunger strike.
What is a work permit after graduation?
The issue concerns students who attended a diploma program offered by Portage College and the Canadian Institute of Osteopathic Therapy. Thousands of students have been denied post-study work permits because IRCC said the course they were studying did not meet the criteria for a work permit. In Canada, this PGWP depends on what course the student is studying as well as the institute from which the student received the degree.The students claimed that the course they were pursuing and the college were in the list of candidates at the time of admission. After they paid $32,000 for the two-year course and completed it, they were told that the course and institute no longer met the criteria.Portage College authorities said they were aware of the immigration issue, but the decision was made by IRCC and they had nothing to do with it, although they had sought clarification from the immigration department. In the meantime, some Portage College partner campuses have decided to close their physical locations. Portage College said this is also unrelated to the PGWP issue and is scheduled to begin in 2024.
“We studied here, we deserve to work here”
The students said they want the work permit denial reconsidered and that they deserve to work in Canada because they studied here. The students claimed that after two years they were told that their degree was a non-credit program. Non-credit programs are not eligible for work permits. The students claimed that the new rule was introduced in June 2026 only on the website. Two years ago, they were told their programs qualified for work permits.