Wayne is a Migrant Workers Alliance for Change member leader from Jamaica who was blacklisted from the farm work program for speaking up about unpaid wages. He is a young father of two and has been providing for his family by driving taxi, but is now facing unexpected expenses after his dad passed away following father’s day. We are asking for community support to help with burial and funeral costs. Extra funds will be used to pay school fees for Wayne’s children.
This information is up to date as for June 27, 2023. Please check back for updates
What was announced? Temporary foreign workers with a “work permit” (see below for who may be excluded) that is valid on June 7, 2023, or temporary foreign workers with an expired work permit but who applied for an extension June 7, 2023, may be able to study for up to three years without a study permit.
What changed exactly? Until now, if you were on a work permit, you could only study for a course of up to 6 months. For courses longer than 6 months, you would have to apply for a study permit. Now you will be able to study without a study permit until your work permit expires.
Does this change apply to refugees, post-graduate work permit holders or humanitarian applicants with valid work permits? It is not clear at this time. Please fill in your information below and we will let you know when more information is provided by the federal government.
Can I study full-time? Yes, you are allowed to study full time.
But the work experience you get while studying full time cannot be used for future immigration applications under Express Entry programs. If you study part-time, you will be able to count the full time work for your Express Entry applications.
If you are applying under the HCCP or HSWP or for the Agri-Food Immigraiton Pilot, it is not clear if you can count work while you are studying full time (but you can count work while you are studying part time). Please fill in your information below and we will let you know when more information is provided by the federal government.
What is part-time study? Schools have different definitions. Usually anything less than 4 or 5 courses per semester is considered part-time. Check with the school before enrolling.
Can I start a full-year course if my work permit expires during the course? We don’t know if you can start a course in September for one year (until September 2024), if your work permit expires in the middle (for example in November 2023). Please fill in your information below and we will let you know when more information is provided by the federal government.
Can I get accreditation for high-school equivalency or one-year post-secondary education in this way without applying for a study permit? It is possible. However, you must make sure that the school you are applying to will provide you a certification that you can use. You must make sure that you choose part-time or full-time based on whether you need to count the work experience, and when your work permit expires.
Can I study online? Yes, you can study online.
For Post-Secondary education: The post-secondary education must be a “Designated Learning Institute”. Check here to see if the school is registered. Be careful, there are many “private colleges” that are not listed so make sure you check this list even if the school is large and you know other people that attend.
For high-school accreditation: Make sure it is a provincial organization. For example, in Ontario, click here.
Do I have to pay international tuition fees? Yes, you will have to pay international tuition fees, which is 3-4 times higher than domestic tuition fees.
What are the requirements to enroll at a college or university or to get a high school diploma? Every college and university has different requirements. You should read their websites carefully to apply. Only trust the information that you read yourself. Do not trust the advice of education agents without checking yourself.
The Home Child Care Worker Pilot (HCCP) and Home Support Worker Pilot (HSWP) programs will expire in June 2024. Many of us are still struggling to apply for permanent resident because of English test and education credential requirements that are excluding many. On top of that, many are still in the backlog waiting for years to be reunited with their families.
But we have an opportunity to win immigration changes for all of us care workers. This is why current and former care workers like you are meeting up to connect, talk about our struggles and what can we do to improve our lives for the better.
The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC) is an organization for and by migrants. We are current and former care workers, international students, health care, farm and fishery workers across Canada uniting to win rights at work and immigration justice. Get involved and join us to win fair rules, equal rights and PR status for all of us!
We at Migrant Workers Alliance for Change wants to make sure that we have a safe space for us to talk about the issues that affects our lives while being away from our families. We are a community, we are a family that supports each other to fight for equal rights and fair immigration rules. That is why we encourage you to come to our meetings that happens every month to meet others like you.
¿Es miembr@ de la Alianza de Trabajador@s Migrantes por un Cambio MWAC?
Únase a nosotr@s en Toronto el 9 de julio cuando nos reunamos para volver a encender el fuego. Celebraremos nuestras victorias. Y decidiremos el futuro. Unid@s tenemos más poder.
Para registrarse, complete el siguiente formulario:
On Wednesday June 14, 2023, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser held a media event and released a statement after an incredible 18 day permanent protest by Punjabi students in Toronto outside of immigration enforcement headquarters. These students have been “deemed inadmissible” or are facing inadmissibility hearings and several dozen are facing deportation.
Continue reading to learn what was announced. Permanent solutions are still needed: permanent cancellation of deportation orders, immediate access to regularization and permanent resident status for all – sign the petition to send a message to decision makers: MigrantWorkersAlliance.org/StopDeportations
Based on the information available as of June 14, here is what we know:
There will be an 8 week case-by-case investigation by a task force of immigration and immigration enforcement officials (IRCC and CBSA) to determine who was tricked and misrepresented by these recruiters.
Migrant students who have pending deportation orders will be given a temporary resident permit (TRP) and will have their deportation halted for 8 weeks as the investigation is underway.
Within these 8 weeks, migrant students who are considered by the task force to be “genuine applicants’ and deemed to not know of the fraud will have their inadmissibility waived and their temporary resident permits will be extended for 3 years.
Those students already deported will have a process to return to Canada.
This is a significant victory that is a direct result of sustained, courageous action by migrant students and their supporters.
There are a number of very important issues that are unaddressed and concerns that have not been resolved:
Many of the impacted students have not yet gotten a decision on their admissibility hearings and/or have not yet been issued deportation orders. The Minister did not say that they would receive temporary resident permits (TRP). This leaves the majority of affected students in limbo.
It is unclear if and how students will be able to apply for the TRP. Students may receive communication from Immigration Canada.
There are no clear details on how students who will be investigated will participate in the proceedings. It is unknown if they will be able to present a case, or have a lawyer present. The criteria has not been announced, and it is not known who the burden of proof will fall onto; i.e. it is not known if students will have to prove that they did not engage in fraud or not.
The investigative process is individualized on a case-by-case basis, even as the impacted students took action collectively and demanded a political response.
It is not clear what remedies or right of appeal will be available to those deemed to have conducted fraud.
Even with TRPs extended for students, there is no clarity on how people will get justice and permanent resident status. Some are already undocumented. And a 3 year temporary permit means that exploitation, denial of equal rights and protections will continue, with no guarantee that students will be invited for PR at the end.
As more information becomes available, we will continue to update this page. Permanent solutions are still needed. We deserve a permanent cancellation of deportation orders, immediate access to regularization and permanent resident status for all – sign the petition to send a message to decision makers: MigrantWorkersAlliance.org/StopDeportations
In June 2024, Home Child Care Pilot (HCCP) and Home Support Worker Pilot (HSWP) programs will expire. We don’t know what program will replace it. This is a crucial moment to meet and put our heads together and make plans to win changes and fairness to immigration rules for care workers.
Join us on Sunday, June 18 at 11am in Toronto (720 Spadina Ave, Suite 202, M5S 2T9) for a meeting to discuss our demands to the government and plan for actions. All former and current care workers are welcome to join. Bring your care worker friends especially those who haven’t applied for PR or those who can’t because they are not eligible. You can also tell us what your major concerns are and what you want to be changed. We are all in this together.
Register below so that we know how many of you are coming in order for us to determine if we have enough space for everyone.
¿Es trabajador/a agrícola y no ha sido pedid@ para volver a trabajar en Canadá para la temporada 2023? ¡Usted merece un trato justo, seguridad laboral e igualdad de derechos! ¿Está de acuerdo? Complete este formulario para compartir su historia y aprender cómo podemos ganar el cambio junt@s.
Our names are Ramanjot, Karamjit, Lovepreet, Dimple and Harpreet. We are some of the former international students who are facing deportation after being scammed by education recruiters, such as Brijesh Mishra. There’s not a lot of time left. Please support our fight for justice by sending a message to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser. Read our stories and sign the petition below.
Update on International Students Fight Against Deportation
After an incredible 18 day permanent protest by Punjabi students in Toronto outside of immigration enforcement headquarters, on Wednesday June 14, 2023, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser held a media event and released a statement. Read more here about what was announced and what concerns remain.
Permanent protest ends after 18 days of incredible struggle!
Since Sunday May 28, students facing deportation have been holding down a 24/7 protest in front of immigration enforcement headquarters in Mississauga (Greater Toronto Area). Hundreds from the community have been uniting and rallying for justice. Every night, there’s a community gathering at 7pm – with food, speeches, performances – but you can drop by any time. Join the fight for justice!
Join a rally to stop the deportation of international students and call for permanent resident status for all. More than a 100 international students are facing deportation after being tricked by education recruiters. Most of these students have spent more than half a decade in this country, have completed studies, work and live here. Time is running out, Lovepreet Singh’s deportation is in less than a week.
My name is Karamjeet Kaur, and I am facing deportation on May 29th, 2023. Why? I am being punished because my immigration agent tricked me and submitted a fake school admission letter back in 2018 when he applied for my permit. I have been living in Canada for the past five years, I did everything for this country and it is my home now. I did my study in Edmonton College Norquest and got the post graduate work permit. For the past four years, I am working at as a full-time supervisor at a warehouse.
I applied for my permanent residency, but to my shock, I got called in for an interview with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). They told me about that fake offer letter, which I had no idea about before. I never thought that this could happen. I did everything according to the rules, and even got my post-graduate work permit. But Canada still wants to deport me and hundreds of other students.
I have very less time left. CBSA issued me a deportation plane ticket for May 29. But I am still taking action to get justice, so that I can stay in Canada. I applied for a Humanitarian and Compassionate application, and I am asking to get a stay on my deportation until I get the decision on my application, which is in process. I am requesting Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and Immigration Minister Sean Fraser to look into this and do the right thing to ensure justice for me and the other students who are victims of this fraud. Please support us by signing the petition and sharing with everybody you know.
