The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC) is looking for a passionate Campus Organizer to join our Migrant Students United (MSU) team. If you’re dedicated to building the power of international students, particularly those in low-waged work, to drive real change, this is your opportunity to make a meaningful impact on college and university campuses in the GTA.
Deadline: 5pm, November 25, 2024
If you have an expired or expiring work permit (post-graduate, LMIA, employer-sponsored, spousal, refugee), sign up to get more information about your rights and immigration options.
Immigration laws are changing fast and you’re not alone! By the end of 2024, more than 200,000 post-graduate work permits (PGWP) and nearly 1.2 million total permits will expire. Already, many graduated international students and migrant workers are being fired, laid off or working for cash because their work permits cannot be renewed.
It shouldn’t be this way – all workers should be able to work with rights and protections. Together, we can win fairness.
As a result of our collective action, international students in college programs will NOT be denied post-graduate work permits based on their field of study. University and college graduates will still have to meet the language requirements, but the reversal of the field of study requirement is a massive win for working-class migrants and students.
Almost 2000 letters were sent to the federal government calling on them to stop the injustice. Together, we prove that when we take action together, we can win changes. Read more about what happened and what the latest update is, as of October 4, 2024.
Over the past 12 months, there has been a barrage of changes to immigration rules that capped and slashed rights for current and former international students. On September 18, 2024, the federal government announced more caps, and changed the rules in the middle of the game by restricting post-graduate work permit (PGWP) eligibility. These undemocratic changes would have affected hundreds of us who are already living, studying, and working here.
Originally, the federal government said that starting November 1st, 2024:
When these changes were announced, we immediately called for all those who are already in the country or have applied to study permits to be “grandfathered in” under the original rules. Thousands jumped into action, and on October 4, 2024, the federal government partially reversed the changes. Now, the PGWP eligibility is as follows, and you can read the updates on the government’s website here.
Still, immigration caps are separating families, the most recent minimum points needed for permanent residency for the Canadian Experience Class was 509 (impossibly high), and more than 200,000 post-graduate work permits will expire by the end of 2024 and next year.
Working people in Canada, including international students and migrants, are going through some of the hardest moments of our lives. At the same time, the richest few in the country are getting richer. These same people own grocery monopolies, housing corporations, push down working conditions for all of us, and are friends with politicians.
The federal government is threatening to cut permanent residency numbers for the Immigration Levels Plan set to be announced on November 1st. When we see politicians legitimizing this blame-game and attacking our rights, we must speak out and stand for justice together.
We are the largest migrant student movement in the country – and clearly when we take action together, we can win. Join us in building power!
Our members are migrants only! This means you are currently or were recently in Canada without permanent resident status.
By becoming a member, you will learn more about your rights as a worker, have access to support, build your leadership skills and be part of our movement to ensure rights and justice for all. Members participate in monthly meetings, as well as online and in-person activities and become part of a supportive community of workers & friends.
Members believe in building our collective power and being in solidarity with workers speaking up for justice anywhere in the world. See below for the list of responsibilities and benefits of becoming a member!
Fill out the membership form to apply to be a member and we will be in touch!
Member Responsibilities
Member Benefits
If you want to join in building a movement to push back against regressive and unfair changes to international student rules, fill out this form. If you are an international student, we also have some spots open for paid outreach program to build power on campuses across the country to reverse the changes before November 1st.
Join an online information session to get updates about the new announcements for current and former international students. There’s a lot of misinformation circulating, including in the media. Ask your questions when you register and get answers by experts! You’ll also hear concrete strategies and tips on how to best support international students who contact you.
Date: Thursday October 3, 2024
Time: 12PM Eastern, 9AM Pacific
Length: 60 minutes
The federal government announced a series of new rules for current and former international students this year, including most recently last week. Massive changes are set to take effect on November 1, 2024. Please share widely so that we all have the right information for students.
The federal government just changed up the rules for international students. Now, tens of thousands may not be able to get a work permit unless they get high language scores or get jobs deemed valuable by Canada. Changes come into effect on November 1, 2024. Send a letter before it’s too late. Call on PM Trudeau and Immigration Minister Miller to ensure fairness and grandfather in all students who have already committed to studying in Canada.
Migrant workers deserve rights, not punishment. Tens of thousands of graduated international students on post-graduate work permits (PGWP) who completed studies, worked for years and built their homes in Canada are facing mass deportation because their permits are expiring. Send a message below to PM Trudeau, Immigration Minister Miller and your MP to stop PGWP injustice and let workers stay.
If you want to share your own story, add it in the petition text directly below.
Endorsed by: Cooper Institute, the PEI PGWP Holders, the PEI Action Team for Migrant Worker Rights, and BIPOC USHR
Recently the minimum points required to qualify for Express Entry permanent residency programs, like the Canadian Experience Class, have been extremely high. Migrant Workers Alliance for Change will submit a proposal to the federal government on how to fix Express Entry based on the collective priorities of current and former international students like you.
You can choose to stay anonymous, and your answers will be kept confidential.
Create your own user feedback surveyMedia Release
Migrant Workers Alliance for Change
Media Liaison: Sarom Rho, 416-887-8315, sarom@migrantworkersalliance.org, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change
“There is an immigration crisis in the country but it’s not in runaway numbers, it’s in the abuse, exploitation and exclusion of people without permanent resident status and that is where we must focus.
In addition to the 2 year cap on international student permits, Minister Miller also announced that in the week ahead families of international students who are not in graduate level studies will be banned from being in the country – this is cruel mass family separation. It must be reversed.
Minister Miller has also banned post-graduate work permits for anyone starting their studies on September 1, 2024 at a public-private partnership educational institution. This does not fix the failures of the massive expansion of such get-rich institutions to which recruiters will continue to funnel vulnerable students. There must be a single system in which schools that are eligible for study permits should also be eligible for post-graduate work permits. If the school is not good enough for a post-graduate work permit, it simply should be closed down.
Migrants are facing a roller-coaster of policy changes, with new announcements almost every day – we need predictability and transparency. At minimum that means the announcements today should not apply to anyone with a valid study permit or who has applied for a study permit. Otherwise, tens of thousands of students will be punished for failures of government policy. We ask at a minimum that those with valid study permits or who have applied for a study permit at these PPPs are grandfathered in and have access to post-graduate work permits.
All of us in Canada are facing overwhelming bills and exorbitant rent because of price-hikes, failures of government policy and runaway profiteering. And yet it is immigrants who are being scapegoated. Housing prices went up even when the border was closed during COVID-19. Capping immigration is not a solution, prices will remain high, all today’s announcement does is cede to racist ideas and hurt working class people and their families.”
— Sarom Rho, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change / Migrant Students United.
Migrant Students United is a sector of Migrant Workers Alliance for Change. We are the only cross-country organization that serves as a representative body for both current and former international students, with membership of study permit holders, post-graduate work permit holders and undocumented students in ten provinces and territories. Our Fairness Agenda for Migrant Student Workers platform has been endorsed by national student, labour and civil society organizations representing over 533,080 people across the country.
