Maple News reports that, effective June 21, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will no longer allow foreign nationals to apply for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) at a Canadian port of entry. This significant policy change ends the long-standing practice of ‘flagpoling’ for PGWP applicants.
Flagpoling is the process by which eligible temporary residents exit and re-enter Canada—often within a day—via a land border to obtain immigration services in person. While legal, this method has increasingly strained border resources. According to IRCC, one in five foreign nationals attempting to flagpole between March 2023 and February 2024 were PGWP applicants.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller stated that the decision aims to reduce unnecessary border traffic and allow officers to prioritize critical enforcement duties. “While we continue to value the contributions of international graduates to our labour market, flagpoling is unnecessary,” said Miller. “The time and effort required to process these applications at the border takes officers away from ensuring the safety and prosperity of Canadians and Americans.”
The policy is also intended to ease delays for travelers and accelerate the movement of commercial goods across the Canada-U.S. border. In addition, IRCC hopes the change will promote greater fairness among applicants who submit their applications through conventional in-country channels.
To address concerns over long inland processing times—which often pushed PGWP holders to flagpole—IRCC outlined several improvements. These include faster processing times for work permit applications submitted within Canada, simpler application forms and procedures, and policies allowing foreign workers to start a new job immediately while waiting for their permit to be approved.
For international graduates, this marks a shift in how they must approach their post-graduation work plans. While the change removes a fast-track option, it reflects IRCC’s broader objective to streamline in-country services and preserve the integrity of the immigration system.
Maple News will continue to monitor updates on PGWP processing and other IRCC policy shifts affecting temporary residents and international graduates in Canada.