Who can apply

To be eligible, you must

• hold a valid passport issued by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or the United Kingdom to a British National Overseas
  • Your work permit will be valid for up to 3 years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first.
    • For example, if your passport is valid for 6 months, then you will be issued an open work permit for 6 months.
    • To maximize the duration of the open work permit, make sure your passport is valid for at least 3 years from the date of approval.
    • Tell us how long you want your work permit to be valid.
• meet the education requirements for post-secondary, graduate or post-graduate studies (see below for details)

Education requirements for post-secondary studies Effective February 8, 2023

You must have graduated no more than 10 years before you apply for this open work permit, with one of the following:

• a degree (for example, associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral) from a designated post-secondary learning institution in Canada or an institution abroad
• a diploma from a program of at least 2 years from a designated post-secondary learning institution in Canada or an institution abroad
• a graduate or post-graduate credential
  • from a program of at least 1 year
  • that required the completion of a post-secondary degree or diploma, as a prerequisite for acceptance into the program
    • You must have received the post-secondary degree or diploma no more than 5 years before you started the graduate or post-graduate program
  • from one of the following:
    • a designated learning institution in Canada
    • an institution abroad

If you’ve already applied

If you’ve already applied but you haven’t received a decision, your application will be processed under this change but you must have graduated within 10 years of the date you submitted your work permit application to be eligible.

If you got your education abroad

You don’t need an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) to apply if you got a degree (for example, associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral) outside Canada, but an officer may request one later.

If you got a post-secondary, graduate or post-graduate diploma outside Canada, you must provide an ECA.

The ECA must be from an organization or a professional body designated by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. They’ll give you a report that tells you what your education is equal to in Canada.

Processing times and costs for the ECA vary by the organization or professional body.

Once you choose a designated organization or a professional body, they’ll tell you how to submit your documents to get your ECA.

Designated organizations

You must use one of these designated organizations:

• Comparative Education Service – University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies
  • designated: April 17, 2013
• International Credential Assessment Service of Canada
  • designated: April 17, 2013
• World Education Services
  • designated: April 17, 2013
• International Qualifications Assessment Service
  • designated: August 6, 2015
• International Credential Evaluation Service
  • designated: August 6, 2015