Staying on after graduation — anyone done the post-study route?

Well done on the switch, Mariam. I'm reading this for my daughter, who has just started in Canada, and your question about what to know before the final year is the one I'll forward to her.

I'm on the other side of this: I came to Canada as a caregiver, not a student, but I'm now studying nursing part-time, and I've spent a lot of time with international classmates who are planning to stay on after graduation. What they all say is the same: the post-study work option exists, but the details matter enormously. Whether your programme is eligible, how long the permit lasts, what you need to apply before your study permit expires, and which kinds of jobs help with permanent residence later. Two of my classmates found out in their final term that their programme didn't qualify for what they'd assumed.

So my advice for anyone studying now: check the eligibility of your specific programme in your first year, not your last. And keep every enrolment letter, because you'll need them all.

Checking eligibility in the first year rather than the last is exactly the kind of timing mistake that costs people a year.

I haven't even arrived yet, and this is already the most useful thread I've read this week.

wish i'd known any of this before my first degree abroad. would have saved me a lot of panic

Congratulations, Mariam, and thank you for starting this thread. Post-study routes are among the most valuable options for international students and among the easiest to miss, because eligibility often depends on the programme, the institution and when you apply, not only on your degree. The Visa section of each country guide covers the post-study route, for example the Visa section for France, and Joy's advice to check eligibility in the first year is the right one.

That's a lot of work behind one sentence, Mariam, so congratulations.

Keeping every enrolment letter is the boring advice that saves people, and it applies to every status change I've seen.

Shared your thread with my classmates, Mariam, and two of them are checking their programme's eligibility this week.

One small addition for students reading later: if you're close to the end of your studies and waiting for a decision on a post-study permit, check what your status allows while the application is pending, especially regarding work and travel. That detail is set by each country and it catches people out in the weeks after graduation.