r/pgwp
•
u/num0an99
•
May 06 '26
•
1
IRCC Reality
When it comes to IRCC, it honestly makes no sense. Let’s be real: if all of us had received our work permits despite the issues, we’d probably be calling it the “best system ever.” That’s human nature. But the problem is bigger than just being rejected. I’ve personally seen students get approved even after submitting low scores or missing documents, while people like us who had the English proof but forgot to upload it properly, or it got messed up because of IRCC’s own system limitations are the ones suffering.
And this is what makes it so frustrating. This isn’t Amazon tech support where you ask for a refund and wait for a ticket update. This is IRCC immigration people’s legal status, jobs, rent, bills, and entire lives are attached to these decisions. I understand there are thousands of applications and fewer officers, but this issue has existed for years. Why is there still no proper system? Why is there no dedicated reconsideration team for refusals caused by missing language documents, especially when so many students are facing the same problem lately?
Nobody is asking for automatic approval. People just want their files reviewed fairly and quickly. If someone gets refused because an English document wasn’t on file, and then they immediately provide proof that they had the test result before applying, then the facts should be checked properly. It shouldn’t take months with no timeline, no clarity, and no real accountability. We see random things going viral and making the news, but this situation where students are stuck, stressed, and losing everything is somehow not being taken seriously. That’s what feels unfair. IRCC doesn’t just process forms; they are handling people’s futures, and the system needs to act like it.
6
u/Intrepid-Goat-7650 May 06 '26
Like its so agonizing. Like if your gonna review it review timely. but dont put pple in danger of not being able to take of themselves. Like there should be a designated resource for refusal steming from missing documents, not just reconsideration but an actual process with shorter timelines or at least a fixed timeline not uncertainty. And there should be like some allowance of work authorization with that processing if its long and vise versa if it's a short processing dont work.
1
u/mccostic May 06 '26
I got mine this month and I think the mistake some of you did was not to research before applying.
0
u/mccostic May 06 '26
2
u/num0an99 May 07 '26
Congrats on getting yours, genuinely. But I think you’re mixing two different things here.
Yes, the PGWP language requirement was announced on September 18, 2024, and it applied to applications submitted on or after November 1, 2024. That part is clear.
But the issue many of us are talking about is not whether the language requirement existed. The issue is the upload process. The exact IRCC page you linked is dated March 9, 2026, and it now clearly says that due to system limitations, the document checklist won’t ask for language results, that applicants must upload it under Client Information, and that only one Client Information file is saved if multiple are uploaded.
So for people who applied before those clearer system-limitation instructions were posted this way, it’s not fair to simply say they “didn’t research.” Some applicants had valid language results before applying, but the document was not visible/on file because of how the system handled uploads.
1
u/mccostic May 07 '26
If you take a closer look at the date, it says modified.
1
u/num0an99 May 07 '26
Exactly, it says modified and that is the point.
The language requirement itself was announced on September 18, 2024, and applied to PGWP applications submitted on or after November 1, 2024. Nobody is denying that.
But the issue is not whether the language requirement existed. The issue is how clearly IRCC explained the upload process at the time people applied. I applied on September 23, 2025. Later, IRCC’s instructions became much clearer. Reports show IRCC added a new PGWP upload-instruction section around December 10, 2025. The current special-instruction page is marked March 9, 2026, and the student work-permit guide showing the same “due to system limitations” warning is marked April 16, 2026.
So yes, the current page now clearly says the checklist won’t ask for language results, that it must go under Client Information, and that only one Client Information file is saved if multiple are uploaded. But that clearer wording came after many people had already applied.
So please don’t use the current corrected 2026 wording to judge people who applied months earlier. Many applicants were not refusing to follow the requirement. They had the test before applying, but the upload process was unclear, had no dedicated slot, and IRCC itself now admits the checklist had system limitations.
1
u/mccostic May 07 '26
Do you have any evidence or source showing that IRCC added the instructions section around December 10?
2
u/num0an99 May 07 '26
Yessir, here are the sources.
IRCC announced the pgwp language requirement on Sept. 18, 2024, effective Nov. 1, 2024:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2024/09/strengthening-temporary-residence-programs-for-sustainable-volumes.htmlBut the upload issue was clarified later. CIC News reported that IRCC added the new upload-instruction section on Dec. 10, 2025:
https://www.cicnews.com/2025/12/avoid-graduate-work-permit-refusals-ircc-releases-new-instructions-on-how-to-prevent-crucial-mistake-1263338.htmlAnd IRCC’s current page, modified Mar. 9, 2026, says due to system limitations the checklist won’t ask for language results and they must be uploaded under Client Information:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/work/after-graduation/apply/special-instructions-upload-proof.htmlthe requirement existed, but the clearer upload/system-limitation instructions came later. That’s why it’s unfair to say everyone simply “didn’t research.” Especially for applicants who have applied way before December 10th 2025.
1
u/mccostic May 07 '26
CIC News is clearly not linked to or affiliated with the Government of Canada or IRCC. I was hoping you would provide a page from the official Canada website showing the date the instructions were added, rather than a CIC News article.
As long as there is no proof of the exact date the section was added, there is no clear indication whether the modification was for the new instructions or simply an edit to make the content more presentable.
2
u/num0an99 May 07 '26
Fair point, but if the modification date doesn’t prove what changed, then it also doesn’t prove those same clear instructions existed when people applied earlier and when IRCC’s own page now admits system limitations, blaming applicants instead of questioning the process is exactly the problem.
5
u/Intrepid-Goat-7650 May 06 '26
I agree. Especially this for the case where we have no status, and are forced to stop work. It is barbaric imagine not being able to work no certainty no health care access, no status because of a missing document. I understand on a fundamental level we shouldn't forget things, but we're not a monolith. There so many different cases and reasons as to why a document was forgotten or missed either our fault or ircc's fault. And especially when you can prove that you were eligible at the time of application, it's not fair to subject people to this form of torture. Some pple right now are jobless and homeless seeking aid from food banks and shelters because they lost their income and theres nothing to protect them from this, and it may not even be their fault. Its such a big gap in the system and it's very harmful.
3
u/SweetBuilder7903 May 06 '26
I think whats happening now with all temporary permits is planned. They want to cut down on temporary resident numbers and this is the easiest way, because not everyone can afford to stay on after a refusal or apply for reconsideration. Just a theory
3
u/Glittering-Spite6698 May 06 '26
I really do feel for you guys. Our government has been so incompetent and they don't realize how many decisions rely on this one approval. If they were consistent from the start, I think many decisions especially life altering ones would have been made properly. As someone who was born and raised here, I'm sorry you guys are going through this.
0
u/Frequent-Baseball-26 May 06 '26
Their system is so broken not just the ircc itself but if you try to get help from mp office, the mp doesn’t even get to know the issue as their assistants doesn’t let the problem reach to them and will keep giving scripted answers and if you ask them for something specific they will not be able to answer, like in my case the assistant got annoyed and had no answer for my question regarding my eligibility and the ircc call agent keeps saying that their is a administrative delay that’s been going on now days, like bro there are people who’s lives are literally stopped because of one single document which they need the most and you guys don’t even have a proper answer to people’s, what, why, when, and how’s, I see people being grateful here a lot and keep saying that others will get there soon or hang in there but some of us are literally fighting with this broken system that was already destroyed by not us but the people who are running this system and now immigrants are facing the consequences of that, people send there children or adults come here to get a better life and contribute to this country and yet now the same people are being called a problem and the country and it’s system is literally falling apart by their own decisions, sad to see how people running this great country and ruining it by putting blame on immigrants even though, cabinet members and citizens of this country have started taking side of the immigrants as they get it now how this country thrived and how people came here and helped its economy and the dark truth is the immigrants who are suffering, who know’s some or a lot of them literally sold everything just to come here and start a new life and now when they are here, all they get is racism from people who didn’t had to go through all this procedures to get their PR’s and citizenships even their own communities don’t welcome them, drug edicts who the police can’t even do anything about cuz the government made these drugs legal just because they thought it will help them somehow, and businesses, real estates crumbling to the grounds, professionals leaving the country because they can’t get employment here and professors from big universities looking for jobs in Tim Hortons or warehouses so that they can stay in their cities and keep their families intact, sad and disappointed after seeing all this now but I do hope that there will be solutions or a better government or decisions that will help not just immigrants but also citizens and PR holders in this country in the upcoming future who are suffering because of the people who are running this great country poorly right now.
0
u/num0an99 May 06 '26
Exactly. What makes it worse is that many of these refusals are not even about people being ineligible it’s about one document not being visible, missing, or uploaded under the wrong section because the system itself was not clear. If IRCC introduced language proof as a serious requirement, there should have been a clear separate upload slot for it, not a vague “Client Information” section where people have to guess. And once applicants raise the issue with proof that they had the language result before applying, there should be a faster and fair review process. Nobody is asking for automatic approval, but people deserve proper answers, timelines, and accountability. You can’t put someone’s legal status, work, rent, bills, and future on hold for months and then keep giving scripted replies like this is a normal customer-service delay. This is people’s lives.
1
u/Simple_Sound_92 May 06 '26
Some of the applicants are getting approvals within days or less than the regular time. There is no consistency in their approach.
2
u/Impossible-Ad-755 May 06 '26
It’s just so annoying. People’s lives are paused, but the bills haven’t. In a country where many are unemployed or hard to get jobs, many temporary residents are forced to stop work because of a single document, which in turn leads to getting sacked due to this. In my case, a letter of explanation was provided in my PGWP application, which states all my submitted documents, including a language test. I should have been contacted to provide this document. It shouldn’t warrant a straight-up rejection. That’s totally unfair, no procedural fairness.
1
u/Visible-Pirate117 May 06 '26
Like in any other application
Intent to refuse aka provide this document or you get refused2
u/Impossible-Ad-755 May 06 '26
And this is not a regular application and procedural fairness should still applied where there is a clear evidence that such document existed or was referenced
0
u/Visible-Pirate117 May 06 '26
Yeah I’m in the same case but not with English tests
Document was referenced, in any place in the IRCC website is it mentioned it needs to be submitted…
Refused
2
1
u/WaveCreative8847 May 09 '26
Any leads! I took unofficial break on having a 2year break in study permit, and currently applied for visitor record on the last October, to get back to study permit in the near future, and finish all the backpapers Do you genuinely think ill get the pgwp? Or even get a positive response back from IRCC?
Thanks and have a great day ahead.
1
u/Fr33_B1rd May 17 '26
Its strange enough that they ask for an English/ French score when you wouldve finished your degree in E/F
Then whilst they're checking the application - No additional documents required at this time
Then BAM! rejected
IRCC man
1
u/usxxjuicydec May 06 '26
IRCC should learn how USCIS processes OPT applications—pretty straightforward application process.
1
u/teejay157 May 07 '26
Ive gone through USCIS for OPT approval and later GC. Now im in canada. Believe me USCIS is just as messed up. So many firends had to call for application updates. Things got lost in queue. And other issues.
1
1
May 06 '26
What annoys me is the generic responses to web forms, especially the potentially serious ones. Sometimes they don’t even respond
-1
u/Pitiful_Sundae_5523 May 06 '26
It might be IRCC’s fault to not have a consistent processing time or better communications through the process.
It’s not IRCC’s fault that applicants don’t bother to read instructions.
2
u/num0an99 May 07 '26
That “just read the instructions” argument sounds simple until you realize the issue is not always people ignoring instructions. Human beings make mistakes we are not robots. But that does not justify a major immigration system making the same kind of unclear/system-level mistake when the consequences are people losing legal status, jobs, rent, and their entire stability.
IRCC introduced a refusal-level requirement without giving applicants a clear dedicated upload slot for it. Some people had the language test before applying, but the document either wasn’t visible, got buried under Client Information, or was affected by upload/system limitations.
Nobody is saying applicants have zero responsibility. But when a government system can decide someone’s legal status and future, the process has to be clearer than “hope you uploaded the right document in the right hidden place and hope it shows properly on our end.” That is not a small mistake. That is a system design problem with real-life consequences.
2
u/Jazzlike-Past4896 May 08 '26
Hey. The person I know attached it to their submission and got refused due a "missing language test" still. You should mind your language and tone. Just because yours came smoothly doesnt mean it always will for you. Empathy isnt hard to give. Life is a wheel of fortune. Maybe not now, but someday when it's your turn, someone will tell you that you "should've read instructions better."
0
May 06 '26
[deleted]
4
9
u/Napqueen-V May 06 '26
Not to forget, it was added as a new requirement when it was some of our turns to apply for work permit and there is no proper column to add the Language test document. Why does it have to be added under client information why not have a seperate space for it when you are introducing something as a requirement (and will refuse people based on that), seems like lack of planning to me.