Dear Students,  

Thank you for your interest in beginning a Post-Graduate Certificate with York University this January. Please note that full-time programs which begin in January 2021 will be offered online until the end of April 2021. The second half of your program will begin in Canada in May 2021 following a short travel break. 

You will still require a valid study permit order to begin this program. Students who are not issued an approval-in-principle or a valid study permit by January 11, 2021 will be de-enrolled from the Winter 2021 cohort and automatically deferred to the next available offering. If you are unable to obtain at least an approval-in-principle study permit and are not interested in deferring your offering, you will be eligible for a full refund.  

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued updated guidelines on the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program (PGWPP) as of August 26, 2020 to help international students.  

The new rules state that “Students may now study online from abroad until April 30, 2021, with no time deducted from the length of a future post-graduation work permit, provided 50% of their program of student is eventually completed in Canada” 

For more information on this change, please review the IRCC’s notice. 

If you are an international student currently residing in Canada: 

On July 15, 2020, IRCC announced a temporary biometrics exemption for temporary residence applicants from within Canada, until further notice. You would qualify for the temporary exemption if you are applying for one of the following: 

• an extension of a work permit 
• a new work permit 

• an extension of a study permit 
• a new study permit 
• a visitor visa 
• a visitor record to allow you to stay in Canada as a temporary resident 
• restoration (extension) of temporary resident status 

• a temporary resident permit 

If you have not yet submitted your application, do not pay the $85 biometrics fee even if the system asks you to pay for it. 

If you have a pending application for which you have paid the biometrics fee, you do not need to give biometrics and will receive a refund of $85 once your application is processed. 

If you are currently outside of Canada: 

Please note that the Government of Canada has enacted travel restrictions. We do not recommend that you travel to Canada at this time. As classes are online, we will accommodate students in their current location.  

If you choose to come to Canada before May 2021, please notify our office at regscs@yorku.ca of your plans, which must include a plan for the Government of Canada mandated 14-day self-quarantine period. This mean you will not have an opportunity to go grocery shopping or perform any other outdoor tasks to establish yourself in Canada. 

You will be required to have health insurance prior to immigrating to Canada. Our office will follow up with you regarding medical insurance in early December.  

If you have any questions, we encourage you to access York’s dedicated COVID-19 webpage, which includes answers to FAQs as well as links to supporting resources.  For all other questions, please contact regscs@yorku.ca. 

As always, our student’s safety and educational experience is our top priority. We will provide you with relevant institutional and public health updates as soon as they become available to us.    

Stay well, 

 School of Continuing Studies