Your Work Permit Is Expiring: Should You Go Back to School in Canada? (An Honest Assessment)

Three months ago, I had coffee with a software developer named Maria who was panicking. Her work permit was expiring in 90 days, and while her Express Entry profile was solid, she hadn’t received an invitation to apply yet. She asked me point-blank: “Should I enroll in a master’s program just to stay in Canada?”

It’s a question I hear constantly from people in the exact same position. You’ve built a life here, maybe you’ve got an apartment lease, friends, a routine. The thought of packing up and leaving feels devastating. Going back to school seems like the obvious solution to buy more time.

But here’s the thing—sometimes it’s brilliant strategy, and sometimes it’s an expensive mistake that actually hurts your immigration chances.

Let me walk you through this decision the way I wish someone had explained it to Maria.

The Core Question: Will Studying Actually Help You Get PR?

Before we dive into details, let’s be brutally honest about what matters here. The only reason to transition from a work permit to a study permit for immigration purposes is if it meaningfully increases your chances of getting permanent residence.

Not just keeping you in Canada longer. Not just giving you something to do. Actually improving your odds of getting that PR.

When studying is your best move:

1. You’ve already qualified for a PR pathway and submitted your profile
2. The Canadian credential will boost your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score significantly
3. You’re targeting a specific province with strong graduate immigration streams
4. You need legal status in Canada while waiting for your invitation

When studying could backfire:

1. You need to work full-time to pay rent and survive
2. You’re not yet eligible for PR and you’re counting on full-time work experience during school to qualify
3. Your entire plan depends on getting a second Post-Graduation Work Permit (spoiler: you can’t)

Let me break down why each of these scenarios matters.

Your Express Entry Profile Stays Active (This Is Huge)

Here’s something many people don’t realize: your Express Entry profile doesn’t disappear when you switch from a work permit to a study permit. As long as you still meet the eligibility requirements for your program—Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class, or Federal Skilled Trades—your profile stays in the pool.

This means you can receive an Invitation to Apply while you’re sitting in a classroom studying for midterms.

The same generally applies to Provincial Nominee Programs, though some have specific requirements about holding valid work or study permits at the time of application. Always check the exact requirements for your target province.

For Maria, this was the key insight. She already had 470 CRS points and had been in the pool for six months. Switching to student status wouldn’t hurt her existing profile—it would just give her legal status to wait for her invitation.

The CRS Score Boost: Real Numbers, Real Impact

The Express Entry system awards points based on language skills, education, age, and work experience. But it also gives bonus points for Canadian education credentials, and these can be game-changers.

Canadian education bonuses:

• One or two-year program: 15 extra points
• Three-year program or longer: 30 extra points

But the real magic happens in something called “skills transferability.” This is where Canadian education combines with your other qualifications to multiply your points.

Real example #1: Aisha’s one-year post-grad certificate

Aisha had a bachelor’s degree from India, strong English scores (CLB 9), and three years of foreign work experience. Her initial CRS score was around 440.

She completed a one-year post-graduate certificate in Canada. Yes, she turned 30 during her program (losing 5 age points), but here’s what she gained:

• 15 points for Canadian education credential
• Additional skills transferability points because Canadian education + high language scores unlock a higher tier
• Stronger positioning for Ontario’s International Student streams

Her final score: 462 points. That 22-point increase moved her from “probably not getting invited” to “invited within two months.”

Real example #2: Mateo’s master’s degree

Mateo had a bachelor’s in engineering, decent English (CLB 8), and one year of Canadian work experience. His score was 445.

He completed a two-year master’s degree. He aged from 33 to 35 (losing 5 points), but gained:

• 30 points for a three-year Canadian credential (master’s degrees count as 3+ years)
• Enhanced skills transferability between education and work experience
• Eligibility for Ontario’s Master’s Graduate stream (no job offer required)

His new score: 478 points, plus a pathway to provincial nomination worth 600 points.

Provincial Nomination: The Nuclear Option

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. A provincial nomination adds 600 points to your CRS score. Read that again. Six. Hundred. Points.

With a provincial nomination, it doesn’t matter if your base score is 350 or 450—you’re virtually guaranteed an invitation in the next draw.

Many provinces specifically target international graduates with streams that don’t even require job offers:

Ontario:

• PhD Graduate stream
• Master’s Graduate stream
• International Student stream (with job offer)

British Columbia:

• International Graduate category
• International Post-Graduate category

Manitoba:

• International Education Stream (Graduate Internship pathway)
• Career Employment pathway for graduates

Nova Scotia:

• International Graduates in Demand stream

Here’s the catch: you need to graduate from an institution in that province, and in many cases, you need some work experience there too.

This is where the strategy gets really interesting. If you were working in Ontario on a work permit and your permit is expiring, enrolling in a one-year graduate program in Ontario could set you up for a master’s graduate stream nomination—even without a job offer.

That’s not buying time. That’s buying a golden ticket.

Important caveat: Some of these streams are currently paused or processing very slowly. Always check current processing times and whether they’re actively issuing invitations before you commit to a two-year program.

Study Permits Are Getting Easier for Some People

If you’ve been following Canadian immigration news, you know the government introduced study permit caps that made everyone nervous. Provincial Attestation Letters became mandatory for most students, adding bureaucracy and limiting spots.

But here’s what’s happening in 2026 that actually helps work permit holders:

Master’s and doctoral students are now exempt from attestation letters. As of January 1, 2026, if you’re applying for a public institution’s graduate program, you don’t need a Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) or Territorial Attestation Letter (TAL).

This doesn’t make approval automatic, but it removes a significant barrier and expense.

Canada is underperforming on study permit targets. Throughout 2025, Canada issued far fewer study permits than planned. The government set a goal of 155,000 new study permits for 2026-2028, and they’re currently not hitting those numbers.

What does this mean for you? Less competition. When demand is lower than supply, approval rates typically improve.

The Career Benefits Beyond Immigration

I’m going to be honest about something: not every decision should be purely transactional about points and pathways.

A Canadian credential can genuinely improve your career, especially in regulated professions. I know an electrical engineer from Pakistan who did a one-year bridging program in Canada. The immigration points were nice, but what really changed his life was that Canadian employers finally understood his qualifications. Within three months of graduating, he landed a job paying $85,000—30% more than his previous role.

Canadian credentials also open doors to co-op placements, internships, and professional networks that foreign credentials simply don’t. In fields like healthcare, accounting, engineering, and teaching, Canadian education can be essential for licensing.

So yes, think about immigration points. But also think about whether this program actually advances your career in ways that matter long-term.

The Reality Check: What You’re Giving Up

Now for the hard truths. Switching from a work permit to a study permit isn’t just about gaining benefits—you’re also accepting some serious limitations.

Your work hours drop dramatically

As a study permit holder, you can work a maximum of 24 hours per week during academic sessions. During scheduled breaks, you can work unlimited hours.

If you’ve been working 40 hours a week at $25 per hour, that’s $4,000 per month gross income. Cut that to 24 hours per week, and you’re down to $2,400.

Can you survive on that? Be really honest with yourself. Tuition for a one-year graduate program runs $15,000-$30,000. Add living expenses, and you need savings or family support. I’ve seen people drop out halfway through programs because they ran out of money—and then they lost both their student status and their investment.

Student work doesn’t count for Canadian Experience Class

This one trips people up constantly. If you’re not yet eligible for Express Entry and your plan is to work while studying to accumulate the one year of skilled work experience required for Canadian Experience Class—stop right there.

IRCC is explicit: work experience gained while you’re a full-time student does not count toward CEC minimum requirements.

It also doesn’t count for Federal Skilled Trades Program.

It CAN count for Federal Skilled Worker Program selection factors, but only if you meet all their other requirements.

If you’re not already eligible for a PR pathway, studying is probably not the right move unless the program itself fundamentally changes your qualifications.

You cannot get a second Post-Graduation Work Permit

Read this carefully: the PGWP is a once-in-a-lifetime document.

If you already used your Post-Graduation Work Permit after your first Canadian credential, you cannot get another one—no matter how many more degrees you complete.

Many people don’t realize this until they’ve already enrolled. They finish their second program excited to get another three-year open work permit, only to discover they’re not eligible. Now they have two Canadian degrees but no work authorization.

If your current expiring permit is a PGWP, studying might help you stay in Canada and potentially qualify for PR through graduate streams, but you won’t get open work authorization afterward. You’ll need either an LMIA-based work permit or permanent residence itself.

So What Should Maria Do?

Remember Maria from the beginning? The software developer with 90 days left on her work permit?

After going through all of this, here’s what we figured out together:

• She already had 470 CRS points and was in the Express Entry pool
• She had enough savings to cover tuition and reduced income
• Ontario regularly invites candidates with 450+ points in tech occupations
• A one-year post-grad certificate would add 15 points plus skills transferability
• If she didn’t get invited during the year, she’d be eligible for Ontario’s International Student stream

For her, enrollment made sense. She started a one-year Data Analytics certificate at a Toronto college. Four months in, she received her ITA at 472 points—she never even needed the full year.

But Maria’s coworker, Daniel, made a different choice. He only had 430 points, was working full-time supporting his wife and daughter, and couldn’t afford to drop to part-time work. For him, returning to his home country to continue building his profile made more sense than struggling financially through a program that might not help him qualify anyway.

Your Decision Framework

Ask yourself these questions honestly:

1. Am I already eligible for a PR pathway? If no, will studying actually make me eligible, or am I just delaying the problem?
2. Will the CRS points from Canadian education move my score into competitive range? Run the calculators. Be realistic about cutoff scores in your NOC category.
3. Can I afford tuition plus 18 months of reduced income? Don’t just think about next semester. Think about the full program plus 3-6 months of job searching after.
4. Does this program open provincial nominee pathways that match my profile? Research specific streams. Check if they’re actively processing applications.
5. Will this credential actually improve my career, regardless of immigration outcomes? If Canada doesn’t work out, is this degree valuable elsewhere?

If you answered yes to most of these, studying might be your best move.

If you answered no to most of them, you might be better off exploring other options: finding an employer who can support an LMIA, looking at different provinces with lower CRS cutoffs, or even temporarily returning home while maintaining your Express Entry profile.

The Bottom Line

Going back to school when your work permit is expiring isn’t inherently good or bad—it’s situational.

For some people, it’s the strategic move that puts PR within reach. For others, it’s an expensive gamble that leaves them in worse financial shape without meaningfully improving their immigration chances.

The people who make this transition successfully are usually those who:

• Already have strong profiles that need just a small boost
• Have financial stability to weather reduced work hours
• Are targeting specific provincial pathways that require Canadian credentials
• Have done the math on whether the points actually matter for their situation

Don’t make this decision based on fear of leaving Canada. Make it based on cold, strategic assessment of whether it genuinely improves your path to permanent residence.

And if you need more time to decide? Talk to a licensed immigration consultant. Run the CRS calculators. Look at actual draw cutoffs for your occupation. Make this decision with data, not desperation.

Your future in Canada might depend on it.