PGWP Refused for Part-Time Study: What Saqeb 2025 FC 845 Means

The short answer: If you switched to part-time studies at any point other than your final academic session, your PGWP will be refused — and the Federal Court has confirmed that immigration officers have no discretion to grant equitable relief, even where you have documented medical or mental-health reasons. The May 8, 2025 decision in Saqeb v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2025 FC 845, is the clearest statement yet of how strictly this rule is applied.

Why the part-time issue kills a PGWP

The Post-Graduation Work Permit Program (PGWPP) sits under paragraph 205(c)(ii) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. The Minister of Immigration has set the criteria in the PGWP Program Delivery Instructions (PGWP-PDIs), published on canada.ca. IRCC states the rule directly:

“They have maintained full-time student status in Canada during each academic session of the program or programs of study they have completed and submitted as part of their post-graduation work permit application. Exceptions can be made only for the following…”

Two — and only two — exceptions exist under the current instructions:

• Final academic session: “if a student meets all the eligibility requirements, with the exception of full-time status during their final academic session (that is, they have part-time status only in their final academic session), they are still considered eligible for the PGWPP.”
• Authorized leaves of absence: a leave your Designated Learning Institution (DLI) formally authorized, documented, and during which you were still “actively pursuing” your studies.

The PGWP-PDIs do not include medical or mental-health exceptions. That absence is the entire problem.

Saqeb v Canada, 2025 FC 845 — what the Federal Court decided

Mr. Saqeb, a citizen of Bangladesh, arrived in Canada in 2017 on a study permit and enrolled at York University. He completed a Bachelor of Economics. During most of his degree he studied part-time, on the recommendation of his academic institution’s counsellors, because of documented mental-health issues. When he applied for his PGWP, the officer refused on February 1, 2024. The GCMS notes read:

“Client is requesting PGWP having completed the Bachelor’s of Economics from York University, however, client was part-time throughout the majority of their degree due to medical issues and was unable to attend the full program while maintaining full-time status for the majority of their degree. Client fails to meet parameters of R205(c)(ii) and is consequently refused.”

On judicial review, the applicant argued the officer had a duty to consider his mental-health documentation and the counsellors’ recommendation, and to exercise discretion in his favour. Justice Ann Marie McDonald disagreed. She dismissed the application in a short and unambiguous judgment, holding at paragraph 9:

“While I am sympathetic to the Applicant’s circumstances, there is no merit to this argument. The Officer cannot fetter their discretion under paragraph 205(c)(ii) of the IRPR and the strict requirements outlined under the PGWP-PDIs. Neither the IRPR nor the PGWP-PDIs allow for equitable relief in the Applicant’s circumstances.”

Justice McDonald relied on two earlier binding authorities: Osahor v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2017 FC 666, and Kaur v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2020 FC 513, which together establish that PGWP-PDIs are to be strictly applied and officers have no discretion to disregard mandatory requirements.

Why this precedent matters for international students

The Saqeb decision closes what many students believed was an equitable back door. The message from the Federal Court is clear:

• Medical and mental-health documentation, no matter how well-supported, does not create a PGWP exception. Counsellor recommendations do not bind IRCC.
• Judicial review is unlikely to save you. Even a sympathetic Federal Court will dismiss the application because the decision is legally correct: the officer had no power to grant relief.
• Timing matters. The one carved-out part-time window is your final academic session. Part-time earlier — even for a single semester — puts your PGWP at risk.

Common ways students accidentally go part-time

• Reduced course load for well-being. Many DLIs actively recommend that struggling students reduce to two courses per semester. That recommendation is good for the student’s health — but it is not an “authorized leave,” and it drops you below full-time.
• Course cancellations by the DLI. If a required course is cancelled and no replacement is available, your load can fall below full-time even though you tried to enrol full-time.
• Repeating courses after a failed semester. A lighter course load in a make-up semester is still part-time.
• Co-op or work terms without proper coding. If your DLI records the work term as “part-time” instead of a co-op registration, the transcript will show part-time enrolment.
• Bridging or “gap” semesters between two programs where you took one or two courses to stay in status — those often count as part-time sessions.

What you can actually do — before, during, and after the refusal

Before you apply

• Pull every transcript and enrolment verification letter your DLI has for every semester of your program. Confirm each semester in writing as either full-time, part-time, or an authorized leave. Do this before you file the PGWP application, not after.
• If you had an authorized leave, obtain the DLI’s leave-approval letter with the exact dates and the DLI’s confirmation that you resumed studies. IRCC will accept properly documented DLI-authorized leaves; it will not accept informal course drops or off-record reductions.
• Where you reduced your course load for health reasons, ask your DLI whether the semester can be reclassified as an authorized leave with a formal letter — some DLIs will do this retroactively when the student can show medical documentation.

Inside your PGWP application

• Address the part-time issue head-on in a submission letter. Don’t hide it. Explain exactly which semesters were part-time and why, cite the DLI’s leave-authorization letter or full-time-equivalent policy, and identify the specific paragraph of the PGWP-PDIs you are relying on.
• Attach the DLI’s full-time-equivalent policy where it exists. Some DLIs treat six credits as full-time for defined populations (graduate students, students with disabilities under a formal accommodation, co-op terms). If your DLI has such a policy, put it in front of the officer.
• Include disability accommodation letters if applicable. A formal accommodation that reduces the course load does not automatically create a PGWP exception, but it can support a request that the DLI code the semester as an authorized reduced load.

After a refusal

• Reconsideration request. IRCC officers may reconsider their own decision where new evidence or a factual error is identified. This is the fastest and cheapest first step. It is discretionary and does not stop the PGWP-application clock.
• Judicial review at the Federal Court. After Saqeb, JR is a narrow route. It works when the officer misread the transcripts, ignored a DLI-authorized leave, or made a procedural fairness error. It does not work when the officer correctly identified part-time semesters that don’t fit either PGWP-PDI exception.
• Alternative pathways. If PGWP is off the table, look at LMIA-based work permits, spousal open work permits, provincial nominee streams, or Express Entry directly — none require a PGWP as an input.

Three principles from Saqeb every international student should know

1. Full-time is the default, not the aspiration. The IRCC full-time requirement applies to each academic session — not the program in aggregate.
2. Only two exceptions. The final academic session, and DLI-authorized leaves. Everything else is fatal.
3. The Federal Court will not save you from a correctly applied refusal. Even documented mental-health issues and a written counsellor recommendation to go part-time do not create a discretionary opening.

How VG Immigration can help

Dimple Verma, RCIC-IRB (R708308), reviews study-transcript timelines and PGWP eligibility before you file, prepares submission letters that address part-time semesters directly, and — where a refusal has already been issued — advises on reconsideration or judicial review. If you’re a current student worried about a past part-time semester, or you’ve received a PGWP refusal on this ground, book a consultation.

Sources: Saqeb v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2025 FC 845 (May 8, 2025); PGWP Program Delivery Instructions, canada.ca; IRPR s. 205(c)(ii); Osahor v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2017 FC 666; Kaur v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2020 FC 513.

Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and is not immigration or legal advice. Immigration outcomes depend on individual circumstances and are set by IRCC, provincial governments, and the courts. See our Legal Disclaimer and Privacy Policy.