SFU Migrant Students United

PR Petition

The Migrant Students United chapter at Simon Fraser University and the undersigned demand equal rights, fair study and work conditions, and full immigration status for all current and former international students. We are writing to highlight the ongoing injustices migrant students face in Canada and demand concrete and meaningful action to eliminate the risk and harm we face while studying, working and living in Canada.

Migrant students bring a wealth of knowledge, experience, values and economic contribution to the Canadian community. A federal government report indicates that migrant students contribute nearly $22 billion annually to Canada’s economy and support almost 170,000 jobs. Additionally, migrant students work in essential industries like retail and food service, trucking and delivery, cleaning, construction and warehousing.

ESSENTIAL BUT EXCLUDED

Despite these contributions to Canadian society, migrant students face numerous obstacles in pursuit of our degrees and permanent residency (PR). Employers take advantage of us, and due to our temporary status and the obligation to fulfill the work experience requirement for PR, we are forced to continue working in exploitative environments. Speaking up against unfair treatment and exploitative conditions at work or school means we risk facing retaliation that can lead to hunger, homelessness or deportation.

The requirement to maintain full-time student status means that if we or our family come into difficult circumstances, we are forced to decide between health and safety or staying in Canada. Migrant students can not withdraw from our classes when necessary. Being unable to pay high tuition fees, which have disproportionately increased during COVID-19, means that many of us have lost our permits and become undocumented. Without permanent resident status, we are denied the same rights that protect others in Canada.

Migrant students are engaged in the essential work that sustains our communities, but these jobs do not count toward PR because they are low waged and deemed “low skilled”. Many of us, including graduate students pursuing advanced degrees, spend years working for Canadian institutions and employers, but work that we do while on study permits does not count toward PR. Some universities further mislabel and misclassify research work as self-employment, contract work or scholarship.

MORE STRESS AND UNCERTAINTY AFTER GRADUATION

Migrant students who graduate from public educational institutions can apply for a Post Graduate Work Permit (PGWP), another temporary permit. The PGWP is a time-restricted permit that cannot be renewed, and we must complete requirements for PR before it expires. Otherwise, we are forced to leave the country even after making massive sacrifices, or stay and become undocumented. While migrant students are an essential labor force, the non-renewable and once-in-a-lifetime condition of the PGWP imposes obstacles for our ability to access good jobs or fair treatment at work and qualify for PR.

In addition to restrictive work requirements, the English or French test is one of the requirements for a PR application. While migrant students have studied at English or French colleges and universities, they must take expensive language exams yet again. This serves the language institutions’ financial interests more than anything else. Moreover, exclusions around medical, financial and criminal admissibility are inhumane and unfair.

Lastly, family reunification is much more difficult for LGBTQ+ couples whose relationship is not recognized in their country. Unmarried LGBTQ+ couples who are not able to show proof of relationship due to discriminatory laws in their country should have a safe and simplified way to apply for a partnership visa.

A FAIR SOCIETY MEANS WE ALL HAVE EQUAL RIGHTS

Canada has a two-tiered immigration system, where some people come with permanent resident status on arrival, and the vast majority of migrants from racialized communities arrive on temporary permits, and are kept temporary. This unjust immigration system is the root cause of the exploitation, precarity and unfairness that migrants experience in Canada. Temporary and precarious migration is racism – it excludes racialized communities from equal rights and protections. We believe Canada should have a single-tier immigration system, where everyone in the country has the same rights. Full immigration status for all is necessary for global justice.

We are part of the larger migrant community, and we demand a just immigration system that preserves the rights and dignity of all migrants, refugees, and undocumented people. Current and former international students deserve fairness, and we urge the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino to take swift action to:

ENSURE STATUS FOR ALL

Permanent Resident status for ALL migrant student workers immediately:

• Count work experience towards PR; in any NOC code, in any job or without work, while in school
• Include those without immigration status
• Remove unfair age, language, education and health requirements

Status for ALL will address current issues with study and permits:

• Remove the 20-hour work limit for study permit holders
• Offer automatic work permits to private college students
• Make PGWPs renewable
• Remove industry restrictions on permits

Status for ALL will address current issues to study and work conditions:

• Lower tuition fees
• Ensure access to employment and decent work
• Ensure full access to all services including healthcare, housing, jobs, scholarships, and in-school support
• Ensure family unity for ALL types of families by simplifying the partner visa process for LGBTQ+ couples

We encourage everyone to write to the Prime minister and Immigration Minister to express their concern regarding the unfair PR system and other related issues that have prevented migrant students from achieving their basic rights.