Couldn’t Secure a Co-op Placement? How This Affects Your PGWP Eligibility

If your program requires a mandatory co-op placement and you cannot secure one, the immigration issue is not simply that you were unsuccessful in your job search.

The bigger question is:

What happens to that academic semester if you are not completing the required co-op and are not otherwise studying?

IRCC requires study permit holders in Canada to remain enrolled at a designated learning institution (DLI) and actively pursue their course or program of study.

IRCC explains that students generally demonstrate active pursuit by being enrolled full-time or part-time during each academic semester, making progress toward completing their program and complying with the rules governing leave from studies.

IRCC does not publish a special exception for:

“I could not secure a mandatory co-op placement.”

Therefore, if you are unable to complete your required co-op and you will not otherwise be studying during that semester, you should treat the period as a leave or interruption from your studies.

The safest approach is to obtain an authorized leave of absence from your DLI before the semester begins or as soon as you know that a placement cannot be secured.

If your school will not authorize the leave, the situation becomes considerably more complicated for a future PGWP application.

What IRCC Says About Authorized Leave

IRCC allows students in certain circumstances to take a leave of up to 150 days from their program and still be considered to be actively pursuing their studies.

To qualify as an authorized leave, IRCC says the leave must:

• be authorized by the DLI; and
• be no longer than 150 days.

IRCC provides examples including medical reasons, pregnancy, family emergencies, death or serious illness of a family member and any other type of leave the school authorizes.

This last category is particularly important for students who cannot secure a mandatory co-op.

IRCC does not specifically list an unsuccessful co-op search as an authorized-leave category.

But its rules allow a DLI to authorize other types of leave.

Therefore, if you know you will not be completing your co-op and will not otherwise be studying during that semester, you should ask your school to formally authorize the interruption.

If You Cannot Secure a Co-op, Ask for an Authorized Leave

Do not simply allow the semester to pass without addressing your academic status.

Contact your co-op department, international student office or registrar and explain that:

• the co-op is a mandatory component of your program;
• you have been unable to secure an approved placement;
• you will therefore be unable to complete the required academic component during the expected semester; and
• you want the institution to confirm whether it can authorize the resulting leave from studies.

Ideally, obtain written confirmation showing:

• the dates of the leave;
• that the DLI authorized the leave;
• that the co-op was a mandatory program requirement;
• that you were unable to complete the co-op because no placement was secured; and
• when you are expected to resume the program or attempt the co-op again.

For PGWP purposes, this documentation can become extremely important.

IRCC specifically states that when applying for a PGWP after an authorized leave, the applicant must provide proof that the DLI authorized the leave.

What If Your School Refuses to Issue an Authorized Leave?

This is the more difficult situation.

If:

• you cannot secure the mandatory co-op;
• you are not otherwise studying during the semester; and
• your school does not authorize the resulting leave,

you should not assume that the semester is automatically compliant simply because the circumstances were outside your control.

IRCC does not publish an exception saying that an unsuccessful search for a mandatory co-op automatically satisfies the requirement to actively pursue studies.

IRCC’s PGWP instructions specifically warn that you may not be eligible for a PGWP if:

• you take an unauthorized leave from your study program; and
• IRCC finds that you did not meet the conditions of your study permit by taking the leave.

Therefore, if the DLI will not authorize the period, it should be treated as a potential unauthorized leave when assessing the future PGWP application.

If You Cannot Get an Authorized Leave, Document Everything

The fact that the leave was not formally authorized does not mean the circumstances surrounding it should be ignored.

IRCC specifically says that when assessing compliance with study-permit conditions, it may request evidence such as:

• official documents from the school confirming enrolment status;
• the reason for and start date of a leave;
• the date the student stopped studying;
• official transcripts;
• references from people who know the circumstances; and
• any other document the officer considers relevant.

For a student unable to secure a mandatory co-op placement, this means you should preserve as much evidence as possible showing why the interruption occurred.

This may include:

• your transcript showing an NP / No Placement result for the co-op term;
• a letter from the DLI confirming that you were unable to secure a placement;
• confirmation that the co-op was mandatory for graduation;
• emails with the co-op department;
• evidence that you participated in the school’s placement process;
• job applications;
• interview invitations;
• rejection emails;
• placement-portal records;
• evidence that you remained in the program;
• evidence showing when you resumed studies; and
• evidence showing when you eventually completed the co-op or another DLI-approved requirement.

An NP grade by itself is not an IRCC-defined exception.

Likewise, a school letter confirming that no placement was secured does not legally convert the period into an authorized leave if the school never authorized one.

However, these documents can help establish the actual circumstances surrounding the interruption.

The objective is to show that the period arose because the student could not secure a mandatory academic placement, rather than because the student voluntarily decided to stop pursuing the program.

Treat the Semester as a Leave – Including for Work

This is another critical point.

If you are not completing your co-op and are not otherwise studying during that academic semester, you should not continue working on the assumption that your study permit still allows you to work.

IRCC expressly states that:

you cannot work on or off campus during an authorized leave from your study program, even if your study permit says you are allowed to work in Canada.

The same practical approach should be taken where you have stopped studies because you could not secure a placement but the school has not yet provided formal leave authorization.

Student work authorization depends on continuing to meet the applicable eligibility requirements.

If you are no longer studying during that term, continuing to work can create a separate unauthorized-work issue in addition to the leave-of-absence problem.

Therefore:

No co-op + no other studies = treat the semester as a leave and stop working under your student work authorization.

Do not wait until your PGWP application to discover that the academic gap also created an unauthorized-work problem.

The 150-Day Rule Still Matters

If your school authorizes the leave, IRCC’s ordinary authorized-leave rule applies.

An authorized leave should not exceed 150 consecutive days from the date the leave begins.

If you cannot secure a placement for longer than that, you should not simply continue waiting indefinitely while assuming that you remain compliant.

Your academic and immigration status should be reassessed before the 150-day period expires.

Important Change to Co-op Work Permits in 2026

As of April 1, 2026, eligible post-secondary international students no longer need a separate co-op work permit to complete a required student work placement.

Secondary-school students continue to require a co-op work permit.

This change concerns authorization to perform the placement.

It does not create an exception from the separate requirement to remain enrolled and actively pursue studies.

It also does not solve the problem discussed in this article where a student cannot obtain a placement at all.

How Can an Unauthorized Leave Affect a PGWP?

IRCC’s PGWP eligibility instructions directly address unauthorized leave.

IRCC states that you may not be eligible for a PGWP if you take an unauthorized leave and IRCC finds that you did not meet the conditions of your study permit by taking the leave.

By comparison, IRCC expressly recognizes authorized leaves of up to 150 days and requires proof of DLI authorization when the student later applies for a PGWP.

This is why obtaining an authorized leave at the time of the unsuccessful co-op term is so important.

Trying to reconstruct an unauthorized interruption years later is much more difficult.

What If You Already Had the Unsuccessful Co-op Semester?

Start by determining whether your school can confirm that it actually authorized the interruption.

Ask specifically whether:

• you were formally permitted to defer the co-op;
• the school approved your absence from studies during that semester;
• you remained registered in the program;
• the school can confirm the dates of the interruption; and
• the school considers the period to have been an authorized leave.

If the DLI confirms that the leave was authorized, obtain that confirmation in writing.

If the DLI confirms that it did not authorize the leave, do not describe it as formally authorized in the PGWP application.

Instead, gather the strongest available evidence explaining the circumstances.

For example:

• the NP / No Placement grade;
• a DLI letter confirming no placement was secured;
• proof the co-op was mandatory;
• communication with the co-op department;
• placement applications and interviews;
• evidence that you remained in the program; and
• evidence showing when you resumed your studies.

The purpose of this documentation is to establish the complete factual circumstances of the leave.

It does not create a formal authorized-leave exception that IRCC has not published.

What We Did in a Real PGWP Case

We have represented a PGWP applicant whose program required a co-op placement but who was unable to secure one.

The academic record included an NP / No Placement result, and the institution confirmed that no placement had been obtained.

The period therefore had to be addressed as a leave or interruption from studies rather than pretending that the student had been completing a normal academic term.

Because conventional authorized-leave documentation was not available, the application included evidence explaining:

• the mandatory nature of the co-op;
• the unsuccessful placement term;
• the student’s efforts to obtain a placement;
• the DLI’s records;
• the reason the student was unable to progress during that period; and
• the student’s subsequent return to the program.

The PGWP was ultimately approved.

Read the full case study →

That approval does not mean IRCC recognizes “unable to find a co-op” as an automatic authorized-leave exception.

It demonstrates why the evidence surrounding an unusual academic interruption can matter when IRCC assesses whether a student complied with their study-permit conditions.

What To Do If This Applies to You

If you weren’t able to secure a required co-op placement and your school didn’t issue formal leave documentation, don’t assume this automatically disqualifies you – but also don’t submit a PGWP application without understanding how this will be assessed first.

Get a Free Personalized PGWP Assessment →

If your case involves other overlapping factors – program changes, academic gaps, or unauthorized work – we specialize specifically in these complex PGWP situations.

Learn About Complex PGWP Cases →

Frequently Asked Questions

Is failing to secure a co-op automatically an authorized leave?

No.

IRCC does not list inability to secure a co-op as an automatic authorized-leave category.

Your DLI must authorize the leave for it to meet IRCC’s formal authorized-leave requirement.

What should I do if I can’t find a required co-op placement?

If you will not otherwise be studying during that semester, ask your DLI to authorize a leave from studies.

Do not simply allow the academic term to pass without clarifying your status.

What if my school refuses to authorize the leave?

Then there is a potential unauthorized-leave and study-permit compliance problem.

Gather as much evidence as possible showing why the interruption occurred, including school records, an NP / No Placement grade, confirmation that the placement was mandatory and evidence of your attempts to secure one.

These documents explain the circumstances but do not formally convert the leave into an authorized leave.

Does an NP grade mean IRCC considers the leave authorized?

No.

IRCC does not publish any rule stating that an NP / No Placement grade creates an authorized leave.

It can, however, serve as documentary evidence showing that the expected co-op placement did not occur.

If my school writes a letter saying I couldn’t find a placement, is that an authorized leave?

Not necessarily.

For IRCC’s authorized-leave rules, the DLI must have actually authorized the leave.

A letter merely confirming that a placement was not secured is evidence explaining the circumstances but is not the same as confirmation that the leave itself was authorized.

Can I continue working while waiting to find a co-op?

You should not continue working under student work authorization if you have stopped studying during that period.

IRCC expressly says students cannot work on or off campus during an authorized leave. Student work authorization otherwise depends on continuing to meet the applicable study and work eligibility requirements.

What if I keep applying for placements throughout the semester?

Keep those records.

They can demonstrate why the interruption occurred and that you were continuing to attempt to complete the mandatory program requirement.

However, IRCC does not state that a co-op job search itself is equivalent to being enrolled and actively pursuing studies.

How long can an authorized leave last?

Generally up to 150 consecutive days from the date the leave begins.

Can this affect my PGWP?

Yes.

IRCC expressly states that a student may not be eligible for a PGWP if they take an unauthorized leave and IRCC finds that they did not comply with their study-permit conditions by taking that leave.

Does a successful PGWP case mean IRCC has an exception for unsuccessful co-op placements?

No.

IRCC does not publish such an exception.

An approval in an individual case should not be treated as a guarantee that another applicant with an unauthorized leave will receive the same result.

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Disclaimer: This article provides general information about IRCC’s published study-permit and PGWP requirements and is not legal advice. IRCC requires authorized leave to be approved by the DLI, and an unauthorized leave can affect PGWP eligibility. The exact academic history and institutional documentation should be reviewed before applying.