The Canadian Resume Format International Students Actually Get Interviews With: A Line-by-Line PGWP-Friendly Template for 2026 (With the Work-Authorization Line That Settles the Disclose-or-Not Debate)

You have sent 80 applications, your inbox is silent, and every blog you read gives you a different answer about whether to put PGWP on the resume. The University of Toronto Mississauga career centre tells you to omit visa status entirely. ATS-focused guides and newcomer-employment sources tell you to add a one-line work-authorization statement near your contact info. Both are partially right, and the difference between them is the difference between zero callbacks and three interviews in two weeks.

This article gives you the exact Canadian resume format international students need in 2026, section by section, including the one line that resolves the disclose-or-not debate. You will see what to omit from your home-country CV, how to translate a B.Tech or B.Com into Canadian degree terminology, how to write Canadian-style bullets with no Canadian experience, and a full annotated before and after of a real PGWP holder’s rewrite that landed three interviews.

Why International Student Resumes Get Filtered Out in Canada Before a Human Reads Them

Your resume faces two filters in Canada, and most international students fail the first one without ever knowing it happened. The first filter is the ATS, the software that scans your file for keywords and structure before a recruiter sees it. The second filter is the recruiter, who spends an average of 6 to 7 seconds on the first scan of any resume that survives the ATS, according to the widely cited Ladders eye-tracking studies. If your resume reads as foreign on either pass, it is dropped.

Most large Canadian employers use ATS platforms like Workday, iCIMS, Greenhouse, or Lever. Industry surveys (Jobscan, 2024) put ATS use among Fortune 500 and large North American employers above 95%. In Canada, the same platforms are standard at banks, telecoms, tech firms, and most government-adjacent employers. If your resume has a photo, a header image, a two-column layout, or a “Curriculum Vitae” title at the top, the ATS will frequently mis-parse it. Your job title gets read as your name. Your dates get scrambled. You score zero on the keyword match and the system shelves you.

The recruiter filter is just as fast. A Canadian recruiter scanning resumes looks for three things in the first 7 seconds: a clean structure they recognize, a work-authorization signal (because hiring a non-citizen is a real cost question they need to resolve up front), and a Skills or Summary section that mirrors the job posting. If you arrive with a multi-page CV that opens with father’s name, marital status, date of birth, and a passport-style photo, you have spent your 7 seconds before the recruiter reaches your first job bullet.

Common home-country CV conventions that fail in Canada include the photo, full street address, multi-page length (3 to 5 pages), the literal heading “Curriculum Vitae,” father’s or guardian’s name, marital status, date of birth, nationality, religion, and GPA in a 10-point or percentage format with no Canadian equivalent. The same resume that won you interviews in Mumbai, Lagos, or Manila reads as low effort in Toronto because it signals you have not researched the market you are trying to enter. The fix is not about translating words. It is about reformatting the document to match what Canadian recruiters and Canadian ATS systems are built to read.

The Canadian Resume Format International Students Need in 2026 (Section by Section)

The Canadian resume format international students should use in 2026 follows a fixed section order. Career centres at the University of Toronto, McGill, and the University of British Columbia all publish broadly consistent guidance on this. Use this sequence top to bottom:

1. Contact Info: Full legal name, city and province only (no street address, no postal code), Canadian phone number formatted as 416-555-0123, professional email address (firstname.lastname@gmail.com, not your university student email if you have graduated), and LinkedIn URL. Do not include your SIN on your resume under any circumstance.
2. Work-Authorization Line (optional, explained in the next section): One line stating your eligibility to work in Canada.
3. Professional Summary: 3 to 4 lines, role-targeted, no objective statements like “seeking a role that allows me to grow.” Lead with what you bring, not what you want.
4. Education: Reverse chronological, Canadian degree first if applicable, foreign degree second.
5. Work Experience: Reverse chronological, action-verb-led bullets with measurable outcomes.
6. Skills: Hard skills, software, certifications, and languages. Match to the job posting.
7. Volunteer Work or Projects: Formatted identically to paid Work Experience. RBC’s newcomer-employment resources note that Canadian employers count relevant volunteer work as legitimate experience.
8. References: One line: “References available upon request.” Do not list reference contact details on the resume itself.

Length is one page for entry-level and early-career applicants. Two pages is the absolute maximum, and only if you have multiple substantive roles to document. The University of Waterloo’s Centre for Career Development and McGill’s Career Planning Service both publish the same one-to-two-page guidance for new graduates. Three-page resumes are read as academic CVs and are out of place for industry applications.

Use a single-column layout, no tables, no text boxes, no graphics, no headers or footers, and a standard font (Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, or Georgia) at 10 to 12 point. Margins of 0.5 to 1 inch on all sides. Save as PDF for human review, but use DOCX if the application portal asks for it (many ATS systems parse DOCX more reliably than PDF). The file name should be FirstName-LastName-Resume.pdf, not “resume_final_v3.pdf.”

What does not appear: no photo, no date of birth, no marital status, no nationality, no religion, no father’s or mother’s name, no full home address, no SIN, no passport number, and no salary expectations. Canadian human rights legislation discourages employers from collecting any of this information at the application stage, and including it on your resume signals that you are not familiar with that norm.

The Work-Authorization Line That Resolves the PGWP Disclose-or-Not Debate

The single most contested question in the international-student resume conversation is whether to disclose your immigration status. The University of Toronto Mississauga career centre’s resume guide tells students to leave visa status off the resume entirely, on the reasoning that it can prompt bias. ATS-focused guides and newcomer-employment platforms (CVailor, Arrive by RBC, and several Canadian recruiter blogs) take the opposite position: add a one-line statement near your contact info so the recruiter does not have to guess. Both positions have a point. Recruiters do form snap judgments, and disclosure can invite bias on roles that prefer permanent residents or citizens. But silence has a cost too. If the recruiter is unsure whether you need LMIA sponsorship, the safer hiring decision is to skip you and move on.

The resolution is situational. Include the work-authorization line when you are early-career with no Canadian work history, when you are applying through ATS-heavy industries (tech, finance, telecoms, accounting, healthcare administration), and when the job posting does not specify a citizenship requirement. Omit it for executive roles, for networking-driven hires where the introduction has already pre-cleared your status, and on every application you submit after your first Canadian role lands on your resume (at that point your Canadian experience answers the question implicitly).

The exact phrasing matters. Two formats work well in 2026:

• For PGWP holders with a defined expiry: “Eligible to work in Canada (PGWP, valid through MM/YYYY)” placed on the line directly below your contact info.
• For co-op or study-permit work eligibility: “Authorized to work full-time in Canada under co-op work permit, valid through MM/YYYY” or “Authorized to work part-time in Canada (study permit, on-campus and 24-hour off-campus eligible).”

Arjun, a B.Tech graduate from a tier-2 Indian engineering school, applied to 80 junior data analyst roles in Toronto over four months with no work-authorization line and no Canadian experience. He got zero callbacks. He added one line below his email (“Eligible to work in Canada full-time, PGWP valid through August 2027”), tightened his bullets, and resubmitted to a similar batch. Within two weeks he had three screening calls. Two of the three recruiters mentioned in the first 60 seconds that the explicit eligibility line is what pulled his resume out of the maybe pile. The resume was 80% the same document. The disclosure was the difference.

If you choose to omit the line on the resume itself, carry it in the cover letter instead. Both surfaces work; what does not work is leaving the recruiter to guess. If you are within 90 days of your PGWP expiring and you do not yet have PR, read our Bridging Open Work Permit survival guide before you start applying again so you can word your eligibility line accurately.

How to List Your Foreign Degree So Canadian Employers Take It Seriously (B.Tech, B.Com, BSc, and the ECA Question)

Canadian recruiters will not Google your foreign degree. If the credential is unfamiliar, the assumption is that it does not count. The fix is to translate the degree name into Canadian terminology while keeping the official credential name visible. Use a translation pattern, not a substitution:

• B.Tech (India): List as “Bachelor of Engineering (B.Tech)” with your specialization in parentheses (Computer Science, Mechanical, Electrical).
• B.Com (India, Pakistan, Nigeria): List as “Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com)” with major.
• BSc Honours (UK system, India, Caribbean): List as “Bachelor of Science Honours” with field.
• BBA, MBA: Already Canadian-recognizable; keep the abbreviation and add the institution.
• Diplomas and Higher National Diplomas: Spell out fully (“Higher National Diploma in Business Administration”) and add the equivalent Canadian credential level if you have an Educational Credential Assessment.

Format the Education entry as: degree name, institution (official name, no abbreviation), city and country, then graduation date as Month YYYY (for example, “June 2023”). If you are an international graduate of a Canadian DLI, your Canadian credential goes first because it is the one Canadian employers will recognize instantly.

The ECA question splits into two cases. If your foreign degree was assessed by WES or IQAS, add a one-line note immediately below the entry: “WES-assessed: Equivalent to Canadian Bachelor of Engineering.” This pre-answers the recruiter’s question about credential equivalence. IRCC recognizes five designated general ECA organizations for Express Entry purposes (WES, IQAS, ICAS, ICES, and the Comparative Education Service at the University of Toronto), plus profession-specific bodies like the Medical Council of Canada for physicians. WES and IQAS are the two most commonly cited on Canadian resumes.

The ECA waiver for Canadian-DLI graduates is worth knowing. If you completed a degree at a Canadian DLI, you do not need an ECA for that Canadian credential for Express Entry purposes. You may still need one for any foreign credential you also want recognized (your undergraduate degree from India, for example). Do not write “ECA pending” or “ECA in progress” on the resume; either you have one and you cite it, or you leave the line off and let the credential stand on its own.

GPA is optional, and for most international students it should be omitted. A 7.8 out of 10 from an Indian university or a 65% from a Pakistani institution does not translate cleanly to a Canadian 4.0 GPA scale, and recruiters who do not know the conversion will assume the lower end. Include GPA only if it converts to a 3.5 or higher on the Canadian 4.0 scale, or if it is a hard requirement on the job posting (some accounting graduate programs, for example).

The “No Canadian Experience” Work Experience Section: Exact Bullet Structure for International Students

“No Canadian experience” is the most common pain point international students raise in r/PersonalFinanceCanada and r/ImmigrationCanada threads. The fix is not to apologize for the gap. The fix is to rewrite every bullet so it reads in the Canadian style, regardless of where the job happened. The Canadian style is action verb plus measurable outcome plus context.

Lead with the action verb, not the job title. Never start a bullet with “Responsible for.” That phrase signals junior resume writing in Canada the way “Curriculum Vitae” signals foreign resume formatting. Use verbs from the Canadian TEER framework’s action language: managed, delivered, designed, analyzed, automated, reduced, increased, launched, coordinated, presented, negotiated, audited.

A real before and after on a single bullet:

• Home-country style (before): “Responsible for handling clients and doing reports.”
• Canadian style (after): “Managed a portfolio of 12 SMB clients across the GTA region, delivered weekly performance reports that drove a 23% renewal rate over a 9-month period.”

The after version is the same job. The bullet structure is what changed. Action verb (Managed), specific scope (12 SMB clients), context (GTA region), measurable outcome (23% renewal rate), and timeframe (9-month period). Every bullet on your resume should answer “what did you do, how much, and what was the result.”

On-campus jobs are professional work experience in Canada. A teaching assistant role becomes “Teaching Assistant, Department of Computer Science.” A research assistant role becomes “Research Assistant, [Lab Name].” A library or front-desk job becomes “Library Services Assistant” or “Student Services Coordinator.” These are legitimate roles, not “just student jobs.” Write them with the same bullet structure as professional work. International students working on campus also have specific earnings constraints to plan around; if you want a clearer picture of what on-campus work actually pays after taxes and rent, our part-time earnings guide walks through the take-home math.

Co-op work terms get formatted as: “Job Title, Company Name (Co-op Work Term), City, ON | Month YYYY to Month YYYY.” The parenthetical “(Co-op Work Term)” is the Canadian convention; recruiters see it and immediately understand the role context, including that it was a structured placement through your DLI. If you are wondering whether your co-op term counts toward Express Entry skilled work experience, read our breakdown of why co-op experience does not count for PR before you frame it on the resume.

Volunteer work is formatted identically to paid work, in its own section. Canadian career centres and RBC’s newcomer-employment content both note that relevant Canadian volunteer experience is one of the fastest ways to add Canadian context to a resume when paid Canadian work is not yet available. Treat a volunteer coordinator role at a Canadian non-profit the same way you would treat a paid project management role: action verbs, outcomes, scope.

For technical fields without much paid experience, a Projects section is a legitimate substitute. List two to four projects with a one-line description, the tech stack or methodology, and a measurable outcome (users, dataset size, accuracy, time saved). Link to the GitHub repo or live demo. Recruiters in data, software, and engineering roles read the Projects section as professional work for entry-level candidates.

ATS-Friendly Choices That Get Your Resume Past the First Filter

The ATS will read your resume before any human does, and the rules for passing it are mechanical. File format: PDF for human submission, DOCX if the portal requires it (Workday and iCIMS sometimes parse DOCX more reliably than PDF). Avoid Pages, Google Docs share links, or image-based PDFs (a PDF that is really a scanned image will return zero text to the ATS and your application will read as empty).

Structural rules: single column, no tables, no text boxes, no graphics, no embedded headers or footers, no fancy bullets, no Unicode symbols, and no two-column layouts. The ATS reads top to bottom, left to right. If your contact info is in a sidebar on the right, the parser may pick it up after your work experience and assign your phone number to your most recent job.

Font choices: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, or Georgia, 10 to 12 point body, 12 to 14 point headers. Section headings should use the exact terms Canadian recruiters and ATS systems expect: “Summary,” “Education,” “Work Experience” (or “Professional Experience”), “Skills,” “Projects,” “Volunteer Experience,” “References.” Avoid “Profile,” “Career Objective,” “Employment Chronicle,” or any creative renaming. The ATS is matching strings; if your section header is unusual, the ATS does not classify your bullets correctly.

Keyword matching is where international students lose the most ground. The rule of thumb from ATS-focused sources (Jobscan, Resume Worded) is 60 to 80% overlap between your resume and the must-have keywords in the job posting. To do this in practice:

1. Copy the job posting into a plain text file.
2. Run it through a free word-frequency tool (Jobscan, WordCounter, or a quick Python script).
3. List the top 15 to 20 non-generic terms (skills, tools, methodologies, certifications). Ignore filler words like “team,” “passion,” “results.”
4. Cross-check against your resume. You should have natural placements for at least 10 to 14 of them in your Summary, Skills, and Work Experience sections.
5. If a must-have keyword is missing and you actually have the skill, find a real bullet to add it to. Do not stuff it into a Skills list without supporting context, because the recruiter will ask about it in the screen.

Common Canadian ATS platforms: Workday, iCIMS, Greenhouse, Lever, Taleo, and SAP SuccessFactors. They all parse the same simple structure. A single-column resume in standard font with clean section headings will pass all of them. A two-column resume with custom graphics will fail several.

A Real Before and After: International Student Resume Rewritten for a Canadian Entry-Level Posting

Take a representative profile: a B.Tech (Computer Science) graduate from India, now on PGWP in Toronto, applying for a Junior Data Analyst role at a Canadian fintech. The home-country resume he arrived with was 3 pages, opened with “Curriculum Vitae” centered and bold, included a passport-style photo, listed his father’s name and date of birth in the personal details section, and used bullets like “Responsible for data work and reports.” Below is what changed and why.

What was on the original (the “before”)

• Photo top-right, 3 by 4 cm.
• “Curriculum Vitae” header in 18pt bold across the top.
• Personal Details section: father’s name, DOB, marital status (single), nationality (Indian), permanent address (full street address in Pune, India), languages known.
• Education listed as “B.Tech Computer Science, [University], 7.8/10 CGPA.”
• Work Experience: two roles, each described in a paragraph of 4 to 5 sentences without bullets, no metrics.
• Skills section: 40 items in a comma-separated list, including “MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, Internet Browsing.”
• References: three names with full contact details and home addresses.
• Total length: 3 pages.
• No mention of PGWP, work eligibility, or Canadian address.

What changed (the “after,” 1.5 pages)

1. Removed the photo, “Curriculum Vitae” header, personal details section, and references list. Replaced with a clean Contact Info block: name, “Toronto, ON,” Canadian phone number, professional email, LinkedIn URL.
2. Added the work-authorization line. “Eligible to work in Canada full-time (PGWP, valid through August 2027)” on the line directly below the email. This single line is what cleared the recruiter’s number-one screening question.
3. Wrote a 3-line Professional Summary targeted to the job posting. Lead with the role identity (Junior Data Analyst), the two most relevant technical stacks (Python, SQL, Tableau), and one outcome from the strongest project.
4. Rewrote the Education section. “Bachelor of Engineering (B.Tech), Computer Science | [University], Pune, India | Graduated June 2023.” Added one line: “WES-assessed: Equivalent to Canadian Bachelor of Engineering.” Removed the CGPA (7.8 on a 10-point scale would have read as low to a recruiter unfamiliar with the conversion).
5. Rewrote every Work Experience bullet to action-verb-plus-outcome format. The paragraph “Responsible for data analysis and customer reporting in the marketing team” became three bullets: “Built customer segmentation models in Python (scikit-learn) across a dataset of 1.2M records, identified 4 high-value cohorts that informed the 2023 retention campaign,” “Automated weekly performance reports in SQL and Tableau, reduced manual reporting time by 11 hours per week,” and “Presented insights to a 6-person marketing leadership team monthly, contributed to a 14% lift in retained users quarter-over-quarter.”
6. Cut the Skills section from 40 generic items to 12 targeted hard skills. The list mirrored the job posting’s must-have terms: Python (pandas, scikit-learn), SQL (PostgreSQL, BigQuery), Tableau, Power BI, A/B testing, statistical modeling, data warehousing concepts, Git, Jira. Removed every item that was either generic (“Internet Browsing”) or unrelated to the role.
7. Added a Projects section with 2 entries. One academic capstone (recommender system, 100K user dataset, 78% precision) and one personal project (Toronto rental price analysis using scraped Zillow data, published as a public GitHub repo). Each entry: one-line description, tech stack, measurable outcome, link.
8. Reformatted the file as single column, Calibri 11, 0.75-inch margins, saved as a PDF named Arjun-Patel-Resume.pdf.
9. Cut “References available upon request” to a single line at the bottom. Removed all reference contact details.
10. Ran the resume through a free ATS keyword check against the job posting. Initial match was 38%. After adding 4 missing must-have terms (SQL window functions, dashboard development, stakeholder communication, ad-hoc analysis) to existing bullets where they were genuinely applicable, the match rose to 71%.

The before-and-after went from 3 pages of personal details and paragraph bullets to 1.5 pages of structured, ATS-friendly, recruiter-friendly content. The PGWP holder applied to the same 80-job batch over the next 14 days. He got 3 screening calls and 2 second-round interviews. The resume did not become better in content. The content became visible. If the months of silent applications have started to wear on you, our roundup of mental health resources for international students in Canada covers the free and low-cost supports specifically built for the rejection-cycle stretch.

Cover Letter and Resume as a System for International Students

Your resume and cover letter are one document split across two files. The resume carries the structured facts. The cover letter carries the context the resume cannot: why you want this specific role at this specific company, why your background fits even if it looks unconventional, and (if you chose to omit it from the resume) your work-authorization status. Treating them as one system is what separates the international students who get interviews from the ones who get silence.

Canadian cover letter conventions in 2026:

• One page maximum. Three to four short paragraphs.
• Addressed to a named person when possible. “Dear Sir/Madam” reads as templated. Use LinkedIn or the company’s About page to find the hiring manager or recruiter name. If you cannot find one, “Dear [Company] Hiring Team” is acceptable.
• Paragraph 1 (opening): One sentence on which role you are applying for and where you found it. One sentence on why this company specifically, not the industry generally.
• Paragraph 2 (fit): Two to three sentences connecting your strongest qualification to the job’s most important requirement. Reference the resume but do not repeat it line for line.
• Paragraph 3 (transition or context): If you are an international student or recent PGWP holder, this is where you handle the country-to-Canada transition if the resume did not. One short sentence on your work eligibility (PGWP with expiry date), one sentence on why the move and why this role.
• Paragraph 4 (close): Express interest in a conversation, give your contact preference, and thank them. Sign off with “Sincerely” or “Best regards” and your full name.

The email body is the third surface most international students forget. When you submit an application via direct email or follow up after a portal submission, the email itself is read first. Keep it short (3 to 5 sentences), professional, and signal that you understand Canadian communication norms. “Hi [Name], I have applied to the Junior Data Analyst role posted on your careers page and have attached my resume and cover letter for your consideration. I have 18 months of analytics experience and am eligible to work in Canada full-time on a PGWP. I would welcome the chance to discuss how my background fits the team’s needs. Thank you for your time, [Your Name].” That is the format.

The University of Toronto Career Exploration and Education unit and the McGill Career Planning Service both publish cover letter guides that align with this structure. The conventions are well-established and Canadian recruiters expect them. Deviating from the format does not signal creativity; it signals that you have not done the research.

One closing note on the immigration pathway. Your resume and cover letter are job-application tools, not immigration documents. But the job you land on your PGWP is what often determines whether you qualify for Express Entry, a Provincial Nominee Program, or an LMIA-backed pathway. The CRS changes effective March 25, 2025 removed the bonus points for arranged employment (50 points for most occupations, 200 for senior management roles), so the job itself, not the LMIA, is what matters for ranking now. If you want the longer view on what these changes mean for your post-PGWP planning, read our breakdown of LMIA jobs for international graduates and the 50-point change before you start your application strategy, and run your current profile through our 2026 CRS score calculator to see where your post-PGWP job actually moves the ranking.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a Canadian resume look like and how is it different from mine?

A Canadian resume is one to two pages, reverse chronological, with no photo, no date of birth, no marital status, no nationality, and no full home address. Sections run in this order: Contact Info, Professional Summary, Education, Work Experience, Skills, Volunteer or Projects, and References on request. Bullets lead with an action verb plus a measurable outcome. This is different from most home-country CVs that include a photo, personal details, and longer multi-page formats.

Should I include my immigration status on my resume?

If you are an early-career international student or PGWP holder with no Canadian work history and you are applying through ATS-heavy industries, include a one-line work-authorization statement near your contact info such as: “Eligible to work in Canada (PGWP, valid through MM/YYYY).” This pre-answers the recruiter’s number-one screening question and prevents your resume from being skipped. Omit the line once you have your first Canadian role on your resume, or for executive and networking-driven applications. The University of Toronto Mississauga career centre recommends omitting visa status entirely; ATS-focused guides recommend inclusion. The early-career, ATS-heavy case is where inclusion clearly wins.

How long should my Canadian resume be?

One page for entry-level and early-career international students. Two pages is the absolute maximum, and only if you have substantial Canadian or relevant international experience. Three-page CVs are read as low effort in Canada outside academia. The University of Waterloo and McGill career services both publish the same one-to-two-page guidance.

Should I include a photo on my Canadian resume?

No. Canadian human rights legislation discourages employers from collecting information that could lead to bias. Photos, date of birth, marital status, and nationality are omitted. Including a photo is one of the fastest ways your resume gets discarded by a Canadian recruiter and is also one of the easiest ways to confuse an ATS parser.

How do I list my international education on a Canadian resume?

Translate the degree name into Canadian terminology (B.Tech becomes “Bachelor of Engineering,” B.Com becomes “Bachelor of Commerce”). Include the official institution name, the city and country, and the graduation date as Month YYYY. If you have a WES or IQAS Educational Credential Assessment, add a one-line note such as: “WES-assessed: Equivalent to Canadian Bachelor of Engineering.” Omit GPA if your scale will not translate cleanly to a 4.0.

What to Do This Week

Open your current resume and run the 8-step audit: remove the photo, remove personal details (DOB, marital status, nationality, father’s name, full address), cut to 1 to 2 pages, add the work-authorization line if you fit the early-career ATS-heavy profile, translate your foreign degree into Canadian terminology, rewrite every bullet to action-verb-plus-outcome format, cut your Skills section to 10 to 15 targeted items, and run a keyword check against the next job posting you apply to.

Then handle the related pieces of the international-student pipeline before they bottleneck you. Your SIN number setup needs to be done before any Canadian employer can pay you, so if you do not have one yet, that is the next move after the resume. If your PGWP is approaching its final 90 days and you do not have PR, the Bridging Open Work Permit guide is what keeps you legally working through the gap.

Join the CanadaSmarts newsletter and we will send you the Canadian Resume Translation Checklist in the next issue, a printable one-pager that maps every common home-country CV element to its Canadian equivalent (or to “delete this entirely”). It is the same checklist Arjun used to do the 80-application rewrite.

This article is general information for international students applying to jobs in Canada, not legal or immigration advice. Consult a licensed Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant or immigration lawyer for advice specific to your work permit, PR, or eligibility situation.