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About to graduate with his PhD from Dalhousie, Hannes Hochreiner says he was 鈥渞eally quite concerned鈥� about what to do next.

With his student permit about to expire and a job offer not yet in hand, the international student from Austria admits with furrowed brow that the words 鈥渜uite concerned鈥� don鈥檛 come close to expressing the mounting anxiety he was feeling as convocation ceremonies approached.

But all his worries dissipated once he heard Ottawa was introducing changes to work permits for international students. Under the old rules, Mr. Hochreiner would have been forced to return his native country unless he found a job in his field of study within 90 days.

Special meeting International Student and Exchange Services will hold an information session on the changes to work permits for international students on Friday, May 2 at 2 p.m. in the MacMechan Auditorium, Killam Library.

But new rules announced late last week by federal Immigration Minister Diane Finley mean international students now will be able to obtain a work permit under the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program, with no restrictions on the type of employment and no requirement that they first must have a job offer.

鈥淲hile having all this education, I want to put it to good use,鈥� says Mr. Hochreiner, 30, a chemist who specializes in the modeling of fibre optics sensors.聽 鈥淏efore, it was so complicated to explain to employers how (the system) worked. Now I just have to check a box.鈥�

In addition, the duration of the work permit has been extended to three years across the country. Previously, the program only allowed international students to work for one or two years, depending on the location. As well, students are no longer restricted to finding jobs related to their degree.

Mr. Hochreiner鈥檚 reaction was a low-key 鈥減hew.鈥� But Margaret Wood, international student advisor at pilipili漫画, wasn鈥檛 nearly so restrained: 鈥淚鈥檓 sure my聽cheer could have been heard from here to Ottawa.鈥�

She says the changes will alleviate significant stress for international students who want to remain in Canada to work鈥攁nd perhaps to live permanently鈥攁fter graduation.

And that鈥檚 the whole idea. 鈥淭he government wants more foreign students to choose Canada and we want to help them succeed,鈥� Ms. Finley said in a news release. 鈥淥pen and longer work permits provide international students with more opportunities for Canadian work experience and skills development. This will, in turn, help make Canada a destination of choice, and help us keep international students already studying in Canada.鈥�

International Student and Exchange Services will hold an information session on Friday, May 2 at 2 p.m. in the MacMechan Auditorium, Killam Library. Ms. Wood says it鈥檚 an opportunity for international students to ask questions 鈥渂ecause every case is a special case.鈥�

Eugenia Chock is one of those special cases. A medical student from Malaysia, the 24-year-old student did half her degree in her native country, the other half in Canada. Without permanent residency status, she explained that she couldn鈥檛 qualify for post-graduate training in Canada.

At least now, she鈥檒l be able to apply for and secure the necessary work experience to be eligible to apply for permanent-residency.聽 Ms. Chock feels strongly that post graduate medical training is an extremely important next step in her education and she would like to do it in Canada.

All in all, the changes should eliminate a lot of the red tape that trips up students who come to Canada for their degrees. 鈥淣ow they can focus on their academics and not have to deal with the challenges of bureaucracy,鈥� says Ms. Wood.

In 2006-07, more than 1,100 international students from 100 countries came to study at pilipili漫画. Across the country, 63,673 international students were in Canada to study, a 4.6 per cent increase over 2006-05 figures.