Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that from 15 November 2022 all international students studying in Canada may work beyond the 20 hours a week limit if they secure valid off-campus work authorisation.
To qualify for an off-campus work permit, students must be enrolled as a full-time student in a public post-secondary institution or enrolled in an approved programme at a private institution. Once you have this off-campus work permit, you can then usually work up to 20 hours a week in a part-time job away from your university.
From 15 November 2022 until 31 December 2023, international students who secure an off-campus work authorisation on their study permit do not have to adhere to the 20 hours a week rule.
This increase in working hours has been approved in the hope that it will help to address Canada’s labour shortages, which have seen employers struggling to fill vacancies in the past few years.
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In the past, students working off campus have been held to a 20-hour maximum each week, which was lifted only during the university holidays. This increase will allow students to work longer each week and to earn more to help with their living costs.
Any international students who submitted their completed student visa application by the beginning of October will benefit from this increase once their request is approved.
Students who reduce their course load or change to a part-time degree will no longer qualify for off-campus work, so students are expected to maintain their studies if they increase their working hours.
Canada is a popular study abroad destination, with more than 500,000 international students studying in the country this year.
Students who wish to extend their visa and continue to work after their studies can find more information in our guide to post-study work visas in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Germany and New Zealand.
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