International students who have off-campus permissions in their study permits can work unlimited hours from the 15th November 2022 until the 31st December 2023.
This temporary rule also applies to all active study permit holders who have submitted their study applications by October 7 2022.
The Canadian government is temporarily raising the limit on how many hours international students can work while classes are in session to address the acute labour shortages in Canada’s Economy.
International students were normally allowed off-campus for no more that 20 hours per week during an academic term. However, there was a temporary removal of the work restriction of 20 hours for international students from November 15, 2022
This new rule applies to international students that are currently studying in Canada, and students who have filed a study permit application as of 7 October 2022 (subject to approval).
According to government estimates, the temporary lifting of Canada’s work cap will have an impact on “more than 500 000 international students who are currently able to work extra hours in Canada,” as well as those who came to Canada with a valid study permit before the 7 Oct cut-off.
Students will need to be able to balance academic and off-campus work. Students will not be allowed to decrease their course load or move to part-time status, if they do students will not be allowed to work off-campus.
Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship states:
“With the economy growing at a faster rate than employers can hire new workers, Canada needs to look at every option so that we have the skills and workforce needed to fuel our growth. Immigration will be crucial to addressing our labour shortage. By allowing international students to work more while they study, we can help ease pressing needs in many sectors across the country, while providing more opportunities for international students to gain valuable Canadian work experience and continue contributing to our short-term recovery and long-term prosperity.”
We have previously written about how international students need to be able to work while they study. This is especially true in light of the affordable crisis many countries are facing. Nearly half of international post-secondary students in Canada say they earn income while studying. They will be able to make more money by temporarily lifting work caps that begins in November.
This change will not have an impact on international students who are working on-campus in Canada. On-campus work is not already not restricted in terms of how many hours students can work during classes.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that it will launch a pilot project to automate processing of extensions of study permits for a small number of international students. According to the department, these types of applications are being approved at an alarming rate. Therefore, it is logical to automate this portion of applications in order to make more time for processing “more complicated” applications. It will be extended if the pilot proves successful.
Canada’s immigration officers are having difficulty clearing a backlog of thousands of study permit files. This includes students who have yet to arrive in Canada, as well as students who require extensions to stay legally in Canada. Many students who have had their lives and study plans disrupted by long wait times are feeling frustrated.
