More Legal Work Hours for International Students in Canada
October 8, 2022
The Government of Canada has just announced a significant change to the rules affecting international students and working hours in Canada
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2022/10/international-students-to-help-address-canadas-labour-shortage.html
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
UNLIMITED part-time work during full-time studies
For many years until this new announcement, international students were limited were limited to 20 hours of work per week while in full-time studies.
From November 15, 2022, until December 31, 2023, international students who are in Canada and who have off-campus work authorization on their study permit will not be restricted by the 20-hour-per-week rule. Foreign nationals who have already submitted a study permit application, as of today, will also be able to benefit from this temporary change, provided their application is approved.
During school recesses, such as the May to August summer break that is common for undergraduate studies, there were no previous restrictions on working hours and there is no change to this.
However, of course, students must ensure they remain in good academic standing. So students will be expected to only take on part-time work that they can balance with their full-time studies.
This measure will provide many international students with a greater opportunity to gain valuable work experience in Canada, and will increase the availability of workers to sustain Canada’s post-pandemic growth. … Study permit holders are still expected to balance their study and work commitments, as those who stop studying or reduce course loads to only study part-time are not eligible to work off-campus.
Importantly, this new announcement benefits not only international students already in Canada but also any international students who have a study permit and will soon travel to Canada, or who obtain a study permit in the future and come to Canada later. Unless this new rule is extended, it will expire at the end of December, 2023.
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