TEMP. CHANGES TO OFF CAMPUS WORK HOURS : INT'L STUDENTS

October 7, 2022—Ottawa—Employers are facing unprecedented challenges in finding and retaining the workers they need during this period of economic recovery and growth. The Government of Canada is continuing to take concrete actions to address current labour needs.

The Honourable Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, today [Oct 07, 2022] announced the temporary lifting of the 20-hour-per-week cap on the number of hours that eligible post-secondary students are allowed to work off-campus while class is in session.

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.

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. With more than 500,000 international students already in Canada available to potentially work additional hours, this temporary change reflects the important role international students can play in addressing our labour shortage, while continuing to pursue their studies. 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.

Other measures recently launched to benefit international students and recent graduates include:

• a transition period for those studying online from abroad  
• an opportunity for those with expired or expiring post-graduation work permits to get an additional 18-month open work permit.

With unprecedented interest in Canada from applicants around the world, IRCC continues to set the bar higher for immigration processing. Ongoing efforts and client service improvements by the department aim to strengthen Canada’s immigration system, shorten wait times, reduce application backlogs and improve the experience of clients overall.

Quick Facts:

• Prior to today’s announcement, any student with the authorization to work off-campus was permitted to work a maximum of 20 hours per week while class is in session, as well as full-time during scheduled breaks. Students eligible to work on campus are not subject to a cap on hours for on-campus work.
• From January 1, 2022, to the end of August 2022, more than 452,000 study permit applications have been processed. During the same period in 2021, which was a record year, 367,000 applications were processed. This represents an increase of 23%.

Quotes

“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.”

 – The Honourable Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Source: IRCC Newsroom