Canada has recently increased the weekly off-campus work limit for international students from 20 to 24 hours, effective November 8, 2024. This adjustment benefits students already in the country, enabling them to work additional hours while continuing their education.
Explaining the rationale behind the change, Marc Miller, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, stated, “The new cap strikes a balance between allowing students to gain work experience and ensuring they can concentrate on their studies.”
However, not all international students qualify for off-campus work. To work without a separate permit, students must meet specific conditions. They must be enrolled full-time at a Designated Learning Institution (DLI) in post-secondary academic, vocational, or professional programs.
For Quebec, this also includes vocational training at the secondary level. The program must lead to a degree, diploma, or certificate and have a minimum duration of six months. Additionally, students need a valid study permit explicitly allowing off-campus work and must obtain a Social Insurance Number (SIN) before beginning employment.
Students who do not meet these criteria are prohibited from working off-campus unless they secure a separate work permit.
Canada’s immigration guidelines do not define a fixed number of hours for “full-time” work. However, students are limited to working a maximum of 24 hours per week during academic sessions.
Exceeding this cap can violate the terms of their study permit, potentially affecting their future eligibility for work or study in Canada. Certain categories of students are excluded from off-campus work.
This includes students whose study permits explicitly forbid such work, those enrolled in English or French as a Second Language (ESL/FSL) programs, individuals taking general interest courses, and those in prerequisite courses for full-time programs.
If a student’s enrollment status changes to meet eligibility criteria, they may apply for adjustments to their study permit.
The recent increase to 24 hours per week follows the end of pandemic-era policies that temporarily allowed international students to exceed the 20-hour weekly limit. That provision concluded on April 30, 2024. The new policy offers a renewed opportunity for students to balance their educational and financial needs.
While this change provides some financial relief, students continue to grapple with rising living costs. In October 2024, Canada’s inflation rate stood at 2 per cent, down from a peak of 8.1 per cent in June 2022, but essential expenses like housing, food, and energy remain elevated.
Housing costs rose by 4.9 per cent year-on-year in July 2024, especially in cities like Toronto and Vancouver. Food prices also saw a year-on-year increase of 2.2 per cent for fresh vegetables. Provincial minimum wages vary, with Nunavut offering the highest rate at CAD 19.00 per hour.
In response to public concerns about rising costs and overcrowding, Canada has capped the number of international student visas, issuing fewer than 300,000 permits in 2024 compared to 437,000 in 2023.
Despite these limitations, the increased work-hour limit provides students with greater flexibility to manage their expenses.
