Canada Extends International Student Off-Campus Work Hours Policy Until April 2024

Canada’s Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has declared an extension of a policy enabling specific international students to exceed the standard 20-hour-per-week limit for off-campus employment outside of scheduled academic breaks.

To address the increasing labor shortages across the nation, the immigration department of Canada introduced a temporary policy in 2022, permitting certain international students to engage in full-time (40 hours per week) off-campus work.

The initially temporary policy, put into effect on November 15, 2022, was slated to conclude on December 31 of this year. However, as of yesterday’s announcement, the expiration date for this policy has been prolonged to April 30, 2024.

Before the implementation of this updated policy in late 2022, IRCC restricted international students to a maximum of 20 hours per week for off-campus work during the school year. The existing policy allowed full-time work during scheduled academic breaks, such as reading week and winter break.

According to the recent announcement, “International students already in Canada, as well as applicants who have already submitted … [a study permit application] as of December 7, 2023, will be able to work off-campus more than 20 hours per week until that time.”