20-hour work week cap for some international students in Canada returns soon
International students in Canada soon won’t be able to work more than 20 hours per week as a pilot program comes to an end.
Last fall, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Sean Fraser introduced the pilot program which temporarily lifted the 20-hour-per-week cap on the number of hours eligible post-secondary students can work off-campus while class is in session. This change started last November and is ending December 31, 2023.
The rules impacted full-time students who were authorized on their study permit to work in Canada.
The purpose of the measure was to “provide eligible international students with a greater opportunity to gain valuable work experience in Canada, and to increase the availability of workers to sustain Canada’s post-pandemic economic growth,” a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada told Daily Hive.
As international students will once again be limited to a 20-hour work week in 2024, some may be strained by the change.
In Canada, an average full-time international student will pay $38,081 for an undergraduate degree program in the 2023-24 school year, according to Statistics Canada. Meanwhile, Canadian students will pay $7,076.
The temporary measure is being assessed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to identify the impact the policy had, “including how many eligible international students have taken advantage of the temporary public policy.”
“The program is currently under review, and decisions to extend or expand will be communicated publicly,” a spokesperson said.
Since some international students will once again be limited to working 20 hours per week in the new year, I'm hoping to speak to people impacted by the change.
This is a story I'm working on for @DailyHiveVan
Feel free to email me at [email protected] https://t.co/n3b7V8WkGq— Nikitha Martins (@nikitha_martins) November 20, 2023
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated after a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada provided clarity on the pilot program.