Limiting work hours for international students, including Indian students, Canada has implemented a new rule allowing a maximum of 24 hours per week of off-campus work for these students. This rule will take effect in September.

“The temporary rule that permitted students to work more than 20 hours per week off-campus will end on April 30, 2024, and it will not be continued,” said Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, in a press release. 

“We plan to change the number of hours students can work off-campus per week to 24 this fall,” he said. This change comes as many international students are studying in Canada now.

Canada has become a popular destination for Indian students. A report from 2022 by the Canadian Bureau for International Education says that there are around 319,130 Indian students in Canada, marking the highest number of international students in Canadian colleges and universities.

“Students who come to Canada should be here to study. Allowing them to work up to 24 hours per week will help them focus on studying, but they still have the option to work if they need to,” says the news release.

This development comes on the back of recent studies in the US and Canada showing that students who work more than 28 hours per week have been suffering in their academic performance. They’re also more likely to drop out of their programs if they work over 24 hours per week.

It is pertinent to note that before international students start working off-campus in Canada, both the student and the employer must make sure that the student is allowed to work without a work permit. 

If the student fails to meet these requirements, he/she might have to leave the country. The student can only start working in Canada once their study program has started. Indian students in Canada can’t work off-campus without a work permit if their study permit says they can’t work off-campus while studying.”