Canada’s Immigration Minister, Marc Miller, has announced that from September, international students will have the opportunity to work off-campus for up to 24 hours per week.
The aim is to enable these students to fund their studies and alleviate labor shortages, without undermining the purpose of study.
This new work limit coincides with the federal government’s efforts to address a surge in international student enrollments nationwide.
Earlier, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Liberals had temporarily lifted the 20-hour cap on work hours for international students to alleviate labor shortages. However, this waiver is set to expire on Tuesday.
What the Minister said
Miller highlighted that similar countries restrict international students’ working hours based on best practices. He emphasised that the international students’ program’s main purpose is education, not employment.
However, he expressed concern that Canada’s rules not aligning could lead to an influx of applicants prioritising work over studies.
“Looking at best practices and policies in other like-minded countries, most of them limit the number of working hours for international students. Canada’s rules need to be aligned or we will find our programs attracting more and more applicants whose primary intent is to work and not study.
“To be clear, the purpose of the international student program is to study and not to work,” he said.
The debate on students’ work hours vs full-time work
Nairametrics learned that critics have cautioned that permitting international students to work full-time could blur the line between a study permit and an unofficial work visa, undermining their intended purposes.
However, the government is also considering the perspectives of international students who argue they need increased work hours to fund their studies.
Internal departmental data indicates that over 80 percent of international students currently work beyond the 20-hour limit. Until September, the work hours limit will revert to 20 hours weekly, pending a permanent change to 24 hours.
During periods when students are not actively enrolled, such as summer breaks, there are no restrictions on international students’ work hours.
Earlier this year, officials in Miller’s department cautioned that the temporary waiver might detract students from their studies and undermine the objectives of temporary foreign worker programs.
While Miller had previously considered setting the cap permanently at 30 hours a week, he now views this as too close to full-time employment.
“We know from studies as well that when you start working in and around 30-hour levels, there is a material impact on the quality of your studies.
“We know from studies as well that when you start working in and around 30-hour levels, there is a material impact on the quality of your studies,” he said.
