What employers should know about recent changes to student work visas in Canada

At a glance

• On 29 April 2024, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced the end of a temporary policy allowing eligible students to work more than 20 hours per week, effective from 30 April 2024.
• From 1 May 2024, full-time students are allowed to work up to 20 hours per week off campus.
• Starting in autumn 2024, the allowable work hours for full-time students will increase to 24 hours per week.
• The temporary policy, implemented on 7 October 2022, initially allowed study permit holders to work more than 20 hours per week off campus from 15 November 2022 to 30 December 2023, and was extended to 30 April 2024.
• Study permit holders who applied to extend their study permit after 7 December 2023 had their authorisation to work off campus full-time ended on the earlier of the date their study permit expired or 30 April 2024.

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On 29 April 2024, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced that the temporary public policy which allowed eligible students to work more than 20 hours per week ended on 30 April 2024. The allowable hours which full-time students can work per week off campus are now 20 hours. However, starting in the autumn of 2024, the allowable hours full-time students can work per week will increase to 24 hours. Because the changes came into effect in the middle of the week, Immigration Refugee Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has confirmed that for the week ‎students can work up to 20 hours between 1 May 2024 to 3 May 2024. The hours worked on 29 April ‎and 30 April 2024 would not count towards the 20 hours allowed.

This article outlines the temporary rules that were in place and what employers should expect in the coming year.

Temporary rules that were in place

Prior to the temporary public policy coming into effect, foreign nationals who had a valid study permit were only authorised to work up to 20 hours per week ‎off campus if they were studying full-time. Study permit holders who were studying part-time (unless it was ‎their final academic semester) were not authorised to work.

On 7 October 2022, IRCC implemented a temporary public ‎policy which allowed study permit holders who met certain criteria to work more than 20 hours per week ‎off campus from 15 November 2022 to 30 December 2023 if they met the following criteria:‎

• the study permit was issued or the application/extension was received by IRCC on or before 7 ‎October 2022‎;
• the study permit holder was studying at a Designated Learning Institute (DLI) full time (or part time if ‎it was their final academic semester);
• the study permit had expired, but they had maintained status (submitted extension application ‎before 7 October 2022) and they were studying at a DLI full time (or part time if it was their final ‎academic semester);‎
• they were approved for a study permit but had not arrived in Canada yet;
• they were in Canada or had re-entered Canada by 30 December 2023; ‎and
• the study permit had one of the following conditions noted:
  • may work 20 hours per week off campus or full time during regular breaks if meeting criteria ‎outlined in paragraph 186(v) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations; or
  • may accept employment on or off campus if meeting eligibility criteria per paragraphs ‎186(f), (v) or (w) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and must cease working if no longer meeting these criteria.

On 7 December 2023, IRCC extended the above temporary public policy to 30 April 2024. Due to the ‎extension, study permit holders who were issued a study permit or applied for a study permit or ‎extension between 8 October 2022 and 7 December 2023 also became eligible to work more than 20 ‎hours per week off campus from 1 January 2024 to 30 April 2024, if they met the following criteria:‎

• the study permit was issued or the application / extension was received by IRCC between 8 October ‎‎2022 and 7 December 2023‎;
• the study permit holder was studying at a DLI full time (or part time if it was their final academic ‎semester);‎
• the study permit had expired, but they had maintained status (submitted extension application between 8 ‎October 2022 and 7 December 2023) and they were studying at a DLI full time (or part time if it was ‎their final academic semester);‎
• they were approved for a study permit but had not arrived in Canada yet;
• they were in Canada or had re-entered Canada by 30 April 2024; ‎and
• the study permit had one of the following conditions noted:‎
  • may work 20 hours per week off campus or full time during regular breaks if meeting criteria ‎outlined in paragraph 186(v) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations; or‎
  • may accept employment on or off campus if meeting eligibility criteria per paragraphs 186(f), (v) or (w) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and must cease working if no longer meeting these criteria.‎

At the same time, for study permit holders who submitted an application to extend their study permit ‎after 7 December 2023, their authorisation to work off campus full-time ended on whichever date below ‎came first: ‎

• the date the study permit they were applying to extend expired; or
• on 30 April 2024‎.

What to expect in 2024

IRCC announced on 29 April 2024, the following: ‎

• The public policy allowing eligible study permit holders to work full-time will not be extended. As ‎such, unless the study permit holders are on scheduled academic break, they are only ‎authorised to work up to 20 hours per week off campus starting 1 May 2024.
• The allowable off campus work hours will increase to 24 hours per week starting in the autumn of 2024‎.
• For more information on changes to student work visas please contact any member of our Canadian Employment and Labour Law Service Group listed here.