Working while studying in Canada: A guide for international students
As a foreign national studying in Canada, you may be eligible to work on and off-campus while completing your studies—and without a work permit, in most cases.
If eligible, you can work unlimited hours on campus and up to 24 hours per week off campus.
Authorization to work while studying, be it on or off campus, must be granted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). This information will be indicated in the conditions of your study permit.
Schedule a Free PGWP Work Permit Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm
Breaking the conditions of your study permit can lead to serious consequences, such as losing your student status, the denial of work permits or study permits in the future, and removal from Canada.
To work in Canada, you are required to obtain a Social Insurance Number (SIN), a nine-digit identifier used for employment, tax reporting, and access to government benefits.
You must wait until your courses have started before beginning any on-campus or off-campus employment.
This article will cover
Eligibility requirements for on and off campus employment and remote work;
How internships and co-op placements factor in; and
When, why, and for how long you are permitted to take authorized leave from your studies.
There are distinct rules and requirements international students must meet to work on campus or off campus. Before we expand on these, please find the definitions for each work type can be found below.
On campus: All buildings and facilities located within the physical grounds of your college or university, such as the cafeteria, student centre, or library.
Off campus: Any location in your town or city that is not part of the university or college campus, such as convenience stores, cinemas, or other local businesses—and self-employment roles like Uber deliveries, dog walking, or tutoring.
Remote: An employer outside Canada who has no physical, operational, or financial ties to the Canadian labour market.
The following table provides a high-level overview of the conditions and number of hours you are permitted to work on and off campus.
Work conditionsNumber of hours allowed per weekConditions
On campusUnlimited-Work is restricted to your campus of study, unless exemption criteria are met.
Off campus24-Can work more than one job to reach the allotted 24 hours.
-Cannot work off campus if you fall into any of the 5 exclusion scenarios.
Off campus, during scheduled breaksUnlimited-Scheduled breaks must last at least 7 consecutive days.
-May work up to 180 days during each calendar year.
Remote for an employer outside CanadaUnlimited-Does not count towards the 24-hours per week off-campus work limit.
Working on campus
Provided international students meet the necessary eligibility criteria, they can work on campus without a work permit.
On campus employment can include
The school;
One of its faculty members;
A student organization;
A private business located on campus;
A private contractor providing on-campus services to the school; and
Yourself, if you run a business that is physically based on campus premises.
Unlike off-campus employment, there is no restriction on how many hours students can work on-campus in addition to working off-campus.
To be eligible to work on your school campus without having to obtain a work permit, you must meet all the criteria listed below.
You are a full-time student enrolled in one of the following*;
A public college, university, trade, or technical school (or CEGEP in Quebec);
A private post-secondary school in Quebec, governed like a Quebec public school;
A Quebec institution (secondary or post-secondary, public or private) offering 900-hour+ DVC or AVS programs;
A Canadian private school that can legally award degrees, in a program leading to a degree authorized by the province.
You have a valid study permit or have maintained status; and
Your study permit has a condition stating you can.
*If you are studying part-time in your final semester to finish your required coursework, and you were a full-time student during all preceding semesters, you can still work unlimited hours on campus.
Generally, you can only work at the buildings on your campus, even if your school has multiple campuses, unless you are working as a teaching or research assistant and your work is directly related to a research grant.
In such cases, you can also work at a library, hospital, or research facility affiliated with your school—but if the work involves public health settings like hospitals, you’ll need to complete a medical exam if you haven’t already done so.
Who cannot work on campus without a work permit
IRCC notes that you must stop working on campus immediately if any of the following applies:
On the day you cease full-time study, unless you are in your final semester;
When your study permit expires;
If you are on an authorized leave from your studies; and
You are switching schools and aren’t actively studying.
Once you resume your studies and meet all other on-campus work requirements, you can return to work.
Schedule a Free PGWP Work Permit Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm
Working off campus
If eligible, international students can work up to 24 hours a week off campus during regular school terms without needing a work permit.
During scheduled breaks, they can work unlimited hours.
It is your and your employer’s responsibility to verify that you meet the requirements to work off campus without a work permit before starting employment.
You can work off-campus without a work permit if you meet all the following conditions:
You are enrolled full-time at a designated learning institution (DLI)*;
You have already begun your studies;
Your study program is at least six months in length and results in a degree, diploma, or certificate; and
Your program is either
A post-secondary program (academic, vocational, or professional); or
A vocational program at the secondary level (Quebec only).
*You may work off campus while studying part-time if you’re in your final semester and don’t require a full course load to complete your program. You must also have been enrolled full-time in your study program prior to the final semester.
Working more than one job to reach the 24-hour-per-week cut-off is permitted, as long as you remain in compliance with the terms of your study permit.
Scheduled breaks
International students can work as many hours as they want during scheduled school breaks, such as summer and winter holidays or a reading week.
To qualify for unlimited work hours during a scheduled break, you must have full-time student status immediately before and after the break.
Your eligibility to work unlimited hours during a scheduled break remains unchanged if you continue taking courses either part-time or full-time during that period.
During each calendar year, the maximum number of days you can work unlimited hours off campus is 180.
For a break to count as a “scheduled break,” it must
Be scheduled by the school; and
Last at least seven consecutive days.
This means that statutory holidays, such as Canada Day, do not constitute a scheduled break—unless, that is, they fall within an existing scheduled break with seven consecutive days.
Of note is that in cases where scheduled academic breaks extend beyond 150 consecutive days due to back-to-back breaks, you may only engage in off-campus work during the first 150 consecutive days.
If there are no official breaks in your program, you may work no more than 24 hours a week off-campus.
Schedule a Free PGWP Work Permit Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm
Who cannot work off campus without a work permit
There are five scenarios outlined by the immigration department in which you will need to apply for a work permit to work off campus. These include
Your study permit explicitly states that off-campus work is not permitted;
Being enrolled solely in an English or French (ESL/FSL) as a second language program;
Only taking general interest courses; and
Only taking courses necessary for admission into a full-time program.
Further, if your circumstances have changed and you no longer meet all the criteria to work off campus, you are required to apply for a work permit to be able to work off campus.
If your study situation changes, making you eligible to work off campus when previously you were not, you may be able to apply to change the conditions on your study permit. This can only be done under the following circumstances:
You switched to a program that permits off-campus work and your study permit states, “This permit does not permit the holder to engage in off-campus employment in Canada”; or
IRCC included a condition on your study permit that no longer applies.
To change your study permit conditions, you will need to submit a letter explaining why you qualify to remove this condition.
Calculating your hours
As a student, IRCC expects you to keep track of hours you work off campus and prove you are in continuous compliance with your study permit conditions.
Any time you spend earning wages or collecting a commission should be counted, including time spent simply on call but not actively working.
Self-employed students must count any time spent earning wages, getting paid for services or product sales, and receiving commissions from services or sales.
Internships or co-op placements
If a co-op placement or internship is built into your academic program and is required for graduation, you must apply for a co-op work permit.
To obtain a co-op work permit, you must have a valid study permit and a letter from your DLI confirming the co-op placement or internship is mandatory for students in your program to get their degree.
Only those whose co-op placement or internship accounts for 50% or less of their study program’s length may apply for this special work permit.
Certain individuals are not eligible for a co-op work permit, and will need to obtain a regular work permit, including
Those studying English or French as a second language (ESL/FSL);
Those studying general interest courses; or
Those taking courses to prepare for another study program.
Schedule a Free Co-op Work Permit Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm
Remote work
IRCC permits international students to work remotely from within Canada for an employer outside Canada (foreign employer), provided students continue to meet the conditions of their study permit.
Whether you are operating as an independent contractor, freelancer, or employee, this form of employment is excluded from the weekly 24-hour-off-campus work restriction— meaning you need not include these hours when tracking your off-campus work.
To successfully conduct such work without requiring a work permit, the employer must
Have no physical presence in Canada;
Not carry out any business operations in Canada; and
Maintain no financial connections to Canada.
In short, you cannot enter the Canadian labour market, serve Canadian clients, or receive payment from a Canadian entity.
What to know about authorized leave
Under certain conditions, international students can take an authorized leave of absence from their program and still be recognized by IRCC as continuing their studies.
Your leave must not exceed 150 days in length and must be authorized by your DLI.
While on authorized leave, you cannot work on or off campus.
The following scenarios count as authorized leave:
Your school has permanently closed or gone on strike;
You have changed schools;
*Your program start date was deferred by you or your school; or
Your school has authorized leave from your study program due to pregnancy or health reasons, a family emergency or serious illness/death in the family, and any other type of leave authorized by your school.
*If your program start date was deferred, you must start the next semester and get an updated letter of acceptance.
You do not need to inform IRCC that you are taking an authorized leave.
Schedule a Free PGWP Work Permit Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm
