International students will be able to work more than 20-hours off-campus

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Earlier this month, the federal government announced their decision to temporarily lift the 20-hours per week limit for off-campus for international students. According to a press release, one of reasons for it being to improve the economy and worker shortage, as employers are having difficulties hiring and keeping employees. 

The lift is only temporary and starts Nov. 15 until Dec. 31, 2023. It applies to international students in Canada who have the work requirements included in their study permit. The press release also states that foreign nationals who had their application submitted by the day of the announcement, Oct. 7, will be able to work more than 20-hours as long as their application is approved. 

The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) applauded the government decision, stating that it was a win for “international students [and] for Canada.” 

Lifting the off-campus work hour limit on international students has been a top priority for CASA.   

Christian Fotang, chair of the board of directors says the work hour limit lift is important for international students because it removes excess barriers for them as they pay high tuition fees. 

Fotang says the cost of living has increased and for international students, lifting the limit on their work hours will allow them to earn more as they study.  

“Lifting the hours [limit] allows them to earn more while they’re studying, which can help offset some of the tuition and living costs,” Fotang says.

Domestic undergraduate students paid $6,660 for the 2021/2022 academic year compared to $33,446 for international students, according to Statistics Canada. With the current limit on off-campus work hours, Fotang says it restricts international students from accessing opportunities like internships or work placements. 

This change not only allows international students to better access work opportunities, but it also addresses the labour shortage in the country, he adds. 

“We know that international students have been supporting the Canadian economy for a long time. They provide lots to our campuses, to our classrooms, to our workplace,” he says. “So this news not only highlights the value that international students have, but it shows just how much they can contribute and continue to contribute to our economy.” 

The Kwantlen Student Association was one of the student associations heavily involved in advocating for this change, Fotang says. 

Armaan Dhillon, president and VP university affairs of the KSA, says one of the reasons the KSA advocated for the change was because of the high inflation in Canada. 

“Students need to get more time to work so that they can cover their costs. This [change] is very helpful for students, as it will give them more hours to work and they can earn more money so that they can support themselves much better and much nicely,” Dhillon says. 

The KSA attended CASA’s foundation conference in Ottawa in June. During the conference, CASA revealed the work hour limit on international students as one of their priorities. 

Dhillon also met with Marie-France Lalonde, the parliamentary secretary for immigration, refugees and citizenship, and relayed the importance of lifting the work hour limit on international students. 

Dhillon says the next step is advocating for this lift to be made permanent, so students who don’t fall into this timeline can “get the benefit of [this] relief” in the future.

“You can even talk with international students on campus. They are really happy about it, so that is the thing that is the motivating power for us,” he says. 

More than 500,000 international students reside in Canada. While the work limit has been temporarily lifted, the government states that students on study permits are still expected to balance their work and school because reducing their course load to become part-time students will make them ineligible to work off-campus.