As the year 2024 approaches, many students are curious about Canada’s following action regarding the Off-Campus Work Hour Policy. Read on to determine the prospects of IRCC’s temporary policy for international students. 

Off-Campus Work Hour Policy

IRCC announced this off-campus work-hour policy for international students in October 2022 and implemented on November 15, 2022.

This temporary policy permits international students to work full-time outside campus during regular academic breaks, which are scheduled to end on December 31, 2023. The immigration department of Canada introduced this measure aiming to reduce countrywide labor shortages. 

Before the implementation of this measure, IRCC specified 20 hours of off-campus employment per week throughout school time for international students. However, students were permitted to work full-time during the scheduled academic breaks such as reading week, winter break, and more.

Who was eligible for IRCC’s Off-Campus Work Hour Policy (over 20 hours/week)?

IRCC’s off-campus work-hour policy is only applicable to specific groups of international students. This strategy permits qualified foreign nationals studying in Canada to work outside campus for more than 20 hours every week. Typically, there was a 20-hour-per-week standard limited for international students to work during the active class sessions.

To qualify for the revised work-hour policy, international students have to be enrolled in the class in Canada. Also, they must be approved for off-campus employment authorization on their study permit. Students studying online from overseas do not qualify for the revised policy.

Moreover, along with the foreign nations enrolled in post-secondary programs, international students who submitted their study permit application the same day IRCC announced the strategy, i.e., on October 7, 2022, have been eligible under this policy. 

Stakeholders Urging IRCC to Make the Policy Permanent

Several stakeholders and IRCC partners across the country are urging the department to make this off-campus work-hour policy permanent. According to them, setting this strategy permanently will significantly benefit potential international students. Especially those who must make more income to address the rising living costs as well as inflation in the country.

For instance, a CBC report from late November reveals a case of a 20-year-old student of Saskatchewan University. He stated that the opportunity to work more than 20 hours per week enabled him to pay his tuition fees. 

Moreover, students who are struggling with rising expenses have benefitted from being able to work more hours. Chavda’s situation in the same report illustrates that inflation has raised his grocery budget from $100 to $300 a month.

Recognizing that maintaining this policy will help international students combat Canada’s growing affordability crises, advocacy groups and experts in this field are joining foreign nationals in urging Canada to avoid reverting to the old work-hour regulation.

A policy and research analyst at the Canadian Federation of Students, James Casey, informed CBC concerning the reimplementation of Canada’s previous work-hour policy. As per him, this will create a difficult situation for international students. Also, it will force them to choose between breaking the regulations or struggling to afford housing.

What are the prospects that IRCC will make this International Students Off-Campus Work Hour Policy permanent?

Currently, there are no signs from the Canadian government concerning whether the IRCC department will make the work-hour policy permanent or not in the future after the end of the policy term.

Even though Canada still requires assistance in combating the national workforce shortages, the logic for the policy implementation remains a concern that the Canadian government must address.

Thus, the possibility that IRCC will make this International Students Off-Campus Work Hour Policy permanent in the future remains to be determined.