More Workhours for International Students in Canada

Canada lifted the 20-hour work limit for overseas students to address the economy’s labor shortages.

Recently, Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced a significant reform for international students in Canada, which caused more than 6 lakh international students to sigh with relief. To address the historic labor shortages in Canada, the government decided to temporarily waive the 20-hour work restriction for international students from 15 November 2022 to 31 December 2023. Canada has extended this temporary measure to foreign nationals who have already submitted a study permit application. International students may benefit from this clause if Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada accept their application.

International students who apply to study in Canada are currently permitted to work off-campus for up to 20 hours per week while studying in Canadian educational Institutions. This restriction is eased, though, during pre-arranged periods like the summer and winter breaks, enabling overseas students to sustain themselves financially. In addition, the Canadian government has temporarily relaxed this regulation due to the approximately one million employment openings.
The living expense is high, and education is expensive in Canada, a developed nation. As a result, many students from underdeveloped countries travel to Canada to obtain a better education and way of life. Because they need to earn a living to pay for their education, some even remit money to their families to help them financially.

To ensure that overseas students concentrate on finishing their studies rather than finding employment in Canada, this strategy aims to both enable them to sustain themselves financially and ensure that they do so.
The labor shortages and the unemployment rate in Canada are at historic lows. Following an increase to 5.4 percent in August, the jobless rate decreased to 5.2 percent in September. At a time of widespread economic difficulties, the nation has nearly one million employment openings, impacting its economy.

According to Fraser, this regulation will allow over 500,000 eligible international students already in Canada to work additional hours while enrolled in their courses. Throughout 2021, there were over 620,000 international students enrolled, a figure that had multiplied in the previous 20 years. Canada issued about 450,000 new study permits in just one year. There is still a great demand for students to study in Canada because of several factors, including the high standard of educational institutions, multiculturalism, the usability of the Canadian currency, and the availability of work and permanent residency opportunities. Canada has handled more study permits this year than it did in any prior year, exceeding its previous record.

According to data from the Canadian Bureau for International Education, most international students indicate they intend to get Canadian citizenship after completing their studies (CBIE).

A Statistics Canada study found that international students who moved to Canada permanently tended to quickly integrate into the labor market due to things like their work and educational experience here and their English and/or French language proficiency.
This explains why Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) offers a wide range of initiatives aimed at helping foreign graduates find jobs in Canada while becoming permanent residents.

IRCC provides a well-liked Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP). The PGWP enables eligible international students to get an open work permit with a validity period corresponding to their academic program’s duration in Canada. For any employer of their choice, it is permissible for foreign people with active work permits to work in Canada. The maximum period of PGWP validity is three years. In addition, the professional Canadian work experience that PGWP holders may later need to meet the requirements of an economic class immigration program can be acquired. PGWP holders typically gain permanent residency through the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program, one of the most well-liked immigration pathways that IRCC provides.

Canada’s provinces and territories also accept foreign graduates with previous experience working there. Also, through the Quebec and Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) streams across the nation, international graduates have access to pathways to permanent residency to persuade them to remain in the province or territory and continue contributing to the labor market as immigrants.

In recent years, international students have drawn more attention in Canada as a critical source of permanent immigration, especially during the pandemic. To meet goals like settling over 405,000 new immigrants in 2021 and shattering Canada’s record for newly landed immigrants in a year, the IRCC heavily relies on graduates from other nations. To accomplish this, a sizable number of Canadian Experience Class applicants were invited and authorized by IRCC. A benefit was the introduction of the Temporary Residence to Permanent Residence (TR2PR) program in 2021, which made it possible for about 90,000 temporary residents to petition for immigration.

Also mandated by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister Fraser must devise new plans for how temporary foreign workers and international students can use Express Entry Canada to apply for permanent status. The government’s efforts to help more temporary residents acquire permanent status were outlined in a plan Fraser unveiled in September. The strategy has five elements, one of which is updating the immigration system to expedite application processing.

While enrolled in classes, international students who apply to study in a Canadian educational program are allowed to work up to 20 hours a week off-campus. Therefore, to allow international students to support themselves financially, this cap is lowered during pre-scheduled periods like the summer and winter breaks. Due to the approximately one million open positions, the Canadian government temporarily relaxed this requirement. This is an innovative short-term solution to Canada’s long-standing labor problems. Fraser claims that this will enable the over 500,000 international students already residing in Canada to work longer hours maybe, and this step will lead to the economic growth of Canada in the long run, along with a significant gain the international students. They have a goal to study and settle in Canada.