International students may be able to work on and off-campus while studying if their study permit includes the conditions or remarks allowing work and they are compliant with their study permit conditions.
Checking your Study Permit Conditions
Number of Hours Eligible to Work Off-Campus (Standard Policy)
Number of Hours Eligible to Work Off-Campus (Temporary Policy)
To work in Canada, international students need to apply for a Social Insurance Number (SIN). In order to apply for a SIN your study permit must have at least one of these conditions:
If your study permit doesn’t have one of these conditions/remarks, you may request an amendment to your study permit. However, If the following remark is printed on your study permit ‘This permit does not permit the holder to engage in off-campus employment in Canada’, and your work eligibility have changed (for example, you have transferred to an eligible program of study), you must apply to change the conditions of your study permit and pay the applicable fee.
You can request a Confirmation of Enrolment letter from VCC to include in your application as it verifies that you are enrolled at an eligible DLI.
International students with a valid study permit which includes the condition that they can undergo on- and off-campus work may be eligible to work on-campus. You do not need a separate work permit to work on-campus. There is no limit to how many hours of work you can do as long as you meet all the eligibility requirements.
All of the following requirements must be met.
Note: You are only eligible to work after you begin your program of study. You cannot work before you start your program.
‘On-campus’ refers to all the buildings on your school campus. However, you may only work at the campus where you have most of your classes. At VCC, that means you can only work at one campus location: Downtown or Broadway campus. A few examples of on-campus work include: the bookstore, food services areas, or café.
International students may work as many hours as they want on campus, in addition to working off campus, as long as they continue to meet the eligibility requirements for working on campus.
For more information about working on-campus, please visit IRCC – Work on campus.
International students with a valid study permit which includes the condition that they can undergo off-campus work may be eligible to work off-campus without a work permit, as long as they meet the following eligibility requirements.
All of the following requirements must be met.
Note: You are only eligible to work after you begin your program of study. You cannot work before you start your program.
At VCC, the majority of programs are designed so that you maintain full-time academic status every semester, including your final semester. If, however, you are a part-time student in your final semester at VCC, you can work up to 20 hours a week, as long as it is confirmed to be your final semester and you maintained full-time academic status throughout your program.
Note that if you are on authorized leave from your studies, you cannot work in Canada.
Under normal circumstances, international students are eligible to work up to 20 hours a week while they are enrolled in full-time studies. Note that working more than 20 hours a week violates your study permit conditions and can impact your immigration status.
International students can also work full-time during a scheduled break as long as they maintain full-time academic status before and after the break. There is no limit to how many hours you can work during the break as long the employer follows all provincial laws. Most VCC programs have scheduled breaks varying depending on the program and cohort. Please consult with your program department to verify if you have any scheduled breaks, and when they take place. If you require a letter stating to show your employer that you are on a break, you can make the request from your program department. Please refer to the VCC College Calendar to verify when the college closures take place, such as the Christmas closure.
Some international students may be able to work full-time while enrolled in full-time studies if they meet the temporary measure eligibility criteria. Please review the Number of Hours Eligible to Work Off-Campus (Temporary Policy) to check your eligibility.
On October 7, 2022, IRCC announced a new temporary measure to address Canada’s labour shortage and temporarily lifted the 20 hours of off-campus work hours to allow some (but not all) international students to work full-time while enrolled in full-time studies.
International students should do a self-assessment to ensure they meet IRCC criteria for this temporary policy based on their study permit application date or study permit status in Canada.
As an international student, you may qualify for this temporary policy if you meet all eligibility requirements for off-campus work AND:
Your study permit has 1 of the following off-campus work conditions:
Note: If your study permit doesn’t have one of these conditions/remarks, you may request an amendment to your study permit.
Important note: Even though international students may meet the eligibility criteria for the temporary policy, how long they can benefit from it will depend on their study permit expiry date.
This temporary policy is in place from November 15, 2022, until December 31, 2023. However, you may be eligible to work full-time until whichever comes first:
The VCC International Education team would like to remind all international students that to be eligible for off-campus work authorization, they must maintain full-time academic status for immigration purposes throughout their studies (with the exception of scheduled breaks, authorized leave, and the final academic term).
International students that drop from full-time to part-time academic status or have an authorized or unauthorized gap in studies do not have work eligibility in Canada. VCC programs are designed to ensure that international students maintain full-time academic status throughout their program. Changes to your program schedule can impact your post-graduation work permit (PGWP) eligibility. If you have questions regarding the IRCC announcement, please contact the VCC International Education team at ieservices@vcc.ca.
For more information about working off-campus, please visit the IRCC - Work off campus as an international student page.
International students can work remotely for an employer outside Canada as long as they still meet the conditions of their study permit. This type of work doesn’t count towards their 20 hours per week off-campus work limit.
The information on this page has been developed and endorsed by Regulated International Student Immigration Advisors (RISIAs) in compliance with the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Regulations. However, the information may change without notice, and this is not a legal document. Please visit the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website for the most up-to-date information.
