OTTAWA,
ON, April 29, 2024 /CNW/ -International
students enrich Canada's social,
cultural and economic fabric. That is why, in recent months,
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has introduced reforms
to the International Students Program, to ensure system integrity
while protecting students from fraud and financial
vulnerability.
The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees
and Citizenship, announced today that the temporary policy allowing
students to work more than 20 hours per week off campus will
come to an end on April 30, 2024, and it will not be extended.
This fall, we intend to change the number of hours students may
work off campus per week to 24 hours.
Students who come to Canada
must be here to study. As such, allowing students to work up to
24 hours per week will ensure they focus primarily on their
studies, while having the option to work, if necessary.
As we head into the summer session, students who have a
scheduled academic break can continue working unlimited
hours.
In developing this change, we looked at the needs of students,
policies in other countries, as well as research that has
shown that academic outcomes suffer the more a student works while
studying. It also strikes the appropriate balance so students have
the option to work without compromising academic outcomes. More
details will be shared in due course.
We also continue to develop the new Recognized Institutions
Framework to reward postÂsecondary institutions that set high
standards for selecting, supporting and retaining international
students. We will continue to support and protect international
students from financial vulnerability and keep protecting the
integrity of the International Student Program.
Quote:
"Working off campus helps international students gain work
experience and offset some of their expenses. As international
students arrive in Canada, we want
them to be prepared for life here and have the support they need to
succeed. However, first and foremost, people coming to Canada as students must be here to study, not
work. We will continue working to protect the integrity of our
student program."
– The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration,
Refugees and Citizenship
Quick facts:
- Recent studies conducted in the US and Canada have shown that there is a considerable
decline in academic performance for students working more than 28
hours per week, and that working more than 24 hours per week
increases the chances that a student will drop out of their
program.
- Most countries that welcome international students set limits
on the number of hours they may work while they study. Australia recently changed its policy to allow
a student to work 48 hours every 2 weeks. In the US, students must
meet additional criteria before being permitted to work off campus
at all.
- In December 2023, the Government
of Canada raised the
cost-of-living threshold that students must meet to be approved for
a study permit so they are financially prepared for life in
Canada and are not as dependent on
working.
- International students who begin a college program delivered
through a public-private curriculum licensing arrangement on or
after May 15, 2024, will not be
eligible for a post-graduation work permit when they graduate.
Those who already started this type of program prior to
May 15, 2024, will still be able to
access a post-graduation work permit, provided they meet all other
criteria.
- The new letter of acceptance (LOA) verification process has
been a success. Since its launch on December
1, 2023, through April 1,
2024, IRCC has
- received almost 162,000 LOAs for verification
- confirmed nearly 142,000 LOAs as valid directly with
designated learning institutions (DLIs)
- identified almost 9,000 LOAs that didn't match any LOA
issued by a DLI or that the DLI had already cancelled before the
foreign national applied for a study permit
Associated links:
- Statement: Minister Miller issues statement on international
student allocations for provinces and territories
- Notice: Update on public-private college partnership programs
for international students
- Notice: Additional information about International Student
Program reforms
- News release: Canada to
stabilize growth and decrease number of new study permits
issued
- News release: Revised requirements to better protect
international students
- News release: Changes to International Student Program aim to
protect students
- Website: Work off campus as an international student
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- Twitter.com/CitImmCanada
- Instagram.com/CitImmCanada
SOURCE Citizenship and Immigration Canada