Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) has announced that full-time international students already in Canada, as well as those who have submitted an application for a study permit by December 7, 2023 will be able to work off-campus, full-time until April 30, 2024.

This announcement comes just weeks before the current temporary policy was set to expire on December 31, 2023. In October 2022, IRCC temporarily waived the maximum off-campus work allowance of 20-hours per week while attending full-time classes. This meant that certain international students in Canada with valid study permits and the allowance to work off-campus were able to work full-time from November 15, 2022, until the waiver was set to expire on December 31, 2023. You can find our initial discussion of this temporary policy here.

In its news release, IRCC also noted that it continues to consider options for this policy in the future, such as increasing the off-campus work hour allowance to 30 hours per week while attending full-time classes.

This news release also confirmed that the current Post-Graduate Work Permit extension policy will not be extended past December 31, 2023.

This announcement should come as welcome news for employers who continue to face challenges in finding and retaining workers during a period of post-pandemic growth.

If you have any questions about this topic, or any questions relating to workplace law generally, please do not hesitate to contact a Mathews Dinsdale lawyer.