Education Matters

Working on Campus:

*	You are eligible to work on campus, without requiring a work permit, if you are a full time student at: a public post-secondary institution and you have a valid study permit.

Working Off-Campus:

*	The international students are allowed to work off-campus while completing their studies.It requires you to be a full time student enrolled at a participating publicly funded post-secondary educational institution or in an approved program at an eligible privately funded institution.
*	A work permit has to be applied for, for working off-campus.
*	Work permit, authorizes you to work up to 20 hours per week during regular academic sessions, and full time during scheduled breaks (for example, winter and summer holidays, and spring break).

Eligibility for off campus work permits

You will need to be a full time student at an eligible post-secondary educational institution participating in the Off-Campus Work Permit Program, if you plan to work off campus.

To get the work permit, you must:

-	Carry a valid study permit
-	Study at a participating institution
-	Have been a full time student for not less than 6 of the total 12 months preceding the date of your work permit application
-	Have a satisfactory academic standing
-	Sign a form authorizing the institution, the province, and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for sharing your personal information. This is done for confirming that you are continuing to study full time and that you are in satisfactory academic standing.

Points of Caution

All the programs offered by private post-secondary educational institutions do not qualify for granting a work permit to the student.

You would be required to remain as a full time student at a participating institution for maintaining your work permit. Also, you will have to continue obtaining satisfactory academic results. If you fail to satisfy any of the conditions required to get the work permit, you should immediately return your work permit immediately to a local CIC office, in the absence of which you would be considered being a non-compliant, having a negative impact on your current stay in Canada. It is illegal to work in Canada without a valid work permit.

Renewing or extending the permits: Students holding a valid Off-Campus Work Permit, willing to continue working off-campus, and due to renew or extend their study permit should re-apply for an extension of both their study permit and their Off-Campus Work Permit.

You will not be allowed to work off-campus if:

-	You participate in a Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship Program funded by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT)
-	You participate in the Awards Program of the Government of Canada funded by DFAIT
-	The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is funding you
-	You participate in the Equal Opportunity Scholarship Program, Canada-Chile
-	You participate in the Canada-China Scholars Exchanges Program
-	You take part in the Organization of American States Fellowships Program
-	You are attending a participating institution and registered in either an English as a second language or French as a second language program or
-	You are a visiting or exchange student.

Co-opps and internships

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Work experience forms a curriculum for certain academic programs. Study permit along with the work permit must be applied for, if foreign students wish to participate in a co-op or internship program.

Eligibility criteria for a Co-Op and internships

-	Have to apply for a work permit under this category,
-	Have a valid study permit;
-	Ensure that the intended employment is an essential part of your program of study in Canada.
-	Ensure that the employment is a part of your academic program, certified by a letter from a responsible academic official of the institution.
-	Take care that the co-op or internship employment cannot exceed half the total length of your program of study.

Working after studying

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• If, after graduating from your studies in Canada, you plan to work here, you will have to apply for a work permit under the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program.

Post-Graduation Work Permit Program

*	The students, who have graduated from a participating Canadian post-secondary institution, are permitted to work in Canada under this program for gaining valuable Canadian work experience.
*	Under this program, the work permit is not valid for longer than the student’s study program.
*	If you graduate from a 4-year degree program and also meet the criteria for work permit, you could be eligible for a three-year work permit. If you graduate from an eight-month certificate program, you would be eligible for a work permit that is valid for no more than eight months.
*	Note: At times, the work permit can be valid for a lesser duration than the length of your studies.

Eligibility for Post-Graduation Work Permit Program

In order to get the work permit under this category, you are required to meet the following requirements:

You must have studied full time in Canada. Also, you should have completed a program of study that lasted for 8 months. Additionally, you must have graduated from:

-	a public post-secondary institution, like college, trade/technical school, university or CEGEP (in Quebec), or
-	a private post-secondary institution operating under the same rules and regulations as public institutions, and receiving not less than 50% of its financing from government grants, for its overall operations (currently only private college-level educational institutions in Quebec qualify), or
-	Canadian private institution authorized by provincial statute for conferring degrees. This stands true only if you are enrolled in one of the programs of study, leading to a degree, as authorized by the province and not in all programs of study offered by the private institution.

A work permit needs to be applied for within 90 days of receiving written confirmation from your institution implying that you meet the requirements for completing your academic program.

You must have completed and passed the program of study and received a notification that you are eligible to obtain your degree, diploma or certificate.

You must have a valid study permit while applying for the work permit.

Points of Caution

A Post-Graduation Work Permit is valid only for the length of time you have studied in Canada or less than that.

You would not be eligible for this program if you studied for less than 8 months.

You can get a work permit for a period no longer than the length of time you studied, if you studied for less than 2 years but more than 8 months.

A work permit might be issued for three years, if you have studied for a period of two years or more.

You are in-eligible for this program if you:

-	Study in a program of lesser duration than 8 months.
-	Take part in a Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship Program funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT)
-	Take part in a Government of Canada Awards Program funded by DFAIT
-	The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) grants funds to you
-	Take part in the Equal Opportunity Scholarship, Canada-Chile
-	Take part in the Canada-China Scholars Exchanges Program
-	Take part in the Organization of American States Fellowships Program
-	Take part in a distance learning program either from abroad or from within Canada or
-	Have received a Post-Graduation Work Permit previously, following any other program of study.

Work permits for the spouse

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A spouse (non-student) of a full-time international student may obtain a work permit to work anywhere in Canada. A specific job offer is not required to obtain a work permit. The work permit will have the same expiry date as their spouse's study permit.

Your spouse or common-law partner is eligible to apply for a work permit if you:

-	Happen to be a full time student at: a public post-secondary institution, including a Canadian private institution authorized by provincial statute to confer degrees.
-	Have a valid study permit or
-	Have a valid work permit.

Your study or work permit and the work permits for your spouse or common-law partner are valid for the same period of time.

Note: Accompanying spouses or common-law partners of foreign students can apply for an open work permit. This means that a job offer or a labour market opinion from Service Canada would not be required by them.