Indian Students in Canada can Now Work for 24 Hours per Week: Marc Miller

Over the past year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has introduced several steps to ensure the sustainability of the International Student Programme with the aim of rooting out fraud and protecting students from bad actors and financial vulnerability.

In order to better meet our long-term economic objectives and improve the integrity and caliber of our temporary resident programs, Canada will reduce the number of temporary residents over the coming years, as stated in the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan.

Today, Marc Miller, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, affirmed that new rules affecting the International Student Program, such as the modification to the amount of time foreign students can work off campus that was suggested earlier this year, are now in force. With this modification, qualified students can now work off campus for up to 24 hours every week during the time when classes are in session.

In the future, before switching educational institutions, international students will need to apply for and be granted a new study permit. This modification is consistent with the significant efforts we have been making to improve the International Student Program’s integrity.

The Student Direct Stream (SDS) and Nigeria Student Express (NSE) programs have been discontinued, according to a recent announcement from Canada. Indian students have been among the main recipients of the SDS, a program created to expedite the application procedure for study permits, over the last six years. Now that SDS has ended, prospective Indian students must apply for study permits using the standard study permit system.

Applications submitted by Indian students under the SDS before to the deadline of 2 pm ET on November 8, 2024, will still be processed through the SDS, allowing them to take advantage of the quicker processing timeframes. Applications for research permits filed after the deadline, however, will be handled in the standard study permit stream, which could take more time.