International Student Work Hours in Canada: The Rules

Want evening or weekend shifts in a store or a restaurant? As an international student, you can often work without a separate work permit, but only within the conditions of your study permit, and the weekly hour limit is one of them. This guide explains who can work, how many hours, and what to do before your first shift.

Everything here comes from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Service Canada pages, listed at the end. The rules change, and IRCC’s pages are the final word. GetJobnify is not a government website and does not give immigration advice; for your own case, ask IRCC.

Last verified: 19 October 2026.

Before your first shift: 5 steps

Wait until your program starts. IRCC says you can’t work before your studies begin.
Read the conditions printed on your study permit. To work, your permit needs a work condition: “May accept employment on or off campus…” covers both, “May work 24 hours per week off campus…” covers off-campus work, and “…May accept employment only on campus…” means on campus only. If you are eligible but it is missing, request an amendment to your permit; IRCC charges no fee for this.
Check that you meet every requirement for the work you want: off campus (next section) or on campus (see “Working on campus”). For off-campus jobs, IRCC says you and your employer must both make sure you can work before you start.
Get a Social Insurance Number (SIN). You can only apply once the work condition is on your permit. Your SIN will start with “9” and expire with your permit. Service Canada says you can start working as soon as you apply, without waiting for the number. Our guide on how to get a SIN for your first job covers the documents and the three ways to apply.
Keep a record of your hours. IRCC says you are responsible for tracking them.

Who can work off campus without a work permit

According to IRCC’s page on working off campus, you must meet all of these requirements:

you are a full-time student at a designated learning institution (DLI);
you have started your study program;
your program is post-secondary (academic, vocational or professional training), or secondary-level vocational training in Quebec;
your program is at least 6 months long and leads to a degree, diploma or certificate;
you have a valid study permit, or you applied to extend it before it expired;
your initial study permit has conditions printed on it that allow you to work off campus;
you have a SIN.

Part-time in your last semester? You can still work off campus if you were a full-time student in Canada until your last semester and you only need a part-time course load to finish.

You can’t work off campus without a work permit if your permit says you aren’t authorized to, or if you are only taking English or French as a second language (ESL/FSL), general interest courses or courses required to get into a full-time program. You also can’t work while you are on an authorized leave or switching schools and not studying; you can go back to work once you resume your studies. If you move from an ESL course into a full-time program, you can apply to change the conditions of your permit; IRCC charges a fee for that change, and it must be done before you apply for a SIN.

How many hours you can work off campus

As of 19 October 2026, IRCC says (page last modified 15 April 2026): during regular school terms or semesters, you can work up to 24 hours per week off campus. The rule has changed before and can change again, so check IRCC’s off-campus page each term.

You can have more than one job, but together they can’t go over 24 hours in a week. If your program has no scheduled breaks, the 24-hour weekly limit applies throughout.

Scheduled breaks

During a break scheduled by your school, such as summer and winter holidays or a reading week, you can work unlimited hours off campus. IRCC’s Help Centre sets out what counts:

the break must be scheduled by your school and last at least 7 consecutive days;
a statutory holiday on its own, such as Labour Day, is not a scheduled break, and neither is a long weekend it creates;
a statutory holiday that falls inside a scheduled break of 7 or more days is part of the break;
if back-to-back breaks add up to more than 150 consecutive days, you can only work off campus during the first 150;
counting all scheduled breaks, you can work unlimited hours for a total of 180 days in each calendar year.

How hours are counted

IRCC counts any time you spend earning wages or collecting a commission. You must be able to prove that you are actively pursuing your studies, not working more than 24 hours per week and meeting any other condition on your permit.

Working on campus

On-campus work has no hour limit, during terms or breaks, as long as you are eligible. The requirements are close to the off-campus ones: a full-time student at a DLI in a post-secondary program (or secondary-level vocational training in Quebec), a valid study permit (or an extension applied for in time), a work condition printed on your initial permit, and a SIN. If you study part-time in your final semester after studying full-time every semester before it, you can keep working unlimited hours on campus.

“On campus” means the buildings of the campus where you study (in most cases, not your school’s other campuses). Your employer can be the school, a faculty member, a student organization, a private business or contractor that provides on-campus services to the school, or yourself if your business is physically on campus. Teaching or research assistants whose work is strictly related to a research grant can also work at a library, hospital or research facility associated with the school.

You must stop working on campus if you stop studying full-time (except in that final semester), your study permit expires, you take an authorized leave or you are switching schools and not studying.

Co-op placements and internships

As of 1 April 2026, IRCC says post-secondary international students don’t need a co-op work permit for student work placements such as co-ops, internships and practicums. You can take part if:

the placement is required to complete your program and your DLI confirms it in a letter;
your initial study permit has a condition allowing you to work on campus;
you are a full-time post-secondary student with a valid study permit (or an extension applied for in time);
the placement totals 50% or less of your program.

There is no weekly hour limit for these placements. If you already hold a co-op work permit, you can keep using it until it expires. Secondary school students still need a co-op work permit. Students taking ESL/FSL courses, general interest courses or courses to prepare for another program can’t do placements.

If you break the conditions

IRCC says working more than 24 hours per week during a term is a violation of your study permit conditions. You can lose your student status, future study or work permit applications may not be approved, and you may have to leave the country. If IRCC finds you haven’t met your conditions, you might also have to wait 6 months before applying for a new study permit, visitor visa or work permit in Canada.

Telling an employer about your availability

In the interview, say how many hours you can work during the term, which days you have classes, and when your school’s scheduled breaks begin and end. If an employer asks you to cover extra shifts that would take you over the limit, you can say no and explain that it is a condition of your permit. Our interview preparation guide has more on how to present your availability.

IRCC warns that someone who promises a job or a permit if you pay them, or asks for documents or payment through social media, may be scamming you.

After you graduate

Working after your studies needs a work permit. IRCC describes two cases where you may keep working, with unlimited hours, if you meet all its requirements:

You applied for a work permit before your study permit expired, such as a post-graduation work permit (PGWP), you were eligible to work off campus and you are waiting for a decision. For a PGWP, IRCC adds that you must have completed your program and not worked more hours than allowed.
You are starting a new full-time program at a DLI within 150 calendar days of your school’s written confirmation that you completed the previous one, you were already able to work off campus, and your study permit is valid (or you applied to extend it in time).

If IRCC refuses your application, you must stop working and leave Canada. Its PGWP pages explain who is eligible.

FAQ

My study permit says 20 hours per week. Which limit applies?

IRCC says that if your current permit says you may work 20 hours per week off campus, you can work up to 24 hours per week, as long as you still meet the eligibility requirements.

Does working remotely for an employer outside Canada count towards the limit?

No. IRCC says remote work for an employer outside Canada does not count towards the 24 hours, as long as you still meet the conditions of your study permit.

I’m self-employed. Do my hours count?

Yes. IRCC says self-employed students must also track their off-campus hours and prove they meet their permit conditions. Being paid for a service or for selling a product counts, as do commissions.

Can I take summer courses and still work unlimited hours during the break?

Yes. During a scheduled break, IRCC says you can take courses part-time or full-time, and this does not affect your ability to work unlimited hours.

Once you know your hours, browse current postings on our Find Jobs page.

Sources

All sources were checked on 19 October 2026. The date in brackets is the date each page was last modified.