February 27th, 2024 at 01:01 am

Canada Student Visa Latest Update – February 2024

Canada is thinking about implementing a 30-hour workweek for foreign students. The Canadian Minister of Immigration has unveiled and announced several initiatives to enhance the program for international students starting in 2024.

Future cohorts of international students will benefit from the reforms, which include raising the cost of living from January 1, 2024, and requiring a Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) from a province or territory. However, some who plan to study abroad in Canada have expressed their displeasure with the most recent modifications to the spouse’s open work visa and post-graduation work permit (PGWP).

These are contentious new changes, and we value all viewpoints. There was also another important message sent during this announcement: hope for overseas students studying in Canada. Additionally, Mark Miller, the minister of immigration, stated that the full-time job program for qualified students would be extended until the end of April 2024.

The main reason for this is that students who are presently qualified for full-time employment must put in more than 20 hours a week to pay for their expenditures. Additionally, according to the press release, the IRCC is exploring alternatives and may add up to 30 hours to the weekly working hours of international students.

Who can work full-time until April 2024?

A temporary regulation was implemented by Sean Frasier, the former minister of immigration, allowing international students to study during class as long as they met the requirements to work more than 20 hours each week. He did not limit the amount of hours. That is to say, foreign students were free to work as many hours as they wanted as long as they met the requirements of their study programs. However, he established a cap, so not all foreign students could work full-time.

The only candidates for study permits who fit the requirements below were accepted, and they will remain so until April 30, 2024, provided the IRCC receives their study permit application or extension by October 7, 2022. You may work off campus for more than 20 hours a week between November 15, 2022, and April 30, 2024, if any of the following describe you;

• In a DLS, you are enrolled full-time with study permission, or part-time if this is your final semester of study.
• You have maintained your status and are enrolled in classes at a DLS full-time or part-time if this is your final semester, even though your study permit has expired.

Additionally, if the IRCC received your study permit application or extension between October 8, 2022, and December 7, 2023, you must also meet all of the following requirements. You may work off-campus for more than 20 hours per week between January 1, 2024, and April 30, 2024, if any of the following apply to you.

• In a DLS, you are enrolled full-time with study permission, or part-time if this is your final semester of study.
• You have maintained your status and are enrolled in classes at a DLS full-time or part-time if this is your final semester, even though your study permit has expired.
  You have been awarded permission to study in Canada, but you have not yet arrived.

After December 7, 2023, anyone who applied for a study visa or an extension with the IRCC is not permitted to work more than 20 hours.

Will Canada increase the weekly working hours for international students to 30 hours?

The latest immigration regulations announced by Minister of Immigration Mark Miller are rather bitter, but they will benefit everyone, especially overseas students. Canada has implemented an annual quota on the number of international students, which also limits the number of temporary residents eligible for spousal open work permits (SOWPs) and post-graduation work permits (PGWPs).

It appears that extending the working hours for overseas students from 20 to 30 hours will, on the whole, be beneficial and partially offset the decline in SOWP and PGWP numbers. Furthermore, as the Minister of Immigration said, the decline in foreign enrollment will position international students for success.

PGWP and SOWP holders, along with an increase in work hours from 20 to 30 hours, will be able to somewhat offset the impact of new changes on the number of international students entering Canada.