Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the official body that oversees the admission of students in Canada has recently made a major shift in its policy. From the later part this fall, there will be changes in the number of working hours to be allowed for international students during academic sessions. This provision will increase from 20 working hours to 24 working hours in a week. This policy change is in line with the overall student support strategy with aim to enable students attend classes fully, yet work at the same time.
It succeeds another ruling made by Marc Miller, the Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship in May, 2024. Previously, international students had been allowed to work more than 20 hours a week during their breaks such a policy came to an end on 30/04/2024. However, student Employment Act enables students on their break time to work as much as they want.
Thus, as the information provided by the IRCC claims, this change is conceived to provide proper balancing between work and studies, thus students will be able to concentrate on their learning. “First and foremost, the international students come to Canada to study. This change will enable students to concentrate more on their classes while at the same time affording an opportunity to work,” explained Miller. The policy will maintain the credibility of the Canada’s offered programs while ensuring that the students are not exploited or have their studies affected by working many hours.
These statistics have revealed that working for more than 24 hours in a week affects students’ performance and the odds of their dropping out for their courses. It reflects the willingness and readiness of the Canadian government to ensure that the needs of the international students are satisfactorily met by coming up with policies that aim at enhancing their performance in their chosen course while at the same time being able to fend for themselves by working to pay their bills.