Canada has enabled international students to work more than 20 hours per week off-campus while classes are in session, which will assist Indian students to balance the dropping value of the rupee and battling inflation. This is a temporary measure that will come into effect from November 15, 2022, to December 31, 2023.
Currently, international students who seek to study a Canadian educational programme may be permitted to work off-campus for up to 20 hours per week throughout their studies.
However, during regular breaks such as the summer and winter holidays, this limit is waived, allowing international students to support themselves financially. It will also apply to people who have already submitted a study visa application, as revealed by Immigration Minister Sean Fraser in Ottawa on October 7, 2022.
Also Read: More than 60,000 Indian Students Flew to Study in Canada in the First Half of 2022
With over a million employment openings, the Canadian government has decided to relax this regulation for the time being.
According to Fraser, Canada has already handled over 4.52 lakh study visa applications since January, a 23% increase over the 3.67 lakh processed during the same period last year.
In 2021, Canada had about 6.20 lakh immigrants and one-third of them came from India. Moreover, this regulation allows international students to sustain themselves financially while also ensuring that they focus on finishing their studies rather than working in Canada.
In recent years, Canada has relied heavily on international students as a source of permanent residents, and the vast majority of the 4.05 lakh immigrants granted citizenship last year came from this group. Having said that, the majority of international students also want to stay in Canada as permanent residents after their studies.
According to Statistics Canada, international students who get PR integrate swiftly into the Canadian labour market due to their prior experience living in the country on visas.
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) currently provide a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP), which permits them to work for any employer of their choosing for 3 years.
Also Read: Canada: Pending Student Visas Likely to Be Processed by the End of 2022
Fraser presented this policy in September 2022 to assist more temporary residents in obtaining permanent residency, which will be included in the revised Immigration Levels Plan 2023-2025, which will be revealed on November 1, 2022.
Source: CIC News and Live Mint
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