NEW DELHI: International students in Canada will be allowed to work off-campus for an unlimited number of hours from November 15. This relaxation is available until the end of December next year.
Currently, international students can only work off-campus 20 hours per week while classes are in session. This restriction often resulted in them working in entry-level, low-wage jobs or working on the sly, which was an illegal move and led to expulsion.
The easing announced Friday by Sean Fraser, Canada’s Immigration Minister, is temporary and is intended to help address the labor shortage crisis facing Canadian employers. It will also ease the financial burden of international students, a significant number of whom are from India.
Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Canadian government’s immigration agency says “From November 15, 2022 to December 31, 2023, international students who are in Canada and have off-campus work authorization on their studies will not be limited by the 20 hour per week rule. Foreign nationals who have already applied for a study permit, effective today (October 7), will also be able to benefit from this temporary change, provided their study permit application is approved.
Minister Fraser’s statement reads: “With the economy growing faster than employers can hire new workers, Canada must explore all options to ensure it has the skills and labor needed. to fuel our growth. Immigration will be key to addressing our labor shortage. By allowing international students to work more during their studies, we can help alleviate the pressing needs in many sectors across the country, while providing more opportunities for international students to gain valuable work experience in Canada and to continue to contribute to our short-term and long-term recovery. prosperity.”
It should be noted that the leeway is not offered to “future” students, who apply for a study permit after October 7th. This, according to some academics, could create an imbalance.
Safeguards have been put in place to ensure that this temporary leeway is not misused by job seekers. “Study permit holders should always balance their study and work commitments, as those who stop studying or reduce the course load to study part-time only are not eligible to work off-campus,” added the immigration agency.
Canada currently has over five lakh international students, with a huge contingent coming from India. According to ApplyBoard, an online platform for recruiting international students to Canada, saw a massive influx of Indian students in calendar year 2021. From January to September 2021, almost 1,15,000 Indian students were authorized to study in Canada. This exceeded the previous record of 1,11,110 in 2019. “Based on historical trends, we estimate that over 1,40,000 Indian students were approved in 2021. This total is 25% higher than in 2019,” said ApplyBoard.
Josh Schachnow, immigration lawyer and founder of Visto.ai, a tech talent search platform, expressed mixed feelings: “While the announcement will ease the financial burden on students, the bottom line is to find the right kind of job, experience that counts for permanent residency.”
Madhav Dave, whose social media bio lists him as an Ontario-based supply chain management student, said: “This is indeed a great opportunity, but the ball is in the court of the employer. I wonder how flexible they would be. Assuming a student must attend college at least one or two days a week, that leaves three weekdays and weekends. Can an employer hire a student three days a week in a decent white collar job? »
“Many international students have previous experience that can be used to their advantage, but all they are able to do while studying is general labor or work in restaurants. Give us the salary minimum, but at least give us an opportunity so that we can start to gain experience and be ready for the market when we graduate, this will also help employers who are looking for “new experienced”, “he said. -he adds.
“Today’s (Friday) announcement is not about labor shortages, but about labor mobility and labor rights, and that’s the direct result of years of tireless organizing by current and former international students. Removing the limit on working hours while studying gives migrant students the power to quit bad jobs, speak out against exploitation and abuse, and the freedom and flexibility to make decisions about their work,” said Sarom Rhoa Migrant Students United organizer at the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.
In 2019, Indian Jobandeep Singh Sandhu, who was studying mechanical engineering, had his immigration status stripped and eventually deported from Canada for driving trucks beyond the stipulated 20 hours a week. Since then, the Alliance has been actively calling for change.
An average shift is eight hours. Part-time work is generally considered to be three days a week (this corresponds to a minimum of 24 hours). The 20-hour work limit has effectively forced migrant students to engage in irregular work, outside the protection of labor law, the Alliance points out.
Harshill Dhingra, a former international student at Humber College, said: “Migrant students like me pushed and won this change. I was a victim of this work restriction. Last year I injured my left finger in a very serious accident while working for money in a restaurant and decided to shut up because I was afraid of being deported. He added: “No one should have to fight for things like permission to know where, how and how much we want to work; 1.7 million migrants need permanent residence, so we have the same rights as everyone else.
This was echoed by Ontario’s Jeevan Singh D, who works in the education sector: “It reduces the risk of students needing to have paid jobs where they are paid $5 an hour for 80 working hours, and no jobs. workers’ rights or insurance coverage. Reducing the risk of worker exploitation is definitely positive.
Currently, international students can only work off-campus 20 hours per week while classes are in session. This restriction often resulted in them working in entry-level, low-wage jobs or working on the sly, which was an illegal move and led to expulsion.
The easing announced Friday by Sean Fraser, Canada’s Immigration Minister, is temporary and is intended to help address the labor shortage crisis facing Canadian employers. It will also ease the financial burden of international students, a significant number of whom are from India.
Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Canadian government’s immigration agency says “From November 15, 2022 to December 31, 2023, international students who are in Canada and have off-campus work authorization on their studies will not be limited by the 20 hour per week rule. Foreign nationals who have already applied for a study permit, effective today (October 7), will also be able to benefit from this temporary change, provided their study permit application is approved.
Minister Fraser’s statement reads: “With the economy growing faster than employers can hire new workers, Canada must explore all options to ensure it has the skills and labor needed. to fuel our growth. Immigration will be key to addressing our labor shortage. By allowing international students to work more during their studies, we can help alleviate the pressing needs in many sectors across the country, while providing more opportunities for international students to gain valuable work experience in Canada and to continue to contribute to our short-term and long-term recovery. prosperity.”
It should be noted that the leeway is not offered to “future” students, who apply for a study permit after October 7th. This, according to some academics, could create an imbalance.
Safeguards have been put in place to ensure that this temporary leeway is not misused by job seekers. “Study permit holders should always balance their study and work commitments, as those who stop studying or reduce the course load to study part-time only are not eligible to work off-campus,” added the immigration agency.
Canada currently has over five lakh international students, with a huge contingent coming from India. According to ApplyBoard, an online platform for recruiting international students to Canada, saw a massive influx of Indian students in calendar year 2021. From January to September 2021, almost 1,15,000 Indian students were authorized to study in Canada. This exceeded the previous record of 1,11,110 in 2019. “Based on historical trends, we estimate that over 1,40,000 Indian students were approved in 2021. This total is 25% higher than in 2019,” said ApplyBoard.
Josh Schachnow, immigration lawyer and founder of Visto.ai, a tech talent search platform, expressed mixed feelings: “While the announcement will ease the financial burden on students, the bottom line is to find the right kind of job, experience that counts for permanent residency.”
Madhav Dave, whose social media bio lists him as an Ontario-based supply chain management student, said: “This is indeed a great opportunity, but the ball is in the court of the employer. I wonder how flexible they would be. Assuming a student must attend college at least one or two days a week, that leaves three weekdays and weekends. Can an employer hire a student three days a week in a decent white collar job? »
“Many international students have previous experience that can be used to their advantage, but all they are able to do while studying is general labor or work in restaurants. Give us the salary minimum, but at least give us an opportunity so that we can start to gain experience and be ready for the market when we graduate, this will also help employers who are looking for “new experienced”, “he said. -he adds.
“Today’s (Friday) announcement is not about labor shortages, but about labor mobility and labor rights, and that’s the direct result of years of tireless organizing by current and former international students. Removing the limit on working hours while studying gives migrant students the power to quit bad jobs, speak out against exploitation and abuse, and the freedom and flexibility to make decisions about their work,” said Sarom Rhoa Migrant Students United organizer at the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.
In 2019, Indian Jobandeep Singh Sandhu, who was studying mechanical engineering, had his immigration status stripped and eventually deported from Canada for driving trucks beyond the stipulated 20 hours a week. Since then, the Alliance has been actively calling for change.
An average shift is eight hours. Part-time work is generally considered to be three days a week (this corresponds to a minimum of 24 hours). The 20-hour work limit has effectively forced migrant students to engage in irregular work, outside the protection of labor law, the Alliance points out.
Harshill Dhingra, a former international student at Humber College, said: “Migrant students like me pushed and won this change. I was a victim of this work restriction. Last year I injured my left finger in a very serious accident while working for money in a restaurant and decided to shut up because I was afraid of being deported. He added: “No one should have to fight for things like permission to know where, how and how much we want to work; 1.7 million migrants need permanent residence, so we have the same rights as everyone else.
This was echoed by Ontario’s Jeevan Singh D, who works in the education sector: “It reduces the risk of students needing to have paid jobs where they are paid $5 an hour for 80 working hours, and no jobs. workers’ rights or insurance coverage. Reducing the risk of worker exploitation is definitely positive.
