OTTAWA-
Canada will temporarily allow international students to work more than 20 hours a week, in an effort to address persistent labor shortages.
Speaking at a cafe in Ottawa on Friday morning, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said the changes will begin Nov. 15 and be in effect until the end of 2023.
“This change will help support Canada’s post-pandemic growth,” Fraser said. “It will also give many post-secondary students a greater opportunity to support themselves.”
The labor market remains exceptionally tight, with nearly one million vacancies reported in the second quarter of 2022.
The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations welcomed the announcement, saying it was a step towards improving the educational experience for international students.
“Allowing international students to work more off-campus hours will help students pay for their education and increase educational experiences,” said Christian Fotang, president of the alliance.
“This is not only a victory for international students, but also for Canada.”
Fraser also announced a pilot program to help automate the application process for students to extend their study permits.
This will allow some requests to be automatically approved, but the new process will not automatically reject requests.
Fraser said the pilot project aims to reduce immigration backlogs and free up officers to work on more complex applications.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on October 7, 2022.