Canada allows international students to work more part-time, tightens requirements when transferring schools

The Canadian government continues to make many new moves related to study abroad policy, including regulations on part-time work, after a series of measures to tighten the number of international students.

Canadian school representatives advise Vietnamese students at a workshop in October.

Increase overtime hours, why?

On November 15 (November 16, Vietnam time), the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that it would increase the number of hours international students are allowed to work off-campus during school hours, up to a maximum of 24 hours/week instead of just 20 hours as before. Meanwhile, if they work on-campus or off-campus during the holidays, international students can still work unlimited hours as before.

IRCC Minister Marc Miller said the new rules would allow international students to earn extra income while ensuring they can focus on their studies. "International students deserve to have a positive and successful experience in Canada, and today's changes will help make that happen," he said in a statement.

According to IRCC, international students who want to work part-time without a work permit must study full-time at schools recognized by the Canadian government (college, university, vocational training). The study program must last at least 6 months and award a relevant degree or certificate. Previously, during the Covid-19 period, Canada also raised the limit on part-time work to 40 hours/week to address the labor shortage, but this policy ended in April.

Another new regulation, according to Miller, is that international students who want to transfer schools while studying in Canada will now have to apply for a new study permit, instead of simply updating the relevant information in IRCC's system. Additionally, schools that do not comply with IRCC's requirements can now be suspended from accepting new international students for up to a year. "These improvements support international students and protect their learning experience," IRCC said.

A few days earlier, IRCC abruptly stopped the Student Direct Stream (SDS) program, a priority visa program applied in 14 countries, including Vietnam. This means that Vietnamese people now have to prove their financial capacity with at least one of the documents mentioned in the regulations, instead of just needing a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) worth CAD 20,635 (VND 374 million) issued by Canadian banks.

The suspension of SDS means that Vietnamese people are now likely to face a more difficult and slower study permit approval process than before. Because, data from IRCC in 2022 shows that 22% of Vietnamese people applied for study permits under SDS, the approval rate was 77% - 16% higher than the normal process. On the other hand, the average processing time for SDS is 20 days, while the normal process is 11 weeks, according to an update on November 5 from IRCC.

The increase in overtime hours is rare good news for international students in the context of Canada's continuous policy adjustments.

PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

Notable changes this year

Over the past 12 months, Canada has continuously issued many regulations with the aim of reducing the number of temporary residents in the country, including international students. Specifically, Canada limits the number of new study permits issued each year and in 2025, Canada will only issue a maximum of 437,000 new study permits. This level also includes both master's and doctoral degrees, instead of being limited to bachelor's degrees as in 2024.

In addition, since the beginning of November, IRCC has stipulated that applicants who want to apply for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) must now provide an additional English or French language certificate according to the requirements of their level of study. In addition, for those who have not graduated with a bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate degree from a university, applicants must study a field in the list published by IRCC to be eligible to apply for a PGWP.

Previously, IRCC also doubled the financial proof requirement for international students, to 20,635 CAD, in addition to tuition and travel expenses for the first year. IRCC also stipulated that applicants studying master's programs with a training duration of 16 months or more are eligible for their spouse to apply for a work permit, instead of just needing to study a master's degree as before.

However, experts say that tightening regulations will help Vietnamese students enjoy many positive benefits. The government's tightening of regulations will not affect schools in Canada, as many units have decided to apply admission policies based on academic records and English proficiency for Vietnamese people by 2025.

According to a report from IRCC, Canada attracts more than 1 million international students to study in 2023. IRCC statistics also show that the total number of Vietnamese studying in Canada has been on a continuous downward trend, from 21,480 in 2019 to 16,140 in 2022. But in 2023, Vietnamese international students in Canada increased slightly, to 17,175 people and ranked 8th in number.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/canada-cho-phep-du-hoc-sinh-lam-them-nhieu-hon-siet-yeu-cau-khi-chuyen-truong-185241116074600754.htm