Studying in Canada: Work permits for students - Working off campus

The Off-Campus Work Permit Program allows certain foreign students to work off campus while completing their studies. To qualify, you must be a full-time student enrolled at a participating publicly funded post-secondary educational institution or in an approved program at an eligible privately funded institution.

Participating publicly funded post-secondary educational institutions:

are public post-secondary institutions, such as a college or university or a collège d’enseignement général et professionnel (CEGEP) in Quebec or
are private post-secondary institutions that operate under the same rules and regulations as public institutions, and receive at least 50 percent of their financing for their overall operations from government grants (currently only private college-level educational institutions in Quebec qualify) and
have signed an off-campus work agreement with their provincial or territorial government.
Eligible privately funded post-secondary institutions:

are located in a province or territory that has signed a memorandum of understanding with CIC
have signed an off-campus work agreement with their provincial or territorial government and
have approval from their provincial or territorial government to grant specific degrees.
Please note that not all programs offered by private post-secondary educational institutions qualify. For more information on qualifying programs, contact the eligible institution directly.

See Off campus work permits for a list of participating institutions in the Off-Campus Work Permit Program.

To work off campus, you must apply for a work permit. Do not begin to work off campus until you have received your work permit. The work permit authorizes you to work up to 20 hours per week during regular academic sessions, and full time during scheduled breaks (for example, winter and summer holidays, and spring break).

A work permit does not guarantee that you will find a job. It is your responsibility to look for work. Even if you work off campus, your studies must be the main reason you are in Canada.

If you are no longer a full-time student or do not maintain satisfactory academic results, you must return your work permit to a local Citizenship and Immigration Canada office.

For more information about the program and the application process, contact the international student adviser at your educational institution.

Learn about:

Who can apply
How to apply
Frequently asked questions
Related Links
Off-campus work permits: Participating institutions
Apply for your Off-Campus Work Permit online
Self-Assessment Tool for Off-Campus Work Permit
Success Stories: Work Experience for the Future
Surrendering your off-campus work permit