If you are a student in Brampton, you probably know someone who has said it: “Everyone works more than the limit. They only check if you get caught.” Many students feel that pressure. Rent in Peel Region is high, tuition for international students is higher, and shift work at warehouses, restaurants and delivery companies is easy to find. A second job can look like an obvious fix.
But the risk falls entirely on you. Going over the limit is a breach of your study permit conditions, and it can follow you to your next permit application, your post-graduation work permit and your permanent residence file. The employer who was happy to schedule you for 35 hours a week does not face that consequence in the same way, and your friends will not be there to explain your record to an officer.
This article is general information, not legal advice on your own permit. Rules for international students have changed many times, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) can change them again. Check your permit wording and IRCC’s current pages before you rely on anything here.
First Question: Are You Eligible at All?
The off-campus work rule has a checklist, and every item must be true at the same time. You can work off campus without a separate work permit only if:
- You are a full-time student at a designated learning institution (DLI)
- You have actually started your program
- You are in a post-secondary academic, vocational or professional program (or a secondary-level vocational program in Quebec)
- You hold a valid study permit, or applied to extend it before it expired
- Your program is at least six months long and leads to a degree, diploma or certificate
- Your initial study permit includes a condition allowing work
- You have a social insurance number (SIN)
Some situations leave you outside the rule. You cannot work off campus while you are studying only English or French as a second language, while you are taking general interest courses, or while completing courses you must finish before entering a full-time program. That last item affects many students who arrive in Brampton for a preparatory or bridging program before beginning their main diploma. Nor can you work if your permit prohibits off-campus work.
The work must also not begin before your program does. Arriving in August for a September start does not mean you can take warehouse shifts in the meantime.
Next, look at the conditions printed on your study permit. They may say that you may work if eligible, or they may state a limit in hours. If your permit says 20 hours per week, the current limit of 24 hours still applies, assuming you remain eligible.
If your permit does not carry a work condition at all, and you believe you should be eligible, you can request that it be added. This must be done before you apply for a SIN. Where the wording is missing because of an error, no fee applies. If you only became eligible after your permit was issued, for example because you finished prerequisites or changed to an eligible program, you may have to apply to change your conditions from inside Canada using form IMM 5709, pay the fee, and include a letter of explanation. Do not start working first and sort out the paperwork afterward.
The 24-Hour Rule
During a regular academic term, you may work up to 24 hours per week off campus. There are three points that students often misunderstand.
All your jobs count together. Twenty hours at a coffee shop in Bramalea City Centre and eight hours of delivery work is 28 hours. Working for two employers does not give you two limits. Neither employer may know about the other, which is why you are the one who needs to keep the total.
Keep your own records. IRCC says that you must track your hours and be able to prove that you complied. Do not rely on an employer’s schedule. Keep pay stubs, and a simple log by week of hours for each job.
Self-employment and commission count. Hours include time spent earning wages or collecting commissions. Self-employed students must track and prove their hours in the same way. Driving for a ride-share or food delivery app, or running a small business selling products online, is not a loophole. If you are logged in, doing paid work, count the time honestly and be careful about how you record it. Waiting time on gig platforms can be a grey area, so keep generous records, and do not assume that only completed trips count.
A practical tip: count weeks consistently, and leave some room below the limit. If a shift runs over because a co-worker called in sick, a schedule set at exactly 24 hours leaves no cushion.
Scheduled Breaks
During breaks scheduled by your school, such as summer break, winter break or reading week, you may work without a limit on hours. You may study part-time or full-time during that break, depending on your circumstances.
The key word is scheduled. The break must be one set by your DLI, and you should be able to show it from your college’s academic calendar. Taking a term off because you need the money doesn’t make it a break. Nor does a free day in your timetable. If your program has no scheduled breaks, the 24-hour limit applies at all times.
Be especially careful about the first and last days of the break. Note them from the school’s calendar, keep a copy, and go back to the weekly limit when classes restart. Students at Sheridan College, Algoma University’s Brampton campus and private career colleges should check their own institution’s dates, since terms and intake dates may differ from one program to another.
Dropping to Part-Time, Taking Leave, or Changing Schools
Your eligibility can disappear in the middle of a job without any notice. If you stop being a full-time student during a regular session, you generally lose the right to work off campus.
There is a limited exception. A student may work part-time if they are in their final semester, do not need a full course load to finish, and were full-time earlier in their program in Canada. It does not apply to a student who has simply dropped a course or two earlier in the program.
The following situations often cause problems:
- Authorized leave. While you are on leave from your studies, you are not eligible to work off campus.
- Changing schools. Being between schools without studying also ends your eligibility until you begin studying again. Before transferring, look at how the gap affects you, and update your school information with IRCC as required.
- Academic probation or withdrawal. If your school removes you from a program, or you fail so many courses that you are no longer full-time, you may lose eligibility and your compliance with permit conditions may be in question.
- A permit that expires. If you did not apply to extend before the expiry date, your right to work ends. If you did apply in time, you may continue under the same conditions while waiting.
Talk to your school’s international student office before making these moves. Do not wait until after you have changed your course load.
After You Finish Your Program
Once you complete your studies, your authorization to work under the off-campus rule generally stops, even if there is time left on your study permit. There are a few exceptions where you may be able to work without limits on your hours while awaiting a decision.
One is where you applied for a work permit or a post-graduation work permit before your study permit expired. Another applies to someone starting another program. You must have been eligible to work off campus before, hold a valid or extended permit, have written confirmation that you finished your previous program, have an acceptance letter for another full-time program at a DLI, and begin within 150 calendar days of the date on the completion confirmation.
If the work or study application is refused, you must stop working and leave Canada, unless you have some other basis to stay. Plan for that possibility, including money for leaving and copies of any refusal, so that you can get advice quickly if it happens.
What Doesn’t Count Toward the Limit
Not all work falls under the 24-hour rule.
- On-campus work has separate rules. A job at your college bookstore doesn’t fall under the off-campus limit, but you still have to meet the on-campus conditions.
- Co-op and internship placements are also separate. A required placement that makes up part of your program may need a co-op work permit, and you need to check that with your school.
- Remote work for an employer outside Canada can be done from Canada as long as you still comply with your permit conditions, and those hours do not count toward the limit.
Each of these has conditions, so read them before you assume your job fits.
What Happens If You Go Over
IRCC says that working beyond the limit violates your permit conditions, and that it can lead to loss of student status, refusal of future study or work permits, and possible removal from Canada.
How could an officer find out? There are several ordinary paths. Your T4 slips and income tax filings show how much you earned, and an income well beyond what 24 hours a week at your wage could produce is easy to see. Your application for a post-graduation work permit or permanent residence may ask about your employment history. Employer inspections, and information from other sources, can also come into it.
A breach can be a problem even without a formal finding. An application form may ask whether you have ever worked without authorization. Answering falsely could create a misrepresentation problem, which is usually worse than the breach. If you have already gone over the limit, do not panic and do not hide it on a form. Stop working over the limit straight away, and speak to a lawyer before submitting your next application. Getting advice early lets you think through the options while you still have time.
There are also other risks. Being paid in cash outside the records may look attractive when an employer suggests it, but it leaves you with no proof of your hours, no T4, and no record if you later need to show your work history. If an employer holds back wages, threatens to report you, or keeps your passport or other documents, that is an employment and possibly a criminal matter. Ask for help. Your immigration status does not remove your rights under Ontario’s employment standards laws.
Getting Your Records in Order
Good habits take very little time and can save a great deal of trouble later.
- Keep your permit, your enrolment letters and proof of full-time status for every term
- Save the academic calendar showing scheduled breaks for each year
- Keep a weekly log of hours from every job, along with pay stubs
- File your taxes every year, and keep your Notices of Assessment
- Tell your school and IRCC about changes as required
- Note your study permit expiry date, and apply to extend well before it
If you plan to apply for a post-graduation work permit, remember that time studying is also being looked at, including whether you have complied with your conditions.
When to Get Advice
Consider speaking with a lawyer if you have worked over the limit, have lost full-time status, have been told that your permit may be cancelled, or have received a procedural fairness letter. These letters usually come with a short deadline. You can read about study permits on our website or contact our Brampton office to book a consultation. Paying rent matters, but so does protecting the future that brought you to Canada in the first place.