Canada tightens overtime for international students

International students are only allowed to work 24 hours per week, instead of the current 40 hours, in the context of Canada tightening a series of policies to reduce immigration.

The information was announced by Immigration Minister Mac Miller on April 30, effective from September. International students currently in Canada can still work 40 hours per week until the end of this summer.

Previously, Canada allowed international students to work up to 20 hours per week. However, from the end of 2022, this limit will be raised to reduce labor shortages and help students cover expenses when prices rise.

Minister Mac Miller said the above measures helped the economy recover from the pandemic, but are no longer necessary.

"Working part-time helps international students gain experience and cover some expenses... But they come here to study, not to work," said Mr. Miller.

In fact, Canada has been considering reducing international students’ work hours to 20 or 30 hours per week since late last year. Mr. Miller said the new regulation is reasonable, similar to the UK (20 hours) or Australia (24 hours).

"More than 80% of students are working more than 20 hours. We think it would be too burdensome to reduce it below that level," he said. "If it were 30 hours, it would affect the quality of learning and increase the risk of students dropping out."

McGill University campus, Canada. Photo: McGill University Fanpage — McGill University campus, Canada. Photo: *McGill University Fanpage*

To curb the influx of immigrants - which has increased to a record level in more than 6 decades - since October 2023, Canada has continuously tightened regulations on international students. The country plans to grant permits to only 360,000 new international students in 2024, down 35% from last year. In addition, students in public-private partnership programs or spouses of international undergraduate students will no longer be granted work permits.

Along with the US, Canada is one of the two most popular destinations for international students, with 900,000. About 40% come from India, followed by China (12%). The number of Vietnamese students is more than 16,000.

Tuition fees for international students in the 2023/24 academic year are around CAD 17,000-50,000 (VND 304-680 million). According to Shiksha, a consulting organization, international students in Canada often work part-time at fast food restaurants and retail stores, earning around USD 13-25 an hour.

Doan Hung

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