How many hours can international students work in Canada?

The short answer

If you meet IRCC’s conditions, you can work up to 24 hours per week off campus during regular school terms. You can have more than one job, but all your off-campus hours together must stay within 24 hours (IRCC).

• During regular terms: up to 24 hours per week off campus, all jobs together.
• During scheduled breaks, like the summer or winter holidays or a reading week: unlimited hours. See working during scheduled breaks.
• On campus: no limit on hours.
• If your program has no scheduled breaks: up to 24 hours per week all year.

The 24-hour limit applies since November 8, 2024 (IRCC operational instructions). Before that, the limit was 20 hours (IRCC, April 2024), so older pages still say 20.

Who can work off campus

IRCC lists these conditions, and you need to meet all of them (IRCC):

• You study full time at a designated learning institution (DLI).
• You have started your studies.
• Your program is post-secondary (academic, vocational or professional), or a secondary-level vocational program in Quebec.
• Your program lasts at least 6 months and leads to a degree, diploma or certificate.
• Your study permit allows off-campus work.
• You have a Social Insurance Number (SIN).

Students in an English or French as a second language program only, or in general-interest courses, can’t work off campus.

What counts toward the 24 hours

IRCC defines hours as “any time you spend earning wages or collecting a commission” (IRCC). In practice:

• Every off-campus job counts, and the hours of all your jobs add up.
• Unpaid breaks don’t count in Hourpip, because you don’t earn wages during them.
• On-campus work doesn’t count. You can work on campus in addition to working off campus (IRCC operational instructions), and there is no limit on on-campus hours (IRCC).
• Remote work for an employer outside Canada doesn’t count toward the 24 hours (IRCC).
• Required co-op and internship placements follow their own rules (IRCC). Hourpip tracks them separately.

When does a week start?

IRCC’s pages say “per week” but don’t say which day a week starts. We checked the off-campus work page, IRCC’s operational instructions and the Help Centre: none of them defines it.

Hourpip counts weeks from Monday 00:00 to Sunday 24:00, in your local time. This is a provisional choice for display, not an IRCC definition. Your employer’s pay period may start on another day, so a pay stub and Hourpip can group the same hours differently.

What this means for you: the limit is per week, so a quiet week doesn’t make room in the next one. McGill’s international student office says the same: hours can’t be averaged across weeks (McGill). If you are close to 24 hours, leave yourself a margin around the weekend, especially with shifts that cross midnight on Sunday.

During scheduled breaks

During a break scheduled by your school, such as the summer or winter holidays or a reading week, you can work unlimited hours off campus (IRCC). The break must last at least 7 consecutive days, and other conditions apply (IRCC Help Centre). Our guide to working during scheduled breaks explains them, with a sample school year.

If you go over 24 hours

Working more than 24 hours in a week during your sessions breaks the conditions of your study permit (IRCC). IRCC says you can lose your student status, your future study or work permit applications may not be approved, and you may have to leave Canada (IRCC).

If you think you went over, talk to your school’s international student office, a licensed immigration consultant (RCIC) or a lawyer. This page can’t tell you what will happen in your case.

Keep your own record

IRCC says you are responsible for keeping track of the hours you work off campus (IRCC). Each employer sees only their own shifts, so the weekly total is yours to keep.

• Keep your pay stubs from every job.
• Write down each shift: date, job, start, end and unpaid break.
• Add up each week, Monday to Sunday, with our work hours calculator, a spreadsheet or an app. We compare the options in apps to track your work hours.