Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada (IRCC) has announced that the new rule of capping work hours for international students at 24 hours per week will be implemented ‘later this fall’.

“REMINDER: Eligible full-time students working off-campus can work 20 hours per week while class is in session. A new rule to increase to 24 hours per week is expected to take effect later this fall, as announced earlier this year,” IRCC posted on its official X (formerly known as Twitter) account.

 Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada, Marc Miller had announced that international students in Canada will now be able to work only 24 hours in a week, instead of 20 hours per week.

The current rule where students were allowed to work more than 20 hours per week off campus came to an end on April 30. Students who have a scheduled academic break can continue working unlimited hours, the official order added.

This change was brought in to ensure that international students, who go to Canada to pursue a higher degree, can concentrate on their academics, rather than spending all their time on part-time jobs. “First and foremost, international students come to Canada to study. This change will allow students to focus on their classes, while providing the option to work. We’ll continue to maintain the integrity of the program, while protecting students from vulnerability,” Marc Miller had earlier said.

As per the Canadian government, recent studies conducted in the US and Canada have shown that there is a considerable decline in academic performance for students working more than 28 hours per week and that working more than 24 hours per week increases the chances that a student will drop out of their programme.