Canada to automate study permit extension process; lifts off-campus work hour restrictions! Here’s how this will benefit you

Recognising the high approval rate for study permit extension, Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), announced the launch of a pilot project to automate the processing of the extension. However, the details about the pilot program have not been released yet.

The announcement included reminders for the recently launched measures, including a transition period for online students sitting abroad and an opportunity for those with expiring Post-Graduation Work Permits to obtain an open work permit for an additional 18 months.

You can check details about this here: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2022/10/international-students-to-help-address-canadas-labour-shortage.html. 

Moreover, due to the labour shortage, IRCC announced temporarily lifting the off-campus work hours restriction between November 15, 2022, and December 31, 2023. As of July, Canada was looking to fill nearly one million jobs as the country’s job vacancy rate fell to 5.4% from a peak of 6% in April this year.

How will this affect you?

Post-secondary international students in Canada can work off-campus for up to 20 hours per week during school sessions. This temporary measure will allow these students to work off-campus for more than 20 hours per week, even while school is in session.

This lift will also allow the students to gain valuable work experience in Canada. Moreover, If the pilot program to automate the study permit extension comes out successfully, it will be expanded to help reduce processing times. It will also allow officials to focus on more complex applications.

With extended study permits and uncapped work hours, Indian students and other international students will be able to support themselves better financially as they will be more capable of managing their cost of living in Canada, which is higher than in many countries, particularly India.

For more such updates, follow Leverage Edu News Updates.