Tips for working when studying in Canada

25/11/2022

Thanks to the open policies of the Canadian government, international students will have the opportunity to work part-time to cover living and study costs while studying abroad as well as enter the Canadian labor market after graduation. However, students will need to comply with regulations regarding types of jobs, working hours, required documents, etc.

The following article from Saigon Business School will provide information about work experience when studying in Canada, let's find out now!

I. Tips for working part-time while studying in Canada

Conditions for working part-time while studying in Canada

Students transferring full-time or part-time Bachelor's degrees in their final semester at a Canadian university (e.g. University Canada West) will be allowed to work part-time. In particular, the general conditions for students to work part-time include:

18 years old or older;
Possessing a Canadian student visa and a Study Permit;
Students are only allowed to work part-time after starting their official study program in Canada;

When studying abroad in Canada, students will have 02 forms of part-time work including on-campus and off-campus. Details of those who are allowed to work and the requirements of the two forms of part-time work for international students will be updated in the following table.

	On-campus	Off-campus
Workplace	Buildings/infrastructure located on campus; Libraries, research facilities, etc. off-campus but affiliated with the university;	Outside the campus;
Numbers of hours allowed	Unlimited working hours during the course;	The number of working hours must not exceed 20 hours/week (this number of hours may be increased during winter/summer breaks, however students need to ensure that they still study full-time during the period before and after the holidays) (* ); Students are allowed to work on multiple jobs at the same time as long as they do not exceed the regulated time.
Who are allowed to do	Full-time international students of a post-secondary program at one of the following educational institutions: Public post-secondary school: a public college, university or CEGEP school in Quebec; Private post-secondary schools operate in the same way as public schools in Quebec; Public and private secondary or post-secondary schools that offer training programs of 900 hours or more leading to a diploma in career studies (DVS) or professional certification (AVS); Canadian private schools can legally award degrees under provincial/state law (e.g., associate's, bachelor's, master's, doctoral degrees), but only to students enrolled in a program of study degree output is authorized by the province/state. This may not include all study programs offered by private institutions; Valid Study Permit; and Have a social insurance number SIN;	Full-time international student of a designated training institution, with a DLI code (Refer to University Canada West); Students participating in 01 post-secondary program in academic, vocational, professional training or vocational training program (in Quebec only); The study program lasts at least 6 months, the final degree received is a bachelor's degree, associate degree, certificate; The study permit is valid and shows the student's permission to work off-campus; Have a social insurance number SIN;
Who are not allowed to do	Stop joining full-time study program; Study Permit expired; Student absent from school (with confirmation by DLI for some special reasons); Students who are in the process of transferring schools and are not attending school;	The study permit does not express permission for the student to work off-campus; Students enrolled in English/French as a Second Language (ESL/FSL) programs only; Students only participate in programs of interest; Students only take the required courses to be accepted into the full-time program; The student's status changes and does not meet the requirements for off-campus work;

Notes:

(*) In order to solve the current labor shortage, the Canadian government is applying a temporary regulation from November 15, 2022 to December 31, 2023, international students are not limited by 20 hours/week;
SIN: Social Insurance Number, issued by the government of Canada, 9 digits in length, allowing international students to work part-time and receive Government of Canada benefits and services;
DLI: Designated Learning Institution - Designated educational institution, authorized by the Canadian government to enroll international students who wish to study at one of the training institutions in Canada;
If students are not allowed to work off-campus but still want to work off-campus, they need to apply for a Work Permit;

Conditions for applying for a Study Permit

To study legally in Canada, in addition to a visa, a Study Permit is also an extremely important document. This is understood as a document that allows international students to study for a specified period of time by the Canadian government.

Normally, students will be granted a Study Permit and a Canadian visa according to the length of their study program here. In case students want to continue studying in another program, students need to be accepted into a program of study at a designated educational institution, then apply for an extension of their study visa if they are still in Canada at the time of application. If you have already exited Canada, you will need to apply for a new Study Permit and student visa. Applications for renewal should be submitted 3 to 4 months in advance before the study permit and visa expires.

Details of the conditions and steps to apply for a Study Permit can be found HERE.

Popular part-time jobs when studying in Canada

Students have a lot of options for part-time jobs with salaries in the range of CA$10 - 15, of which popular jobs can be mentioned as:

Waiter/waiter, bartender: CA$13/hour on average;
Sales assistant: CA$14/hour on average;
Barista: CA$14/hour on average;
Dog walking: CA$15/hour on average;
Tutor: CA$16/hour on average;
Other freelance jobs: translation, content creation, design, website programming, etc.;

II. Experience of getting a job in Canada after graduation

After graduation, students can apply for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) with a term of from 8 months to a maximum of 3 years (depending on the length of the program). With this permit, students can work anywhere in Canada, gain work experience, make a solid foundation for the process of applying for individual permanent residence and expand their opportunities to settle in Canada.

Conditions for being granted a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) in Canada:

Aged 18 years and older;
Continuously being a full-time student (except for the case of part-time study in the final term or a leave of absence with the school's written approval for some special circumstances);
Have completed a study program lasting at least 8 months, and been awarded a certificate (certificate), diploma (diploma) or bachelor (degree) in Canada;
There is an official confirmation from the university that the program has been completed;
Submit your application up to 180 days after the official end of the study program, and
Graduate from an eligible program of study for a PGWP;

With the above general and updated information, we hope you can well prepare for working when studying in Canada. For an education system consisting of universities as diverse in professions and fields as Canada, finding and choosing schools and majors that are suitable for the majority of students and parents is equally important. For more advice on studying in Canada, please contact the Admissions Office or leave your information below.

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