Off-Campus Work Hours in Canada for Students: 24-Hour Rule (2026)

The off-campus work hours limit for international students in Canada is 24 hours per week while classes are in session, and unlimited hours during a scheduled break such as summer, winter holidays or reading week. You qualify only if you are a full-time student at a designated learning institution (DLI) in an eligible program of at least six months, your study permit allows off-campus work, your program has started and you have a Social Insurance Number (SIN). Working more than allowed breaks your study permit conditions. The 24-hour rule has applied since IRCC’s regulations of November 2024 took effect.

Last checked: 20 October 2026, against IRCC pages on canada.ca (updated April and September 2026).

This guide covers only the hour rules and who is allowed to work off campus. For finding a job, see our guide to international student jobs in Canada in 2026, and for how Canada compares with the USA, UK and Australia, see part-time work rules for international students.

Off-campus work hours in Canada: key facts

Who can work off campus

According to IRCC’s work off campus page, you can work off campus without a separate work permit only if all of these are true:

• You are a full-time student at a designated learning institution.
• You have started your study program.
• You are enrolled in a post-secondary academic, vocational or professional training program (or a secondary-level vocational program in Quebec).
• You have a valid study permit, or you applied to extend it before it expired.
• Your program is at least 6 months long and leads to a degree, diploma or certificate.
• Your initial study permit has conditions that allow off-campus work.
• You have a Social Insurance Number (SIN).

Check your study permit. To get a SIN for off-campus work, one of IRCC’s specific work conditions must be printed on your permit. If it is missing, IRCC says you must request an amendment to your study permit before applying to Service Canada for a SIN. Our guide to student tax ID numbers including the SIN explains the SIN itself.

Part-time students and your final semester

Normally only full-time students can work off campus. IRCC makes one exception: you can study part-time and still work off campus if you are in your last semester and do not need a full course load to finish, and you were a full-time student in your program in Canada until that last semester. If you drop to part-time for any other reason, you lose the right to work off campus.

Scheduled breaks: when you can work full-time

IRCC’s Help Centre answer on work hours sets out what counts as a scheduled break:

• It must be scheduled by your school.
• It must last at least 7 consecutive days. A one-week break including the weekend counts.
• A statutory holiday on its own (such as Labour Day), or a long weekend created by one, is not a scheduled break.
• If a statutory holiday falls inside a real scheduled break, the unlimited-hours rule applies for the whole break.

Two newer limits matter for students with long summers or back-to-back breaks. If your school’s breaks run together for more than 150 consecutive days, you can work off campus only during the first 150 days. And across a calendar year, all your unlimited-hours days together cannot exceed 180. Once your school year restarts, you are back to 24 hours a week.

Whether you take courses part-time or full-time during the break does not affect your right to work unlimited hours in that break, IRCC says. But IRCC says you must meet all the requirements for working off campus before you start working.

How to count your hours

IRCC says hours means any time you spend earning wages or collecting a commission. If you are self-employed, such as freelancing or delivery work, you must also track time spent being paid for a service or product. IRCC places the responsibility on you: you must track your hours and be able to prove you followed your permit conditions.

1. Keep every pay stub and your T4 slips.
2. Keep a simple weekly log (date, employer, hours) if you have more than one job.
3. Save your school’s official academic calendar each year, showing break dates.
4. Add up all jobs together. Two jobs of 15 hours each is 30 hours, which is over the limit.
5. If an employer pressures you to work extra shifts during term, say no in writing.

What happens if you work more than 24 hours

IRCC states plainly that working more than 24 hours per week during an academic session “is a violation of your study permit conditions.” It says you may:

• lose your student status;
• not be approved for a future study permit or work permit; and
• have to leave Canada.

It can also cost you after graduation. One of the conditions for working full-time while your post-graduation work permit (PGWP) application is processed is that you did not go over your allowed off-campus hours. See our PGWP application guide for how that works.

Co-op placements and work after your studies

• Co-op and internships: placements that are a required part of your program follow separate rules, with no weekly hour limit as long as the placement is 50% or less of your program. Since 1 April 2026 most post-secondary students no longer need a separate co-op work permit. See our co-op work permit guide.
• After you finish: if you applied for a PGWP or another work permit before your study permit expired, and you were eligible to work off campus during your studies, IRCC says you can work unlimited hours while you wait. If that application is refused, you must stop working and leave Canada.

For Nepali students: plan money realistically

Many families in Nepal plan on the idea that a student “will earn and pay rent there”. The 24-hour cap makes that risky. You cannot work at all before your program starts, the first job search takes time, and pay depends on the provincial minimum wage (see minimum wage in Canada by province). Treat part-time income as help with daily costs, not as a way to cover tuition or the funds you must show IRCC.

Common mistakes

• Starting work during orientation week before classes begin.
• Treating a long weekend or a single holiday as a “break”.
• Counting hours per job instead of across all jobs.
• Working full-time all summer when the program has no scheduled summer break.
• Dropping to part-time mid-program and continuing to work.
• Applying for a SIN without the right condition printed on the study permit.

What to do next

• Read the conditions printed on your study permit when you land, and request an amendment straight away if the work condition is missing.
• Download your school’s academic calendar and mark the official break dates.
• Get your SIN, then start a simple hours log from your first shift.
• Ask your school’s international student office if you are unsure whether a break qualifies.

Frequently asked questions

How many hours can international students work in Canada in 2026?
Up to 24 hours per week off campus while classes are in session, and unlimited hours during scheduled breaks of at least 7 consecutive days, up to 180 unlimited-hour days per calendar year.

Can international students work full-time in summer in Canada?
Yes, if summer is a break scheduled by your school and you were eligible to work off campus before it started. If back-to-back breaks run over 150 consecutive days, you can work off campus only for the first 150 days.

My study permit says 20 hours per week. Can I work 24?
Yes. IRCC says students whose permits show 20 hours can work up to 24 hours per week if they meet the eligibility requirements.

What happens if I work more than 24 hours a week as a student in Canada?
IRCC treats it as a violation of your study permit conditions. You could lose student status, be refused future study or work permits, and have to leave Canada.

Can I work before my classes start in Canada?
No. IRCC says you can start working only once your study program has started.

Do co-op hours count toward the 24-hour limit?
Required co-op or internship placements follow separate rules: IRCC says there is no weekly hour limit for student work placements, as long as the placement is 50% or less of the program.

Related guides

• Canada Health Insurance for International Students by Province
• PGWP Application Step by Step: Fees, Documents, 180 Days
• Canada College vs University for Nepali Students (2026)
• Canada Study Permit Application from Nepal: 2026 Steps

Sources

• Work off campus as an international student – IRCC
• Can I work as many hours as I want if I’m eligible to work off campus? – IRCC Help Centre
• Can I continue to work during scheduled school breaks? – IRCC Help Centre
• Work in a student work placement (co-op) – IRCC
• New International Student Program regulations take effect (24-hour rule) – IRCC news release, 15 November 2024

Last checked: 20 October 2026. This is general information, not legal or immigration advice.