Work permits for students: Working off campus—Who can apply

If you want to work off campus while you study in Canada, you must be registered as a full-time student at an eligible post-secondary educational institution participating in the Off-Campus Work Permit Program.

To be eligible for an Off-Campus Work Permit, you must:

• have a valid study permit
• study at a participating institution (for a list of participating institutions in the Off-Campus Work Permit Program, see the Related Links section at the bottom of this page)
• have been a full-time student for at least six of the 12 months preceding the date of your work permit application
• be in satisfactory academic standing (find out more about satisfactory academic standing in the Related Links section at the bottom of this page) and
• sign a form authorizing the institution, the province, and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to share your personal information (to confirm that you are continuing to study full time and that you are in satisfactory academic standing).

You are not eligible to apply for an Off-Campus Work Permit if you are:

• participating in a Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship Program funded by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT)
• participating in a Government of Canada Awards Program funded by DFAIT
• receiving funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
• participating in the Equal Opportunity Scholarship Program, Canada-Chile
• participating in the Canada-China Scholars Exchanges Program
• participating in the Organization of American States Fellowships Program
• attending a participating institution and registered in either an English as a Second Language or French as a Second Language program or
• a visiting or exchange student.

Maintaining eligibility

To keep your work permit, you must remain a full-time student at a participating institution and continue to obtain satisfactory academic results. If you are no longer a full-time student, if you move to a non-participating institution, or if you do not maintain satisfactory academic results, you must return your work permit immediately to a local CIC office.

It is illegal for you to work in Canada with an invalid work permit. The work permit will be invalid if you do not meet the eligibility requirements of the Off-Campus Work Permit Program.

If you return your work permit to a local CIC office because you have become ineligible for the program for any of the reasons mentioned above, you may reapply to the program at a later date if you become eligible again.

If you do not return your work permit to a local CIC office, you will be found to be non-compliant. This could have a negative impact on your current stay in Canada, and any applications you make to come to Canada in the future.

Find out more about surrendering your work permit in the Related Links section at the bottom of this page.

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Related Links

• Off-campus work permits: Participating institutions
• Satisfactory academic standing
• Surrendering your work permit