You and your employer must make sure you can work off campus without a work permit before you start working. If you start working off campus but don’t meet the requirements, you may have to leave Canada.

You can only start working in Canada when your study program has started. You can’t work before you start your studies.

If you’re able to work during your studies, it’ll say so in the conditions on your study permit.

If you’re eligible for off-campus work, you don’t need a work permit.

Eligibility requirements

You can work off campus without a work permit if you meet all of these requirements:

     ● you’re a full-time student at a designated learning institution (DLI)

     ● you’re enrolled in

     ● a post-secondary academic, vocational or professional training program or

● a secondary-level vocational training program (Quebec only)

● your study program

     ● is at least 6 months long and

     ● leads to a degree, diploma or certificate

● you’ve started studying

● you have a Social Insurance Number (SIN)

If you’re a part-time student at a DLI

You can work off campus only if:

     ● you meet all of the requirements above, except the requirement to be a full-time student, and

     ● you’re only studying part-time, instead of full-time, because:

     ● you’re in the last semester of your study program and you don’t need a full course load to complete your program and

     ● you were a full-time student in your program in Canada, up until your last semester

If you’re on an authorized leave

If you’re on an authorized leave from your studies, or you’re switching schools and you’re not studying, you can’t work off campus. You can only return to work once you’re back to studying.

Get a Social Insurance Number to work in Canada

A SIN is a 9-digit number that the Government of Canada gives you. You need one to work in Canada.

To apply for a SIN to work off campus, you must have 1 of these conditions printed on your study permit:

     ● May work 20 hours per week off campus or full-time during regular breaks if meeting criteria outlined in paragraph 186(v) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.

     ● May accept employment on or off campus if meeting eligibility criteria, per paragraph R186(f), (v) or (w) and must cease working if no longer meeting these criteria.

If your study permit doesn’t have work conditions on it

You can ask to have these conditions added if you’re eligible to work off campus. There’s no fee to add these conditions to your permit.

You’ll need to request an amendment to your study permit before you can apply for a SIN from Service Canada.