How Many Hours Can International Students Work in Canada?

During scheduled breaks between academic sessions, eligible study permit holders can generally work unlimited hours (the 24-hour weekly cap does not apply). IRCC indicates this applies to scheduled breaks of at least 7 consecutive days. Common scheduled breaks include:

• Winter break (typically December to January)
• Summer break between academic years
• A fall or spring reading week

A scheduled break must be officially recognized in your institution’s academic calendar, and you must keep meeting the off-campus work conditions. IRCC’s help centre caps unlimited break work at 180 days a calendar year.

If your academic program includes a required co-op, internship, or practicum, you may take part in that work placement. As of April 1, 2026, eligible post-secondary international students no longer need a separate co-op work permit to do a required work placement; you can work in the placement on your study permit. Secondary-level students still need a co-op work permit.

There is no weekly hour limit for a student work placement, and you can work for any employer your school’s work placement program accepts, even if it is off campus.

Conditions for a student work placement:

• The work placement must be required to complete your study program (not optional)
• The placement must total 50% or less of your study program
• You must hold a valid study permit (or have applied to extend it before it expired)
• You must be a full-time student at a DLI in a post-secondary academic, vocational or professional training program
• Your initial study permit has conditions printed on it that allow on-campus work, and your school gives you a letter confirming the placement is a requirement

Students in ESL/FSL, general-interest, or preparatory courses are generally not eligible for a work placement under these rules.

Once you graduate and receive a PGWP, the 24-hour weekly limit no longer applies. The PGWP is an open work permit, so you can generally work for almost any employer in Canada, in almost any job, for any number of hours.

A PGWP is issued once (the one extension IRCC describes is for a permit cut short by passport expiry), and its length depends on the level and length of your study program and your passport’s expiry, up to 3 years. The November 1, 2024 changes also added language requirements and, for programs other than bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees, a field-of-study requirement linked to jobs in long-term shortage. Verify the current PGWP rules on canada.ca and see our PGWP guide.

For Canadian Experience Class (CEC) purposes, you generally need to demonstrate at least 1 year of full-time-equivalent skilled work experience (TEER 0 to 3) gained in Canada in the 3 years before you apply. IRCC counts 1 year as 1,560 hours (30 hours per week), and part-time hours can be combined to reach the equivalent. Work done while you were a full-time student, including co-op terms, does not count.