Five Ways International Students can Work in Canada
Citizenship and Immigration Canada has made it easy for international students to get work experience while they study, and after. There are five ways International students can work in Canada and build their career with Canadian work experience.
As an international student in Canada, you can benefit from the employment regulations and tips explained under each type of work below.
On Campus Work
Under Canadian law, a full time international student can work on campus for 20 hours per week for the first six months of their studies without a work permit.
Off Campus Work
After six months of full time study, an international student in Canada can apply for a work permit to work up to 20 hours per week on or off campus and full time during scheduled breaks, including summer or winter holidays and reading weeks.
Internship / Co-op Work Placement
Another way international students obtain Canadian work experience is by taking a program that includes an internship or co-op work placement. Students in co-op programs complete up to three work terms at a Canadian company or corporation, doing work related to their program of study as a paid employee. Graduates of co-op programs have the benefit of having already acquired one year of Canadian work experience in their field by the time they graduate. Many other programs offer internships, which are unpaid, but still allow international students to build their career with Canadian work experience.
Volunteer Work Experience
Canadian employers view volunteer work experience as very valuable, and the life experiences you can take away are priceless: “I feel that it has been an excellent experience for me because I have learned about another country’s culture. The Carnival experience; I will never forget in my life,” tells Tiffany Lin, international student from Guangdong Province, China that volunteered with Centennial’s team to design and build a costume showpiece in Toronto’s annual Caribbean Carnival.
Staying in Canada and Working after Graduation
After successful graduation, international students may be eligible to apply for a post-graduate work permit to stay and work in Canada for up to three years.
Every semester, work permit workshops are offered at Centennial College. During these workshops international students are eager to know how they can maximize the length of their post-graduate work permit, as well as how and when to apply. “The presentation at the workshop made the application process clear and I received good advice that will give me a chance to apply for a longer post-graduate work permit. It was a great experience” says Japanese International student Miwa Amada, who is studying Business Foundations now and wants to continue on to study Accounting or Financial Planning at Centennial College.
“You can only receive a post-graduate work permit in Canada once, so if a student is considering a second program or wants to continue on to university with transfer credits, he/she should wait until completing all of their studies in Canada to maximize the length of the post-graduate work permit they are eligible to apply for. The length of a post-graduate work permit will be determined by Canadian Immigration and Citizenship (CIC), but it will correspond to the length of program(s) a student has graduated from to date.” explains Keiko Umemoto, Advisor in the Work Permit Program, Centennial College.
If you have a question about the type of work available to you as an international student, consult Citizenship and Immigration Canada online. Feel free to post a question to the Centennial College International Centre Facebook page for assistance.