(Ottawa) Companies with foreign students as employees will soon be able to offer them more shifts. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced Friday morning that the 20-hour limit allowed to work for this group of workers will be temporarily lifted.
Posted at 10:52
Currently, foreign students can work off campus for a maximum of 20 hours during their study sessions. The lifting of this working hour cap will be in effect from November 15 until the end of 2023. “This means that 500,000 students who are already here will be able to choose to work more if they wish,” said mentioned Mr. Fraser.
This new measure is intended in particular to counter the current labor shortage and to help businesses recover from the pandemic. “We are facing severe labor shortages across the country. Our employers are struggling to find and retain the workers needed in this time of economic recovery and growth, and immigration has a role to play in meeting those needs,” said the Minister.
Mr. Fraser argued that this could give entrepreneurs a helping hand, particularly as the holiday season approaches.
The Liberal also pointed out that the workplace is a place conducive to integration for foreign students. He nuanced that the goal is not for students to prioritize work at the expense of their study, but that it can be a great opportunity to gain work experience.
During his press conference, Mr. Fraser mentioned the pilot project of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) which aims to automate the processing of requests for extension of study permits. These applications already have a high approval rate of 96% this year and 97% last year, but Minister Fraser said Canada “can do better”.
He specified that no extension request is automatically refused, and that more complex files are analyzed by agents.
For now, the pilot project is restricted to a small group of people, but if successful, it could be expanded to reduce application processing times.