Benefits of Study in Canada

Work Permits

Many students will want to know if they can work while they study in Canada (or after they finish their studies).

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) facilitates work opportunities for students during their studies and upon graduation in Canada.

There are four streams of work for which international students may be eligible while/after they study:

• On-campus
• Off-campus
• Co-op work placement (or internship)
• Post-graduation work permit.

PLEASE NOTE: As of June 1st, 2014, students studying ESL or FSL may be affected by changes to legislation surrounding work while on study permits. Specifically:
“If you are studying English or French as a second language (ESL/FSL), or participating in general interest or preparatory courses, you will not be eligible to work during your studies, unless you become eligible to apply for a work permit with a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment from Employment and Social Development Canada”
(http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/study-changes.asp)

Students wanting information about working on campus at the institution in which they are enrolled should go to this link:
www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/work-oncampus.asp.
For information on working off-campus, they should visit this link:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/work-offcampus.asp
For information on co-op work placements and internships, this is the link:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/work-coop.asp
And for information on staying in Canada to work after graduation, students should visit this link:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/work-postgrad.asp
Work for Spouses: There may be work for the spouses of international students while they study in Canada. For more information, students can visit
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/work-spouse.asp

Living in Canada

Students should make sure they have the right documentation for studying in Canada. Information on what students require and application procedures for a study permit, temporary residence visa, or work permit is available at
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/work.asp

There are key documents international students must have with them when they fly to Canada, but students should avoid travelling with too much money or too much baggage.

International students will need temporary accommodation if they have not arranged for long-term housing before they get to Canada. The two most common forms of this are hostels and hotels. When they do choose long-term housing, it will either be on-campus or off-campus (private).

International students will have to decide how much of their banking and communications they want to keep going from home, and how much they should set up in Canada. Sometimes keeping home-country banking and communications plans can carry high fees.

As excited as international students will be to arrive in Canada, and as much fun as they will likely have while studying here, most will encounter some degree of culture shock. This is to be expected, but there are also ways to minimize any distress from this normal emotional transition.

Once students have been accepted by a Canadian education institution and have been approved for a study permit, it’s time to prepare for travel to Canada and living there while studying. The agent can play a helpful role in this planning stage by providing students with essential information to make their travel and adjustment to living in Canada as smooth as possible.

This section will arm the agent with some of this information; in addition, education institution at which the student will be studying will almost always have pre-departure handouts to supply still more advice, so the agent should try to obtain one of these for more specific information.