By Canadian Press

Canada to allow international students to work more hours due to labour shortage

Oct 7, 2022 | 8:59 AM

OTTAWA — Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says Canada will temporarily allow international students to work more than 20 hours a week to help address ongoing labour shortages. 

Speaking at a coffee shop in Ottawa this morning, Fraser says the changes will start on Nov. 15 and be in effect until the end of 2023.

The labour market remains exceptionally tight, with nearly one million job vacancies reported in the second quarter of 2022. 

Fraser also announced a pilot program to help automate the application process for students to  extend their study permits. 

That will allow for some applications to be automatically approved, but the new process will not automatically reject claims.

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Fraser says the pilot is aimed at reducing immigration backlogs and freeing up officers to work on more complex applications. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2022. 

The Canadian Press