Working While Studying in Canada and the PGWP: 2026 Rules During and After Your Program

A Canadian study permit lets you work without a separate permit: off campus up to 24 hours a week during academic terms and without an hour limit during scheduled breaks, and on campus without any limit. Since April 1, 2026, college and university students no longer need a separate permit for required work placements such as co-op terms and internships. After graduation you may qualify for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP) — an open work permit valid for up to three years. It is issued once in a lifetime, you must apply within 180 days, and the fee is $180 (CAD 255). For applications made on or after November 1, 2024, you need a language test at CLB 7 after a bachelor's, master's, doctoral or other university program, or CLB 5 after a college diploma or certificate program; college graduates who applied for their study permit on or after that date also need a program in an eligible field of study.

This guide covers the conditions for working during studies, how to count your hours, the 2026 change for co-op, what determines PGWP length, which tests IRCC accepts, which college programs no longer lead to a PGWP, how to keep your status between graduation and a decision, and what counts as experience for permanent residence. All rules were checked against IRCC pages on September 24, 2026.

Work rights that come with a study permit

For any job you need a social insurance number (SIN), a nine-digit number issued by Service Canada. You can get one only if your study permit carries a work condition. If it is missing although you are eligible, ask IRCC to add it — there is no fee.

Off-campus work: conditions and the 24-hour rule

You can work off campus without a work permit if all of the following apply:

• you are a full-time student at a DLI and your program has started;
• you are in a post-secondary academic, vocational or professional training program, or a secondary-level vocational program in Quebec;
• the program lasts at least six months and leads to a degree, diploma or certificate;
• your study permit is valid, or you applied to extend it before it expired;
• your permit includes the off-campus work condition and you have a SIN.

During terms the limit is 24 hours a week. You may hold several jobs as long as the combined hours stay within the limit. If an older permit says 20 hours, the 24-hour rule now applies. You are responsible for tracking your hours and proving compliance; for self-employed students, the count includes any time spent earning wages or commission.

You cannot work off campus if you are enrolled only in English or French as a second language, taking only general interest courses, taking only courses required for admission to a full-time program, or on an authorized leave or switching schools and not currently studying.

Exceeding the limit breaches your study permit conditions. IRCC warns that this can cost you your student status and future permits.

Scheduled breaks: when you can work full time

During breaks set by your institution — winter and summer holidays or reading week — there is no hour limit off campus, and taking courses during the break does not change that. If your program has no scheduled breaks, the 24-hour limit applies year-round.

What this means in money: Ontario's general minimum wage is $13 (CAD 17.95) an hour from October 1, 2026 ($12 (CAD 17.60) before that). At 24 hours a week that is about $305 (CAD 430) before tax. Useful for your personal budget, but not for the visa: IRCC requires proof of funds without Canadian employment. See the cost of studying in Canada.

On-campus work

There is no hour limit on campus, during terms or breaks. Your employer can be the institution, a faculty member, a student organization, a private business or a contractor providing services on campus. If your institution has several campuses, you can usually work only at the one where you study.

Under the same right you may also work off campus as a teaching or research assistant if the work is tied to a research grant and takes place at a library, hospital or research facility affiliated with your institution. Work in a hospital or other setting where public health must be protected requires a medical exam.

The right ends if you stop studying full time (except in your final term), your permit expires, you take an authorized leave, or you are switching schools and not currently studying.

Co-op and internships: what changed on April 1, 2026

Previously, students needed a separate co-op work permit for required placements. Since April 1, 2026, college and university students do not. The conditions are:

• the placement is required to complete your program, confirmed in a letter from your institution;
• the placement makes up no more than 50% of the program;
• your study permit includes the on-campus work condition;
• you study full time and your permit is valid or you applied to extend it.

There is no weekly hour limit for placements, and the employer may be off campus if your institution's placement program accepts it. Secondary school students still need a co-op work permit. If you already applied for one as a post-secondary student, you can withdraw the application.

The PGWP: what it is and who qualifies

The post-graduation work permit is an open work permit for graduates of Canadian colleges and universities. It is not tied to an employer and is issued once in a lifetime. Graduating from a DLI does not by itself make you eligible: you must meet general, program-based and location-based requirements.

General requirements:

• you completed a program of at least 8 months (900 hours in Quebec) at a PGWP-eligible DLI;
• you studied full time every term; the final term may be part time;
• you apply within 180 days of written confirmation that you completed the program;
• your study permit was valid at some point during those 180 days.

You are not eligible if you already had a PGWP, studied only a second language or general interest courses, completed more than half of the program by distance learning, or hold a Global Affairs Canada award that requires you to return home. Programs delivered by a private college under a curriculum licensing agreement with a public college and started after May 15, 2024 are also ineligible.

How long the PGWP lasts

The PGWP cannot outlast your passport. If your passport expires sooner, you will have to extend the permit on paper after getting a new one, so renew your passport before applying.

Online study rule: if your lock-in date (study permit application or program start) is on or after September 1, 2024, at least half of the program must be completed in class in Canada, and time spent studying online from abroad is deducted from the PGWP length.

Language test for the PGWP

Since November 1, 2024, a PGWP requires English or French test results in all four skills. The level depends on your program, not your institution.

IRCC accepts only five tests: CELPIP-General, IELTS General Training, PTE Core, TEF Canada and TCF Canada. IELTS Academic, which most students take for admission, does not count for the PGWP, and neither do Duolingo or TOEFL. Results must be less than two years old on the day you apply.

Field of study: the rule for college graduates

If you applied for your study permit on or after November 1, 2024, and your program is not a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree, it must be in a field linked to long-term labour shortages. The field is identified by a six-digit CIP code, which your institution lists on the program page.

The list has six categories: agriculture and agri-food, education, health care and social services, STEM, trades, and transport. IRCC has frozen the list for 2026 — no codes are being added or removed. A program qualifies if its code was on the list when you applied for your study permit or when you apply for the PGWP.

Bachelor's, master's and doctoral graduates face no field-of-study requirement. The same interest in business therefore leads to different outcomes: a university business degree qualifies for a PGWP with CLB 7, while a two-year college diploma in general management does not if the study permit application was made after November 1, 2024. See our guide to colleges in Canada.

Applying for the PGWP without losing status

• Deadline: you have 180 days from the written confirmation that you completed your program. The window is not extended.
• Working while you wait: if your study permit was valid on the day you applied and you were eligible to work off campus, you can work without an hour limit until the decision.
• If your permit will expire before you receive your marks, you can apply for a visitor record to stay as a visitor, or leave Canada and apply from abroad.
• If your permit has already expired, you have 90 days to apply for the PGWP together with restoration of student status: $180 (CAD 255) for the PGWP plus the restoration fee. You cannot work until the decision in this case.
• Documents: degree, diploma or official completion letter or transcript, a transcript proving full-time study, language results, proof of your CIP code (college graduates upload it under Client information), and a medical exam if needed.
• Fee: $180 (CAD 255) — $110 (CAD 155) for the work permit plus $71 (CAD 100) for the open work permit. Applications are online.

If you did not have a medical exam before coming to Canada, your PGWP may restrict work in health care, child care and other settings where public health must be protected. The restriction can be removed after a medical exam through an application to change conditions.

Work for your spouse

A student's spouse or common-law partner can get an open work permit only in certain cases. Since January 21, 2025, this applies if the student is in a master's program of 16 months or longer, a doctoral program, or one of several professional university programs: medicine (MD), dentistry, law (JD, LLB, BCL), pharmacy, optometry, veterinary medicine, nursing (BScN, BN), education (BEd) or engineering (BEng, BASc).

Once the student holds a PGWP and is working, the spouse may qualify as a family member of a worker. This depends on the occupation (TEER 0–1 and selected TEER 2–3 jobs), and the worker's permit generally has to be valid for at least 16 months after the spouse applies.

PGWP and permanent residence: what counts as experience

The Canadian Experience Class under Express Entry requires at least one year (1,560 hours) of paid skilled work in Canada in TEER 0–3 occupations within the three years before you apply. Work done while studying full time, including co-op terms, does not count. Most graduates therefore build this experience on a PGWP after graduation. A PGWP by itself does not grant or guarantee permanent residence.

Choosing a program with the PGWP in mind

Choosing a program on first-year price without checking its CIP code is the main risk for anyone planning to work after college. Compare study levels in our guides to bachelor's degrees and master's degrees in Canada.

Common mistakes

• Taking IELTS Academic and expecting to use it for the PGWP.
• Working more than 24 hours a week during term by treating several jobs separately.
• Starting work before classes begin or during an authorized leave.
• Choosing a college program without checking its CIP code.
• Missing the 180-day window or letting the study permit expire before applying.
• Applying with a passport that expires before the full PGWP period.
• Assuming work done while studying counts toward permanent residence.

FAQ

Sources

• IRCC: off-campus work — checked September 24, 2026
• IRCC: on-campus work — checked September 24, 2026
• IRCC: student work placements — checked September 24, 2026
• IRCC: about the PGWP, who can apply, language, field of study, documents, how to apply — checked September 24, 2026
• IRCC: spouses of students and family members of workers — checked September 24, 2026
• IRCC: Canadian Experience Class — checked September 24, 2026
• IRCC: fees — checked September 24, 2026
• Government of Ontario: minimum wage — checked September 24, 2026
• USD conversions use the ECB reference rates of September 29, 2026 (1 USD ≈ 1.4180 CAD).

Choosing programs with PGWP rules in mind and checking CIP codes and documents are provided under an agreement with StudyU. Work permit decisions are made by IRCC; StudyU does not guarantee a PGWP or permanent residence.

During the free initial consultation, we clarify your goal, profile, timing, and budget and identify the next realistic step.