Context of the Problem – Unclear Instructions
In March 2022, IRCC amended the study permit instructions for Study Permits: Working on Campus to add clarity to ability to work without a work permit while as a student.
Unfortunately, because of the nature of the oversimplification of how R.186(f) IRPR is presented in the instructions and as well as the obligation to obtain permissive conditions one one’s study permits allowing for the ability to work, this creates a major problem for international students.
For reference, R.186(f) is quoted below:
No permit required
186 A foreign national may work in Canada without a work permit
(f) if they are a full-time student, on the campus of the university or college at which they are a full-time student, for the period for which they hold a study permit to study at that university or college;
Rather than the need for permissive conditions, conditions which as of right now are not uniformly understood or applied by decision-makers in granting study permits (let alone CBSA border officers when printing them) I believe we should ideally be operating where only the absence of restrictive conditions is needed.
This is of course the old way things have been done, where students who are not able to work while studying (perhaps those who have been approved to study only part-time or in ESL programs) are restricted and need to apply to amend their study permits by way of a new extension applicatoin.
Consequentially, as a result of these policy changes, a student without this language (perhaps in a final semester where they are exempt from the need to be in full-time studies to work part-time) has to apply to IRCC to change conditions of their study permit. This process at least takes a few months if not more, if other issues were to arise or concerns flagged, not related to the change request. All of this additional labour is needed, because of the lack of permissive conditions. Given IRCC has just changed this (with apparently no reference to the way things used to be done), this will create unnecessary further backlogs and apply retrospectively to confuse both potential employers and students affected.
Importantly, risk adverse educational institutions are already considering restricting students from being able to work without this language on their study permits. This jeopardizes many students who rely on the ability to work 20 hours to perform tasks as a teaching assistant/research assistant or who wish to levy their experiences in their final semester – by taking a part time job, pending graduation/PGWP application.
Not to mention not all students in Canada are working under the authority of R.186(f) IRPR. On strict interpretation, this is what IRCC is making it appear as – but many will be working on the basis of R. 186(u) – on implied status, or even R. 186(p), (v) or (w) IRPR.
For reference below:
(p) as a student in a health field, including as a medical elective or clinical clerk at a medical teaching institution in Canada, for the primary purpose of acquiring training, if they have written approval from the body that regulates that field;
(u) until a decision is made on an application made by them under subsection 201(1), if they have remained in Canada after the expiry of their work permit and they have continued to comply with the conditions set out on the expired work permit, other than the expiry date;
(v) if they are the holder of a study permit and
(i) they are a full-time student enrolled at a designated learning institution as defined in section 211.1,
(ii) the program in which they are enrolled is a post-secondary academic, vocational or professional training program, or a vocational training program at the secondary level offered in Quebec, in each case, of a duration of six months or more that leads to a degree, diploma or certificate, and
(iii) although they are permitted to engage in full-time work during a regularly scheduled break between academic sessions, they work no more than 20 hours per week during a regular academic session;
Indeed, and more specifically, R.186(v) (iii) for final semester exemption seems to tie directly to the implied nature of R.186(f), but arguably now requires that language because of – again – the change to a required permissive condition.
If this seems confusing to us as practitioners, imagine an on-campus employer who is concerned about hiring an international student without authorization. This has the further impact of stigmatizing international students in the hiring process. From my perspective, the Regs should override the lack of permissive conditions, but for Employers who are looking at websites only for policy guidance, that may not be abundantly clear.
Interim Solution : Make it Easier – Issue a Letter via Automated Portal
While I believe this issue can be made easier, by reverting to the negative/not positive Issue an automatic letter via the new Client Application Portal upon request (i.e. ASAP) where a student shows they are either a full-time student or are exempt for final semester.
Interim Solution 2: Clarify that R. 186(v) and (w) work different and don’t need this permissive language
It is clearly an error in law to suggest that all work needs to be permitted by R. 186(f) IRPR. The instructions should reflect this and exempt either the R.186(v) and (w) IRPR work. If all these need to be permitted by permissive language, I think you are turning a border officer into a detail-oriented immigration officer, and more problems will arise where some receive and some do not receive this condition
Ultimate Solution: Standardize Permissions to Be Only Permissive or Only Restrictive and Not a Mix
Between the system changes, I believe IRCC will need to make a choice: either make it permissive and make it standard practice (not subject to error) to have the permissive conditions printed OR (and as I prefer) specifically exclude those who are not eligible on a case-by-case basis and not throw all the responsibility onto study permit holders to do the work correcting errors while being harmed by the waiting period. As great as the Ask or Update Your Application portal is, I am sure the volume of requests will eventually impact it also.
There’s no reasons, in my mind, we need to have permissive and restrictive conditions mixing and blurring the lines of the Regulations. So few students are even being admitted these days for language courses and part-time studies, and those that are – from my perspective – are a much easier group to manage restrictions for then to impact 98% of folks by requiring permissive conditions.
