Gain valuable work experience and supplement your spending allowance with a student job. While you must supply sufficient evidence that you can pay for your tuition and living expenses before you arrive in Canada, there are several opportunities for you and your spouse/common-law partner to work while you study in Canada.
Working in Canada can go a long way toward helping you establish business contacts for the future and can even help you immigrate after graduation.
Jobs for international students in Canada
On and off-campus jobs
Find out if you can work on and off campus without a work permit while completing your studies at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) website.
Co-op/Internship
If your studies in Canada include a co-op placement or internship as an essential part of your program, you may be eligible for a co-op/internship work permit.
Travel and work in Canada
Many young people come to Canada through International Experience Canada. Eligibility for IEC is based on specific agreements between Canada and other countries, which usually include three streams:
- Working Holiday Travel and experience Canada while earning money to fund your holiday.
- Young Professional Gain professional work experience in Canada and develop your career to compete in the global economy.
- International student Co-op You’re enrolled in post-secondary studies elsewhere but have a job offer for an internship or co-op placement in Canada to complete your post-secondary program.
Get experience with Mitacs.
Gain experience beyond your academic institution and increase your employability and professional networks with Mitacs. Through Mitacs’s programs, post-secondary students and recent graduates can find:
- Paid collaborative projects with Canadian companies and non-profit organizations
- Research opportunities and connections
- Professional skills training programs
- Career development opportunities
- Funding for student-led eligible start-ups
- For over 20 years, Mitacs has nurtured talent through innovation internships allowing students and postdocs to
- apply their academic skills to solving real-world problems.
Internships
An internship provides you with on-the-job training. When you are an intern, someone in the workplace supervises you. Working as an intern gives you knowledge and skills to help you succeed in a trade or profession. The work permit you need for an internship is the same as that for co-op students.
Help your spouse or common-law partner work in Canada
Do you have a spouse or common-law partner who would like to work in Canada while you study? Find out who can get a work permit as a student’s spouse or common-law partner from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Co-op placements
A co-op placement or program involves working as part of your program of study. You may work on or off campus.
For example, you may be enrolled in a co-op degree program in environmental studies. This differs from the standard degree in environmental studies because it allows you to spend 3 or 4 months (or more) each year working in your field of study. It’s a great way to get hands-on professional experience in a Canadian work setting.
When you are part of a co-op program at a college or university, you can apply for a co-op work permit if:
- You have a valid study permit.
- Working is integrated into your study program in Canada.
- You have a letter from your designated learning institution that confirms all students in your program need to
- complete work placements to get their degree.
- Your co-op or internship is 50% or less of the total program of study.
You are not eligible for a co-op work permit, and you will need to get a valid work permit if you are studying:
- English or French as a second language (ESL/FSL)
- General interest courses
- Courses to prepare you for another study program
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