Off-Campus Employment

You may work off campus without a work permit if you:

• are a full-time student (1.5 credits or more) in a degree program
• have a valid study permit indicating you may accept employment off-campus and
• have a Social Insurance Number (SIN)

Students in the following programs are not eligible to work off-campus:

• Students in ESL programs including AEP, Green path and Fair, while studying English only.
• Non-degree, visiting or exchange students;
• Students in continuing education and general interest programs

If you qualify, you are allowed to work off-campus:

• Up to 20 hours per week (part-time) during regular academic sessions with full-time status,
• Full-time during scheduled breaks such as summer and winter holidays and reading weeks regardless of your course load (including zero, full-time or part time course load) 

Graduate Students 

Graduate students may work a maximum of 20 hours per week during the entire program of study because they are generally considered to have a continuous full-time status during each calendar year.

Working on campus in addition to working off campus

There are no restrictions on the number of hours students can work on-campus in addition to working off campus, provided they continue to meet the eligibility requirements.

Co-op Students

Co-op students during their work terms, may be eligible to work on and off campus, on top of their co-op work hours if they meet the eligibility requirements to work off-campus.

U of T Scarborough is on a trimester system with three distinct sessions: fall, winter, and summer. To maintain your eligibility to work off-campus you must be registered full-time in at least 2 of these sessions during each academic year.

You must stop working off-campus as soon as your full-time status becomes part-time during a regular academic session (for instance, you may begin a regular academic session on a full-time basis and become part-time during the same session as you drop courses).

To be considered a regularly scheduled break, the break must be part of the institution’s academic calendar (for instance, winter and summer holidays, Reading Week).

Please note that you must maintain full-time status during the academic sessions before and after your scheduled break (e.g. summer can be considered a scheduled break to work full-time if you hold full-time status during the winter session prior to as well as fall session subsequent to the summer break).

Each scheduled break should not be more than 150 days consecutively. The maximum cumulative duration of scheduled breaks can be 180 days per calendar year for the purpose of working full-time off-campus.

If during your final academic session, the course load required to complete the program of study is part-time, you are still eligible to work part-time off-campus.

International students can apply for a post-graduation work permit within 6 months of receiving written notification of completion of studies.

To be eligible, your study permit must have been valid at some point during these 180 days.

Students who have completed a program of study and will be starting a new program of study within 150 days of receiving a written confirmation of program completion from their current institution:

Students may work off-campus on a full-time basis until the start of their new program if the following applies:

• they meet the eligibility criteria to work off-campus
• they have received written confirmation of program completion from their institution (for instance, an email, or an official letter or certificate)
• they have applied for extending their study permit before their current study permit expired, or they still have a valid study permit
• they have been issued a letter of acceptance to a subsequent program of full-time study at a DLI and will be starting the new program within 150 calendar days of receiving a notification of program completion from their current institution

If the new program of study starts more than 150 calendar days after the first date they receive written confirmation of program completion from their current institution, the student is eligible to work off-campus only during the first 150 consecutive days after the first date they receive written confirmation of program completion. They should then leave Canada until their new program starts.

Students who have applied to extend their stay in Canada as a student are required to stop working if their study permit application is refused.

Students who have not applied for a subsequent study or work permit or a program of study:

Students may work off-campus on a part-time basis if the following applies:

• they meet the eligibility criteria to work off-campus
• they have completed the academic requirements for their program of study but have not yet received written confirmation of program completion from the institution (for instance, an official letter or an email)
• they have not applied for a post-graduation work permit or a study permit extension or enrolled in a subsequent program of study

If students meet the requirements, they may work part-time with their valid study permit until the first date they receive written confirmation of program completion. Once their study permit becomes invalid or they receive written confirmation of program completion, students are no longer authorized to continue to work in Canada. 

Students who fail to comply with the terms and conditions of their study permits and off-campus regulations and do not stop working may be subject to enforcement actions taken by Canadian immigration authorities, or invalidation of their study permit. It may also negatively affect future immigration applications.

To work off-campus and get paid, in addition to a study permit you need to have a SIN. You can apply for a SIN in person at the closest Service Canada Centre.