Recently an international student was arrested in Ontario and it created a discussion about a hot issue. The issue is that the international students’ primary goal is to study in Canada, not to work. However, he did not have a working visa, only a student visa. It raises the question that if domestic students are allowed to work to pay for their tuition, should international students be given the same opportunity?
It is a difficult balance to make, since tuition and living cost can be very expensive for some international students.
“Under current rules, international students in Canada can work up to 20 hours a week “off campus” without a separate work visa. During scheduled breaks, including summers, foreign students are allowed to work full time.
But the cost of living plus the high cost of tuition — roughly $27,000 in international student fees — meant Sandhu had to work more in order to remain in school, he said.”
“…With tuition costs rising and the number of foreign students growing — from roughly 170,000 a decade ago to more than half a million in 2019 — advocates, including Smith, say it’s time the government considers changing these rules yet again.
“We have to question why that rule is even there in the first place,” Smith said.
“It’s kind of this arbitrary requirement that an international student has to work less than 20 hours a week,” she said. “The reality of students today is that many students are working more than that.”