Canada doubles financial requirements and cuts work hours for international students

The federal government provided several updates for international students in Canada on Thursday, including an update on work hours and financial requirements for applicants.

Marc Miller, minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, announced that starting January 1, 2024, the cost-of-living financial requirement for students will increase so "international students are financially prepared for life in Canada."

Starting in the new year, an applicant will need to show they have $20,645 which represents 75 per cent of the low-income cut-off (LICO), noted the federal government.

The LICO represents the minimum income necessary to ensure an individual can survive without spending a greater portion of their income on necessities.

The feds say the cost of living requirement hasn't changed since the early 2000s when it was set at $10,000 for a single applicant.

However, the threshold will be adjusted annually to reflect when Statistics Canada updates the LICO.

There was also an update on the proposed return of the 20-hour workweek cap for international students in the country, which will be implemented once again in the spring of next year unless further changes are made before that time.

Fraser said that international students who already have a study permit or have applied for it as of December 7, 2023, will have the 20-hour work week cap waived until April 30, 2024.

Fraser noted that the government will continue to examine the options for the policy in the future to possibly expand off-campus work hours to 30 hours per week while class is in session.

The announcement comes after many international students have been concerned about the future of work for them in Canada.

Last fall, Fraser introduced a pilot program which temporarily lifted the 20-hour-per-week cap on the number of hours eligible post-secondary students can work off-campus while class is in session. This change started last November and is ending December 31, 2023.