Can part-time enrolment meet study permit requirements?
For Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), actively pursuing studies can include being enrolled full-time or part-time in each academic term, excluding scheduled breaks. You must also make progress toward completing your program and meet the other applicable conditions.
A part-time term therefore does not automatically mean that you have lost your permit or stopped meeting its federal conditions. However, this only answers the question of pursuing your studies.
| Question to consider | General guideline | Point to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Can I continue my studies? | Part-time studies can be compatible with actively pursuing your studies. | You must make progress and meet the other conditions, including those in Quebec. |
| Can I keep working? | Full-time status is generally required for on-campus and off-campus student work. | An exception applies in the final semester, subject to conditions. |
| Can I obtain a post-graduation work permit? | Full-time status is generally required during each semester of the program. | The final semester may be part-time; other criteria and special cases apply. |
Before dropping a course, have these three questions checked rather than relying on the first answer.
In Quebec, also check your provincial obligations
Obligations associated with the Quebec Acceptance Certificate, or CAQ, generally include making full-time studies your main activity. The federal possibility of actively pursuing studies part-time is therefore not, by itself, enough to settle the provincial question.
Quebec provides exceptions, including for the final term of a program and certain categories of people. Do not assume that a personal difficulty or your institution’s agreement automatically qualifies as an exception. If you are considering reducing your course load for health or family reasons, explain your situation to your institution’s international office before changing your enrolment.
Even when Quebec’s obligations are met, federal criteria for student work and a post-graduation work permit must be considered separately.
Who determines your full-time status?
Do not simply count your courses: ask what your official status for immigration purposes will be after the change. The definition depends on the institution and your category of study.
For example, the University of Ottawa generally sets a threshold of 12 credits per term at the undergraduate level. At UBC Vancouver, the definition includes, among other things, nine credits per Winter Session term for undergraduate and other specified categories. Each institution sets out its own rules and exceptions: these figures are not a national standard.
Before dropping a course, ask a specific question: “After this change, will I be considered a full-time or part-time student for my level of study and for immigration purposes?” Keep the confirmation and use it to assess the consequences for work and your plans after graduation.
Student work: the number of hours is not enough
To work off campus without a separate work permit, you generally need to be enrolled full-time and meet other conditions, including being in an eligible program that has already begun and having the required documents and a Social Insurance Number.
During a regular academic session, an eligible person can work up to 24 hours per week off campus. This limit is not an authorization in itself: if your enrolment change makes you ineligible, working only a few hours does not resolve the problem.
On-campus work has its own conditions and also generally requires full-time status. IRCC does not set a limit on on-campus work hours for eligible people, but the absence of a limit does not exempt you from meeting the conditions.
Another type of work authorization may require a different assessment. Do not assume that it applies to your situation. To plan a job and track your hours, the StudyCanada guide “Working While Studying: Understanding the Rules and Maintaining a Sustainable Routine” provides additional guidance.
Final semester: an exception subject to conditions
You may have only one required course left to complete your program. In this situation, IRCC allows off-campus work during a final part-time semester, subject to conditions. These include that a full course load is not required to complete the program and that you studied full-time in the previous semesters of the program in Canada. The other work criteria continue to apply.
An exception also applies to on-campus work in the final semester, subject to conditions. For an eligible person, the regular limit of 24 hours per week off campus continues to apply during the session.
Have it confirmed that the term in question is indeed your final one, and review your enrolment history before keeping a job. After receiving written confirmation that you have completed your program, check your authorization to work again: submitting an application for a post-graduation work permit allows you to work while it is being processed only if the applicable conditions are met.
Check post-graduation work permit eligibility separately
For a post-graduation work permit (PGWP), IRCC generally requires you to have maintained full-time status during each semester of the program in Canada, with the possibility of studying part-time in your final semester. A reduced course load earlier in the program could therefore jeopardize eligibility, even if it was compatible with actively pursuing your studies.
Special cases exist. Keep documents explaining your situation and request an assessment before concluding that an exception applies. Full-time status does not guarantee a PGWP either: you must also check the eligibility of the institution and program, language requirements, field of study where applicable, and required documents.
The general deadline for applying is 180 days after confirmation of program completion. This deadline does not, by itself, authorize you to work.
Authorized leave or scheduled break: two different situations
A leave authorized by your institution is not the same as a break listed in the academic calendar. The distinction is particularly important if you work.
| Situation | What to remember |
|---|---|
| Authorized leave | Certain leaves of no more than 150 days may be compatible with actively pursuing your studies. You must be able to provide proof. Student work on and off campus is normally prohibited during this leave. |
| Scheduled break | Eligible students may, subject to conditions, work off campus without a weekly limit. The break must, among other things, be scheduled by the institution and last at least seven consecutive days. |
For a scheduled break, also check your student status before and after the break and the other eligibility criteria. A week with no classes on your personal timetable is not necessarily a scheduled break.
IRCC’s FAQ, amended on November 2, 2026, specifies duration limits: off-campus work without a weekly limit during scheduled breaks is notably limited to 180 days per calendar year. When consecutive scheduled breaks exceed 150 days, the FAQ states that off-campus work is possible only during their first 150 days. These limits should not be confused with those for an authorized leave.
IRCC addresses the temporary closure of an institution due to a strike separately; a specific work exception applies in that situation.
Before dropping a course: prepare your decision
Your institution can confirm your academic classification and direct you to an appropriate immigration resource. The StudyCanada profiles for the University of Ottawa and The University of British Columbia provide information about these institutions. Their official resources explain, respectively, the consequences of changes to your studies and the enrolment definitions that apply at UBC Vancouver.
To prepare for a discussion with your own institution, gather:
- Your current status and the status you expect after dropping the course.
- Your study permit, its conditions and, in Quebec, your provincial documents.
- Your history of full-time and part-time terms.
- Details of your job and the date you are considering making the change.
- Your goal after graduation and relevant supporting documents in case of special circumstances.
Then ask: “Can I continue my studies this way? Can I keep this job? What might the consequences be for a PGWP?” The answers may differ: considering them separately helps you make a decision without assuming the outcome.