The COVID-era policy in Canada which allowed international students to work an unlimited number of hours off campus during their studies has come to an end.

The move, as announced by Canadian immigration minister Marc Miller, meant students can now only work up to 20 hours off-campus.

Many Filipino students have been encouraged to work more hours when the cap was temporarily lifted so they can support themselves through school.

But come September this year, there will again be a slight adjustment on the allowable off-campus work hours.

Miller announced that the limit would increase by four hours, to become 24 hours a week beginning that month.

Until then, students can work for no more than 20 hours per week while classes are in session.

But international students who have a scheduled academic break can continue to work unlimited hours.

"It'll help me better meet my financial needs although it is not as much," said Rick Ryan Montayre, a Filipino international student. "I have a lot of financial needs that I need to meet. The extra hours will help in trying to meet those needs."

Immigration Canada previously debated whether it would extend the temporary provision enacted during the pandemic, which enabled students to work up to 40 hours per week , or set a cap of 30 hours.

In the end, it was decided that a weekly limit of 24 hours would allow students to work the equivalent of three eight-hour shifts per week.

This aimed to dissuade visa applications from students whose main purpose of coming to Canada is to work and prevent undue distraction for students from their studies.

"Canada's rules need to be aligned or we will find our programs attracting more and more applicants whose primary intent is to work and not study," said Miller.

Studies in Canada and the U.S. have shown a considerable decline in the academic performance of students who work over 28 hours per week.

It also showed that working more than 24 hours a week increases the chances of students dropping out of their programs.

Meanwhile, also taking effect at the end of April are the higher fees for all permanent residence applications.

The IRCC said this is part of a routine update, where fees increase every two years to manage the growing program and service delivery costs and to keep up with inflation.