Canada expands foreign workers’ authorization to study without a permit

The Canadian federal government has granted foreign workers increased authorization to study without the need for a study permit.

On September 9, 2026, the immigration department published a temporary policy which exempts work permit holders from the usual requirements for being authorized to study without a study permit.

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Under the policy, a work permit holder is allowed to study without a study permit even if their study program will extend beyond the period of the stay for which they were authorized on their initial entry into Canada.

To qualify, they must have a valid work permit, and their study program must be of six months in duration or less.

Normally, a foreign national may study without a permit for programs of six months or less only if their program is set to be completed prior to the end of the period of stay that was initially authorized upon their entry into Canada, in accordance with Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations 188(1)(c).

The policy came into effect on September 4, 2026, and is set to remain in effect until December 31, 2027.

As is usual with temporary public policies, it may be revoked at any time without prior notice.

The policy grants the exemption only up until the expiry of the foreign national's work permit, or up until the expiry or revocation of the policy, whichever comes first.

The September 9 policy, “Temporary public policy to allow foreign nationals with valid work permits to study without a study permit,” which was signed on August 5, 2026, is the successor to an earlier public policy of the same name, which expired on June 27, 2026.

The earlier policy had come into effect on June 27, 2023, and had provided the expanded study authorization to foreign nationals who had applied for work permits prior to June 7, 2023, including to workers without valid work permits benefitting from maintained status.

Because temporary residents in Canada can apply for renewals of permits along with extensions of their authorization to remain in Canada, work permit holders will often have valid permits and authorization to remain in Canada up until a much later later date than the authorization that was provided to them upon their initial entry into Canada.

There are 1.5 million foreign nationals in Canada holding only work permits, as of June 30, 2026, the most recent available data on the federal government's "Understanding student and temporary worker numbers in Canada" webpage, as of the time of writing.

There are 630,000 study permit holders, some of whom also hold work permits.