What you need to study and work in Canada

Editorial review: August 2026. Immigration rules change frequently and vary according to profile. Use this guide to understand the process, but confirm forms, deadlines, and eligibility on the official portals of Canada and Quebec before submitting an application.

What changed in the rules (situation in 2026)

Before you proceed with the step-by-step, it’s essential to know that Canada has deeply reformed the international student program. The points that most affect those planning now:

• Off-campus work hours: the limit is 24 hours per week during the academic term (since November 8, 2024). During scheduled academic breaks, you can work full-time.
• Mandatory internship got simpler: since April 1, 2026, it’s no longer necessary to obtain a separate co-op work permit to do the mandatory internship of your program.
• Stricter PGWP: for technical courses and diplomas that do not confer a university degree, the post-graduation work permit is only issued if the program is on the official list of in-demand fields. And now it requires language proof (CLB 7 for university graduates, CLB 5 for technical level).
• Spousal Open Work Permit (SOWP): only the spouse of someone doing a master’s degree of 16 months or more, a doctorate, or certain specific professional courses is eligible.
• Financial proof: went up to about $24,617 CAD per person in 2026, excluding tuition and flights.
• Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL): mandatory for undergraduate and technical levels. In Quebec, it comes integrated with the CAQ approval.

I covered each of these points in detail in the Summary of new rules for international students in Canada.

Why study in Canada?

Attention! Due to recent changes in Canada's immigration policy, I suggest you consult this post (New rules for international students in Canada: Summary) before continuing with the text, since some of the rules mentioned here may have been revoked due to the newly announced changes.

Skipping the good old sales pitch that every blessed immigration blog likes to preach teaching how to study and work in Canada, I’ll get straight to the point. For the general good of the whole family’s project, Canada, more specifically the city of Montreal, in the province of Quebec, was the most sensible choice, even considering a complicating factor in my plan: the lack of the French language.

If you were thinking I would start this paragraph embellishing the already tired story about the great quality of life that Canada can offer students and their families, that the natural beauties are stunning, and that everything works very well here, forget it. On the other hand, I can’t be unfair when talking about the land that welcomed me. Indeed, it has been a better life than I expected, but the winter is a chapter apart that deserves a lot of attention before your decision.

Being quite frank, the only reason for me to invest more than $20,000 CAD in an 18-month technical training course in Canada was the “possibility” of buying my entry pass to the job market and our permanent residency. Why did I choose this path? Simple, we had the resources for it and also because arriving here through immigration programs after 40, where the government’s priority is those in their 25s to 30s, is not the easiest task. Impossible? No, but it would take a lot of preparation time, something my wife and I no longer had.

And remember, when I put the word “possibility” in quotes in the previous paragraph, I wasn’t joking. The truth is that doing a college in Canada is no guarantee that everything will work out for you. I saw many people arrive here with just enough money and go through some tough times until they got a real job. So, come with an open mind and prepared for anything. If possible, have a plan B; doing this helped me a lot to keep my feet on the ground as things were happening.

Well, cards on the table, let’s get to the process itself and what you need to do to study in Canada. And don’t worry, my saga as an international student doesn’t end here; throughout the text, I’ll bring some more accounts and tips.

About Canadian study permits

What is a Canadian study permit?

It’s a document issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (aka IRCC) to someone who wants to come to Canada to study or continue ongoing studies in Canada. Memorize this acronym well, because until you get your permanent residency (aka PR), you’ll still hear a lot about it.

What are the requirements to get a study permit in Canada?

At a minimum, you’ll need to present an acceptance letter from a designated learning institution (DLI) and minimum funds (see below). Additional documentation depends on your circumstances. Canadian study visa requirements also include paying student visa fees and the ability to provide proof of funds for your Canadian study permit.

Are there cases where a study permit in Canada is not required?

Yes, there are. Generally, a study permit is not required if:

• the student will attend preschool (children accompanying parents in the process);
• you are taking a distance learning program;
• you are taking settlement and integration courses offered by a provincial or territorial government through settlement and integration providers (including francization courses offered by the Government of Quebec, as they are considered settlement and integration courses and not language courses by the IRCC);
• you are auditing courses (where a student is allowed to attend an academic course without obtaining credits);
• you are taking courses included in tour packages as a secondary activity for tourists;
• you are undertaking a program that is not of an academic, professional, or vocational nature that is of general interest and can be completed within the authorized period after entering Canada; or
• you are taking a course or study program of six months or less that can be completed within the authorized period after entering Canada.

Additionally, certain family members or private staff accompanying a foreign representative accredited by Global Affairs Canada, as well as members of the armed forces of certain countries, may be able to study for more than six months without a study permit.

After completing a study program, graduates may be eligible to obtain a post-graduation work permit.

Which family members can accompany a student in Canada?

An accompanying spouse or common-law partner may be able to obtain an open work permit, and minor children may be able to study in Canadian primary and secondary schools.

Where to submit your study permit application?

The process to submit your Canadian study permit application depends on the country from which you are applying. Check the official Canadian government page to find out your requirements.

Study permit in Canada: eligibility requirements

To be eligible for a study permit in Canada, prospective students must:

• obtain an acceptance letter from a DLI;
• prove sufficient funds to cover the first year of tuition, as well as living expenses and return transportation;
• satisfy Canadian immigration authorities by making it clear that you will leave Canada at the end of the period authorized by the study permit (see next tip); and
• be admissible to Canada (police background checks and/or a medical exam may be requested).

There may be additional requirements depending on the applicant’s circumstances.

Important tip! It may sound like a joke what I'm going to say now, but believe it! You really need to convince the immigration officers that you are coming to study in Canada only to qualify yourself and return to your home country at the end of the program. For this, you need to be very convincing in your letter of intent and make every possible connection with the skills you will acquire in the program aligning with your professional goals. If it's a career change, you'll have to put even more effort into the pitch. The funniest part of this whole hypocrisy is the fact that after graduating, they give you a work visa that can extend your stay here for up to 3 years, the so-called PGWP, as long as you meet the program's requirements.

Minimum funds to study in Canada

Applicants for the Canadian study permit must prove they can support themselves and any accompanying family members, if applicable, while in Canada.

Proof of funds for a study permit can be demonstrated with:

• bank statements for at least 4 months in your home country (yours or your sponsor’s);
• savings or investment account statements over the same period (yours or your sponsor’s);
• proof of a Canadian bank account in your name, if you have transferred money to Canada;
• Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) from a participating Canadian financial institution;
• proof of a student/educational loan from a bank;
• proof that you have paid tuition and housing fees;
• a letter from the person or school giving you money; and/or
• proof of funding paid from within Canada, if you have a scholarship or are in a Canadian-funded educational program.

Alert! Demonstrating asset ownership through property deeds or even cars will not make any difference for your financial proof, because for immigration officers, only liquid bank balances are considered valid funds. On the other hand, you can use your ownership information in Brazil to reinforce your ties with your home country in the letter of intent. And be very careful with the famous loan tricks, when the visa applicant takes out a bank loan or borrows money from relatives just to maintain an account balance on statements for 4 months. The agents already know how this works and are asking to see your balance when you land here.

The minimum fund requirements are outlined below. Requirements for students destined for the province of Quebec are different and follow this first table.

Minimum funds: all provinces except Quebec

People coming to Canada	Amount of funds required per year (in addition to tuition)	Amount of funds required per month (in addition to tuition)
You (the student)	$10,000	$833
First family member	$4,000	$333
For each additional accompanying family member	$3,000	$255

* Canadian dollars

Minimum funds for Quebec

People coming to Canada	Amount of funds required per year (in addition to tuition)	Amount of funds required per month (in addition to tuition)
You (the student)	$11,000	$917
First family member (18 years or older)	$5,100	$425
First family member (under 18 years)	$3,800	$317
Each additional accompanying family member (18 years or older)	$5,125	$427
Each additional accompanying family member (under 18 years)	$1,903	$159

* Canadian dollars

As already mentioned in another post I wrote, the immigration process in Quebec is different from the rest of Canada.

READ ALSO: “Why does the province of Quebec have its own immigration policy?”

Studying in Quebec

As the section above suggests, there are separate requirements for students wishing to attend one of the many universities and colleges in Montreal, or anywhere else in Quebec.

In almost all cases, anyone who wants to study in Quebec for more than six months also needs to apply for and obtain a Quebec Acceptance Certificate (certificat d’acceptation du Québec, or CAQ) before starting the course. This involves its own fees and deadlines, in addition to the federal study visa or permit process.

Read also: 15 reasons why your Canadian study visa might be denied and how to avoid them

The CAQ is generally valid for the duration of the study program, up to a maximum of 49 months and will cost you an extra $120 CAD on top of the $150 CAD required for the study visa (permit).

So, the checklist for studying in Quebec follows this sequence:

1. Apply to the College or University (paying the application fee which can vary from institution to institution and is non-refundable, starting at $150 CAD)
2. Wait for the acceptance letter from the educational institution;
3. Apply for the CAQ when you have the letter ($120 CAD);
4. Apply for the Canadian study visa after receiving the CAQ ($150 CAD)

How much money do I need to support myself while studying in Canada?

As I usually say, this is the million-dollar question. Briefly, my budget was approximately $3,500 CAD per month between November 2018 and March 2020 until I could get my first job in Canada and manage to balance the bills at home, relieving my wife and stopping the use of our savings.

With this budget, I could support a family of 4 (me, my wife, and two 13-year-old daughters) living in a small 2-bedroom apartment that cost us $1,200 CAD in rent. During this period, we could pay the bills and have some very basic leisure like cinema and fast food. Having a few drinks at the bar and going to restaurants took some time. At the time, the Canadian dollar exchange rate to the Brazilian real was 1 to 3. Today, with the current recession that Canada is going through and the real being more devalued, this is a scenario quite distant from my reality at the time.

Health Insurance for international students in the province of Quebec

Quebec’s healthcare system allows newcomers to apply for coverage as soon as they arrive in the province, but there is a three-month waiting period for applications to be processed and coverage to become active. Unfortunately, international students are not eligible for RAMQ (except for students selected under certain Quebec scholarship programs).

The only way to get the insurance is when you switch your study visa for a work visa by applying for the PGWP. Once enrolled and with your work permit in hand, you will need to wait for a waiting period. Until then, the Government of Canada doesn’t force you to have private insurance, but you will certainly be “encouraged” to contact an insurance company.

I also don’t even need to mention that paying a hospital bill here can leave you in debt for years if you don’t have insurance, so this is something cheap that can cost very dearly. In addition, almost all educational institutions require you to present insurance to be in the classroom.

READ ALSO: “How to apply for your health card in Quebec (RAMQ)“

Account of a forty-something student in Quebec

When we are young, we grow up with the old saying that student life isn’t easy. Well, in Canada this has never been truer for me. Going back to a classroom in a strange country, full of strange people without speaking their language is no piece of cake. I chose to study in English, as it was the language where I had an advanced enough level to follow the classes, do exercises, and take exams, but this will vary greatly from course to course. In my case, as the program was in IT, things were a bit easier since we are in front of a computer all the time.

The same cannot be said for someone who is going to take something denser that needs a more sophisticated writing level. So, be aware of your language limitations before choosing the course, if you don’t have enough time to improve the language while still in Brazil. This business of learning the language by force after you’re here is kind of a myth. We only progress in this if we really take time to look at grammar and do exercises. Classroom conversation won’t work miracles if you don’t put in the effort.

My classroom was very diverse and I was lucky enough to meet fellow forty-somethings from Brazil, Iran, Mexico, and Colombia where I made great friends. The classes, which were from 8:20 AM to 4:00 PM, were quite exhausting at times, but helped a lot in developing my English.

Now you must be wondering, what about French? Didn’t you go to Quebec? Yes, my friends, besides the few French classes I had at College—a joke, by the way—I started studying French after 4:00 PM in a francization course near the College. After almost 7 hours of college, I still had to face another 4 hours of French, 4 times a week until 10:00 PM. You know that laziness and lack of motivation to study languages back in Brazil before immigrating? Well, think carefully about that from now on.

Working in Quebec as an international student

First of all, eligible international students can currently work off campus for up to 24 hours per week while classes are in session. During a scheduled academic break, they may work unlimited hours, provided they continue to meet the conditions of their study permit. This is no longer the temporary 20-hour rule that applied when the original article was written.

Important information! You will only be able to make this transition from part-time to full-time work after you finish your program and if the course and institution you chose are eligible for the PGWP program (Post-Graduation Work Permit ). So, pay close attention to your choice. You can do a search on this official government list. Depending on the program and the goodwill of the immigration officer handling your process, you can get an open work visa for up to 3 years. In practice, this means you can work in anything to make money during this period. But beware! Only some jobs are eligible for the permanent residency process, so don't spend your 3 years (if you get that period) in jobs considered underemployment or low-skilled. They might even pay well, but the experience time in them won't count towards your process if you want to become a permanent resident in the future.

Well, returning to the immigrant saga, you must have already imagined that working was something quite complicated in my scenario until I could finish my course of just over 1 year. There really was no time, but that was already foreseen in our financial planning. Something that might not be your case.

The routine of studying in Canada can be quite challenging depending on the profile and composition of your family. In my case, sleeping more than 6 hours a day was a luxury, because on weekends I still had to help my wife at home, do laundry in the building’s laundromat, go grocery shopping, and everything else that immigrant life shoves down our throats in the first years. Fortunately, my wife was able to work and hold down the fort while I closed this cycle, but again, this might not be your case.

If your language barriers are overcome while still in Brazil, working while studying can be very viable in Canada. There’s no shortage of opportunities, just be aware that you might have to do things you probably wouldn’t do in Brazil.

After graduating, the internship opportunity came (which was mandatory) and then I was able to enter the market with the plus of being able to do it right away in my field, a great stroke of luck. One of the advantages of having a good professional background in Brazil is that everything is put to use here, with the exception of some professions linked to law. As IT is a very strong market, it wasn’t hard to reposition myself. The most ironic thing of all is that I went back to exactly the same market I worked in Brazil, and the course I took (the one that cost over 20 grand) had little influence on my professional opportunities in Quebec.

And you know that moment of regret? When you tell yourself, man, I could have moved some things forward while still in Brazil. It was at this moment that I realized I could have tried for a work visa while still in Brazil instead of paying all this money to study. But that’s water under the bridge, and one way or another, the plan worked out. No regrets!!!

Today, at 47 years old, I am already in my second job in just over 2 years as a skilled professional in Canada, in a management position in my department, a status that has given me even more confidence to take other flights soon. And to think I arrived here a bit discredited at 43, without French and with my English still a bit shaky.

Immigrating to Canada as a student in Quebec

After a year of graduating and gaining professional experience in the NOC required to change my immigration status, I was finally able to apply for the long-awaited Canadian permanent residency. Yes, because until then, we are all temporary underdog immigrants. Anyone who has gone through or is going through the process knows well what the insecurity and expectation of this status are like.

During my process, the current immigration program was the Programme de l’expérience québécoise (PEQ), but I won’t go into detail about that here, as it’s not the focus. Besides, programs change from time to time, and it’s complicated to indicate which is best for you right now.

At the time, I could ask to be selected both through my study program and through my professional experience in NOC B (technical market sectors in high demand by immigration). I chose to go through the work path, and in just over 2 months I got the so-called Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ), which in plain terms, means you are half a step away from Canadian permanent residency. I’ll talk about this soon on the blog, but for now, let’s take one step at a time.

Pause for clarification Programme de l'expérience québécoise (PEQ) - As with all Quebec immigration pathways, this program allows candidates to apply for a Quebec Selection Certificate. Upon receiving a CSQ, a candidate becomes eligible to submit an official application for Canadian permanent residency. All PEQ applicants must meet the following general requirements for the program: * Have the intention to settle in Quebec to maintain a job; * Have lived temporarily in Quebec with the primary goal of working or studying and have respected the conditions of their stay; * Demonstrate advanced intermediate knowledge of oral French; accompanying spouses must also demonstrate knowledge of the French language * Commit to providing for their needs and, where applicable, those of their spouse or common-law partner and dependent children included in their application for a certificat de sélection du Québec, for a minimum period of 3 months; * Be at least 18 years old and have a valid passport.

Is it possible to do the immigration process without hiring a consultancy?

If you are the type of person who is not afraid to read and poke around for hours on end on the government websites of Canada and the province, I would say it’s fine to take care of your process without the help of an immigration consultant. I opted for a company to help me at the time due to my age, but I know some people who took on this task and proceeded well with their processes.

The only reservation I have about not using a consultant in your process is regarding issues related to denied visas or certificates. Making a defense and connecting with the right people in the government is indeed a task for professionals, so if this is your case, it would be really good to find a professional to help you.

Conclusion

It’s important to bear in mind that my case will not be yours; the process of immigrating through studies is very unique, and components like financial security, age, and professional experience will be decisive for the success of your project. Of course, with a lot of effort and dedication, everyone can achieve their goals. In fact, I know many people here who started from scratch or completely changed their careers and today, with just over 4 years in Canada, are doing very well, thank you.

I often say that Canada graces everyone who is willing to make sacrifices and give up time. Everything here is resolved with time. Time to improve the language, time to adapt (or not) to the weather, time to harden the heart with the longing for Brazil and family, and time to learn new things, something that happens every day in our lives as immigrants.

Well, that’s what I had to say today. I hope I helped once again with this information. Want more tips like these? Subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates about life in Quebec and your first steps as a newcomer.

See you in the next post! 😉