Work permit holders can now study for six months without a study permit
On 4 September 2026 a temporary public policy came into force that lets foreign workers in Canada study without a study permit, so long as the course runs for six months or less. It replaces an earlier measure that expired on 27 June 2026, and it runs until 31 December 2027 unless it is revoked sooner.
The two policies are not the same shape. The old one was narrow about who qualified — you needed a work permit you had applied for on or before 7 June 2023 — but it put no ceiling on how long the program could be. The new one flips that. Almost every worker in Canada now qualifies, and the ceiling is six months.
Who qualifies
Two conditions, and that is the whole test:
- you hold a valid work permit, and
- your program of study is not longer than six months.
There is no application, no fee and no letter to request. It does not matter whether your work permit is open or employer-specific, when you applied for it, or which stream it came from. You are authorised to study for six months or less, or until your work permit expires — whichever comes first.
What this actually unlocks
Short courses were, for most people, already possible. Paragraph 188(1)(c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations has long allowed study without a permit where the program runs six months or less and finishes inside the stay you are authorised for. So it is a fair question what the new policy adds.
Two things, and both matter in practice.
First, study-related conditions printed on your work permit no longer apply. Plenty of work permits carry a line to the effect of not authorized to study. Until now that condition bit even where the regulations would otherwise have allowed a short course, and a worker who enrolled anyway was in breach of a permit condition. IRCC has switched that off for the life of this policy.
Second, the policy text lifts the requirement in 188(1)(c) that the course be completed within the period authorised for your stay. That exemption runs until your work permit expires or the policy ends, whichever comes first.
Proving it to the college
The learning institution may ask you to show that you are allowed to study without a permit. There is no letter from IRCC to produce and nothing to download. Your valid work permit is the proof, and it is the only document the policy asks for.
Quebec: no CAQ
Workers in Quebec are covered from the same date, and no CAQ is needed for studies under this policy. The provincial exemption and the federal policy were deliberately brought into force together on 4 September 2026, so there is no gap between them.
If your course includes a co-op placement
This is where employer-specific permit holders need to slow down. If you want to start a co-op work placement while studying under this policy, you may need a new employer-specific work permit before the placement starts — but only where the co-op employer or the occupation is different from your current one. If it is, you would end up holding two valid work permits at once: the original one that qualified you for this policy, and a second one covering the placement.
Holders of an open work permit do not need to apply for anything. That is a real advantage for anyone on a spousal open work permit or a post-graduation work permit who wants a course with a placement component.
The Express Entry problem — read this before you enrol
If you study full-time under this policy, the work you do during those studies will not count toward Canadian Experience Class eligibility, and it will not earn you Canadian work experience points under the Comprehensive Ranking System.
This is the part that costs people, and it is easy to miss because nothing goes wrong at the time. You keep working, you keep getting paid, your permit stays valid. The damage only shows up later, when you count your qualifying months for Express Entry and find that a stretch of them does not count.
Note the word full-time. IRCC attaches this consequence to full-time study. If you are counting months toward the twelve you need for the Canadian Experience Class, or you are close to a CRS threshold that turns on Canadian work experience, the shape of your enrolment matters as much as the course itself — and it is worth confirming before the semester starts rather than after.
What the policy does not do
- It does not build toward a PGWP. A post-graduation work permit needs a program of at least eight months completed on a study permit at a designated learning institution. Six months of study without a permit builds nothing toward one.
- It does not let you enrol in a longer program. The condition is that the program itself is six months or less — not that you attend a longer program for six months. A two-year diploma is outside the policy from day one.
- It does not extend your status. Your authorisation to study ends when your work permit ends, even if the course has not finished.
- It does not change your employment terms. If you need fewer hours to attend class, that is a conversation with your employer, not with IRCC.
Who should take advice first
Most workers can simply enrol. Three situations are worth a conversation: you are inside a year of your Canadian Experience Class threshold and thinking about full-time study; you hold an employer-specific permit and the course has a placement attached; or your work permit expires part-way through the course and you have not yet started an extension.
If any of those is you, book a consultation before you register, not after.
Sources: IRCC, Public policy allowing some work permit holders to study without a study permit (modified 9 September 2026), and the underlying temporary public policy. General information only, not legal advice. Individual files vary; obtain advice on your own circumstances.
