Work permits · Studying in Canada
You can study on a Canadian work permit now, for six months
IRCC quietly removed a step on 9 September 2026. If you hold a work permit and need a short licensing course, you no longer have to apply for a study permit first. It runs until 31 December 2027, and almost nobody has reported it correctly.
The short answer
A work permit holder in Canada may study for up to 6 months, or until their work permit ends if that comes first, without applying for a study permit. IRCC announced the measure on 9 September 2026 and it is in effect until 31 December 2027. Full-time studies still require a study permit, and the measure is not a route for anybody outside Canada to come and study.
What IRCC actually said
IRCC will begin notifying eligible work permit holders this week that they can study for up to 6 months or until their permit ends (whichever comes first) without applying for a study permit.
The stated purpose is to let workers already in Canada pursue short-term licensing, education or training while continuing to work, and the notice names tradespeople, nurses and laboratory technicians. For an Indian worker in Canada trying to get a provincial licence recognised, that is the exact situation this was written for.
Two limits that most coverage has wrong
It is not a way in, and IRCC says so in the notice
In IRCC's own words: "This measure is not a new pathway for workers to come to Canada." The same notice restates the commitment to reduce the temporary population to less than 5% of Canada's total by the end of 2027, which is the direction everything else in this year's policy has moved.
That matters in Gujarat because the sentence will be inverted by somebody. A measure that helps people already in Canada is not an argument for buying a work permit, and anyone selling one on this basis is describing a policy that does not exist. Check any job offer against the public records before money moves.
Source
Common questions
Can I study in Canada on a work permit without a study permit?
Yes, for up to six months, under a temporary measure IRCC announced on 9 September 2026. A work permit holder may study for up to 6 months or until their permit ends, whichever comes first, without applying for a study permit. IRCC describes it as removing an administrative step for workers pursuing short-term licensing, education or training, and names tradespeople, nurses and laboratory technicians as examples. The measure is in effect until 31 December 2027. Full-time studies still require a study permit.
Does this let me come to Canada to study on a work permit?
No, and IRCC says so directly: "This measure is not a new pathway for workers to come to Canada." It applies to people who already hold a Canadian work permit, and the study has to fit inside the time that permit already has left. Anyone offering to arrange a work permit on the basis that you can then study on it has inverted what this measure does.
How long can I study on a work permit in Canada?
Six months, or until your work permit ends, whichever comes first. That ceiling is the measure's own wording and it is not extendable by taking a second short course back to back, because the limit attaches to the study rather than to the course. If what you want to do takes longer than six months, or is full-time, it needs a study permit in the ordinary way.
Work permits
Check whether your course fits inside the measure before you enrol.
Six months is a ceiling and your permit's end date may be lower. We will read both against the course you are considering. Canadian applications are prepared under RCIC licence R710507.
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