I was given work authorization with my Canadian study permit, but my permit is missing this authorization. How do I amend this?

Occasionally, international students who are eligible to work in Canada may find that their study permit does not explicitly state that they “may work” or “accept employment”.

In this case, the student will be required to amend their study permit before they can work in Canada. This procedure is known as applying for an Amendment to the Record of Landing, Confirmation of Permanent Residence or Temporary Resident Document. The code for this form is IMM 1436.

Note: Permit amendments can only be requested when Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) makes a mistake on a document. Changes sought by a temporary resident (student or worker) cannot be addressed by asking for a permit amendment if your permit is correct as it is.

Discover your options to study in Canada

Canadian international students may be wondering what steps they need to take to amend a study permit if it does not include the work eligibility they were granted.

Read on for more.

Eligibility

To be eligible for an amendment on their study permit with work authorization, an international student must:

• Be eligible to work in Canada at the time their study permit was issued
• Have a study permit missing the correct conditions or remarks related to work

As an example, the study permit may wrongly state that an international student is prohibited from working in Canada or that they cannot participate in off-campus employment. Additionally, a study permit that requires an amendment may not include any conditions or remarks related to work.

General Information

Amendment applicants are urged to apply as soon as possible because an international student cannot work in Canada if their permit doesn't have the right conditions. Otherwise, a student will not be able to receive a Social Insurance Number (SIN).

The application can have varying processing times and is completely free of charge. Applicants are advised to review expected processing times on IRCC’s website.

Step 1: Gather Documents

Submitting this application for a study permit amendment requires gathering several documents that will eventually be mailed to IRCC. A document checklist will be included with the latest form for this application, which can be found on IRCC’s website (more on that later).

Applicants must ensure they include each of the following five documents:

• Letter of Acceptance
• Letter of Enrollment
• Passport
• Government-Issued Identification
• Original Study Permit

Step 2: Fill Out Application Form

Amendment applicants must ensure they always download the latest Request to Amend the Record of Landing, Confirmation of Permanent Residence or Valid Temporary Resident Documents [IMM 1436] form from IRCC’s website.

Forms must be printed, completed and hand-signed before being mailed to IRCC.

This form includes a document checklist, which must also be printed and included with an amendment application.

Step 3: Send In Your Application

Study permit amendment applications should ideally be mailed through a trackable service to the Operations Support Centre in Ottawa.

Using a trackable mailing service allows you to know when your amendment application has been received by IRCC. This is important because IRCC does not send out a confirmation that they received a student’s permit amendment application.

Although applications are sent to the same building in both cases, regularly mailed amendment applications should be addressed to the following address:

Operations Support Centre (OSC) P.O. Box 8784 STN T CSC Ottawa, Ontario K1G 5J3

Conversely, couriered amendment applications should be addressed to:

Operations Support Centre (OSC) 365 Laurier Avenue West Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1L1

Step 4: Receive and Review Your New Study Permit

Canadian international students who are approved for a study permit amendment will have their new document mailed to them at the address indicated on their amendment application.

At this time, students with a new permit are advised to review their document to ensure it now includes language specifically stating that they “may accept employment” or “may work.”

Note: These statements will always be followed by specific conditions related to the student’s individual permit, including things like “may work … 20 hours on campus” or “may accept employment … off campus”.

International students should also immediately save and store a digital copy of their new permit in a safe and accessible place.

Discover your options to study in Canada