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Doing an internship for credit as part of your Université Laval study program

Questions?

Student Life Office
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If you are doing an internship as part of your study program, you may need to get a work permit through the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) co-op work permit program.

Under Canadian immigration rules, student internships, even when unpaid, are considered work and require a work permit.

If your internship falls within the right-to-work limits of your study permit and you meet all the following conditions, you do not need a work permit to do the internship:

  • You meet all the right-to-work conditions for people with a study permit.
  • You do not work more than 20 hours per week off campus during regular academic semesters (this work includes your internship work and any other off-campus employment, if applicable).
  • If the internship takes place during the summer and it is your last semester of study, you must not exceed 20 hours of off-campus work per week, which includes your internship and any other off-campus employment. 
  • You have a study permit that indicates that you have the right to work off campus (if not, see the page on Getting a social insurance number (SIN)).
  • If an internship is a mandatory part of your program of study, we strongly advise you to obtain a free co-op work permit.

Presentations
The Bureau de la vie étudiante – BVE (Student Life Office) regularly offers presentations about this. See their website for details.

The Immigration section of this website is intended to provide general information on current procedures, which may change at any time without notice. The laws and regulations in force in Québec and Canada, as well as the websites of Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration [Québec’s ministry of immigration, francisation, and integration] (MIFI) and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), take precedence over this page.

Last updated on: 2024-09-25