The number of Indian students pursuing higher education overseas reached a six-year high at 750,365 in 2022, as per a recent report titled Erudera released by the Ministry of Education. The top ten destinations for these students were the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, New Zealand, Georgia, and France, the report stated. Further, it has been mentioned in the report, that more and more students have begun to explore the option of employment while studying. At the same time it should be noted that international students often have several questions with regards to the process, such as the possibility of working, the procedure to follow, the requirement of a work permit, and the maximum number of hours allowed to work.
Additionally, numerous countries draw a significant number of international students each year and offer them the opportunity to work while studying, albeit the regulations and working hours for students vary in each country according to the report. It is reported that six million tertiary students went to study abroad in 2019. During 2018, Europe had 1.3 million international students pursuing tertiary education, attracted by its long-established universities.
Interestingly, while most of the European countries permit students to work, Ukraine is the only country where it is considered illegal to work while studying, the report suggested. Countries such as Austria, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Georgia, and Greece allow students to work up to 20 hours per week. In contrast, Bosnia, Andorra, and Croatia only permit students to work part-time.
Furthermore, some European countries require international students to obtain a work permit before they can work, while others allow them to work without a permit but may impose restrictions on the number of hours or the type of work they can do, as per the report. In France, international students are allowed to work up to 964 hours per year without a work permit, but they need to obtain a temporary work permit if they want to work more than that, the report said.
There are 1,893 officially recognised universities and colleges in North America, according to the uniRank database. Some North American countries such as the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Mexico require students to obtain a work permit to work part-time. However, in Canada, international students are allowed to work unlimited hours without a work permit. In contrast, Costa Rica does not permit students to work, whereas Barbados allows limited hours of work, and Panama only permits students to work if it is essential for the course pursued by them.