An international student from India, who says he was struggling to pay for college, is facing imminent deportation for working 40 hours as a long-haul truck driver during a school week — twice the amount that’s allowed under immigration law.

Jobandeep Singh Sandhu, a Canadore College student, was stopped by Ontario Provincial Police for a routine inspection near Cornwall, Ont., in 2017. His driver log book revealed he had worked more hours than permitted under his student visa. No charges were laid, but he was reported to federal authorities for the immigration breach. Sandhu is scheduled to be deported on June 15.

On Friday, dozens of his supporters gathered in front of Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen’s office in Toronto to deliver a petition containing more than 50,000 signatures of people calling on the government to lift its restriction on the number of hours international students can work and to issue Sandhu a temporary resident permit to remain in Canada.

“It makes no sense to arbitrarily pick a random number and limit people like Jobandeep’s ability to work to just those hours,” said Syed Hussan of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, a national umbrella group advocating for agricultural and domestic workers and students.

All students, domestic or foreign, should be able to work as much as they want and can, he added. “We can’t have a multi-tiered economy or different laws for different people.”

The Alliance also called for permanent residence status to be granted to all migrants, including international students, upon their arrival in Canada.

Sandhu, 22, arrived from Punjab in 2015 on a student visa to study in the mechanical engineering technician diploma program at Canadore College’s Mississauga campus. He began working for a truck company in 2017.

“I went to all my classes. I passed all my courses. I only worked on weekends, and my education wasn’t affected,” said Sandhu, who was caught just days before he completed diploma program. “My first priority in Canada was to study, but I had no other option. I would have to stop my studies if I didn’t work to pay for school.”

Immigration department spokesperson Beatrice Fenelon said foreign students must abide by the conditions listed on their study permits and are required to actively pursue studies.

“This regulation tries to ensure that study permit-holders are genuine students. Limiting off-campus work to 20 hours per week while class is in session reflects that the student is genuinely pursuing their studies, while continuing to offer the opportunity to gain valuable workplace experience in Canada and earn some money,” she explained.

“A person seeking to work full-time would have a primary purpose of working, not studying, and should seek a work permit.”

There were 572,415 international students in Canada at all levels of study in 2018, most are enrolled in language training and post-secondary studies. Full-time foreign students at publicly funded colleges and universities are charged three times more than their domestic peers for tuitions. Under their visa, they can work up to 20 hours off campus while enrolled full-time. No restrictions on employment hours are in place during school breaks.

“Students workers are suffering. We pay all the taxes, but are excluded from healthcare and decent housing. We face wage exploitation and abuse,” said Varunpreet Singh, a migrant student organizer. “Everyone, including migrant students should have the same rights, and that means full labour rights.”

Sandhu said his parents borrowed money to cover the first-year tuition of his two-year, $28,000 program, and he must work full-time to support himself and help pay off his debt. Sandhu declined to reveal his employer’s name or his salary, saying those were not at issue. However, he said it has been his intent to apply for immigration after his studies.

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He has unsuccessfully fought against his deportation since 2017. In January, he applied for a temporary residence permit to remain in Canada. A decision is pending, but may not come before his scheduled deportation.

“I came to Canada with a dream, to study, to settle here, to build a life for me and my family,” he told the Star in an interview. “Now I’m being punished for working too hard.”