I have recently started college, and am working on obtaining a work permit via that.
I signed a contract with a school starting next month, when I will theoretically have the work permit figured out. They are eager for me to start, and were saying that one could be a substitute teacher without any penalty if caught.
This doesn’t sound right to me, anyone know about this? As I told them, as a student, if I mess up even once I don’t get to come back and I really don’t want to take risks.
They’re lying, or at least egregiously wrong.
Definitely lying. Any kind of work (paid or volunteer) is illegal if you are not yet officially a resident. Substitute, permanent, part-time, full-time, contract, freelance…
EDIT: Sorry, just noticed this thread is two years old. Not sure why it showed up at the top of the forum.
But don’t students have open work permits but are limited to 20 hours a week max?
No idea. I was never a student here, but that sounds right. I know of other countries that do that.
Fify. 
Sure, if you want to get technical haha