Working Holiday (IEC)
The Working Holiday (International Experience Canada) provides young persons from around the globe with the chance to enter and work in Canada. The IEC program includes the famous Working Holiday work permit, popularly known as the Working Holiday Visa.
Over 30 countries take part in the IEC program. While the government is yet to announce the 2021 IEC opening date, you need to know the eligibility criteria, so you get prepared for it early.
People from specific nations with bilateral arrangements with Canada for youth mobility who are aged between 18 -35 years can receive an OWP (Open Work Permit) to enter the Canadian job market temporarily.
The IEC program is made up of three categories:
There’re three categories of the International Experience Canada Programs:
- Working Holiday
- International Co-op
- Young Professionals
Working Holiday
In case you qualify for the Working Holiday Program, you can enter Canada and work for up to two years. With the Open Work Permit under this program, you can work for any Canadian employer anywhere in Canada.
While the Working Holiday program typically runs for up to years, the nature of the participant’s stay in Canada can make them ineligible to stay in Canada for the entire two years.
International Co-op
The International co-op program lets participating countries’ citizens pursuing post-secondary education in their home country spend some time in Canada as interns for Canadian employers.
A participant is required to arrange their co-op placement with a company in Canada before submitting their application. Among other things, you don’t qualify for the program if you aren’t a registered student in your country for the entire internship period.
The Young Professionals
This category targets foreign youth (mainly post-secondary graduates) looking to further their careers by acquiring work experience in Canada
As a participant in the young professionals’ program, you can only submit your application if you have a job contract with a Canadian employer or have signed a letter of an employment offer.
The program allows participants to gain international professional experience in the Canadian NOC’s skill level 0, A or B.
The International Experience Canada eligibility requirements
To qualify for the IEC program, you should:
- Have a valid passport
- Pay the appropriate fees.
- Round-trip air ticket (or adequate funds to pay for one)
- Be a citizen of one of the participating countries.
- Have 2 500 Canadian dollars to cater for initial expenses
- Be aged between 18 and 35—however, the cut-off is 30 years for some countries.
- Have a health insurance
- Be admissible to Canada.
- Have no dependents
Application Process
A candidate is required to submit their profile of International Experience Canada expressing their interest in the program under at least one of the three earlier mentioned categories. A candidate’s profile will be submitted to a pool of eligible applicants. Rounds of selections are periodically done where the most qualified candidates will be selected randomly and invited to apply. Canada gives each participating country a specific calendar of when rounds of invitation are held.
Canada issues ITAs (Invitations to Apply) in the priority order shown below:
- International Co-op (Internship)
- Young Professionals
- Working Holiday
If you are among the selected candidates for the IEC program, IRCC will send you an Invitation to Apply. You have ten days to accept the ITA, and once you do so, you are required to apply for the Canadian temporary work permit within twenty days.
Ensure you submit a well-completed IEC application with all associated proof as necessary. A poorly done application can result in a refusal. A refused IEC application will force you to wait for a whole year before you can reapply. Get in touch with us now for assistance with your application process.
For a successful application, IRCC will issue an LOI (letter of introduction). You’ll need to present the LOI upon arrival in Canada. With it at the port of entry, an immigration official will issue you with a work permit.
Generally, the Canadian government doesn’t authorize any permit extensions under the IEC program. However, you can increase the validity of your IEC visa under some exceptional circumstances.
People from these countries may apply for the International Experience Canada program. Particular conditions for each country are indicated.
| COUNTRY | International Co-op (Internship) | Young Professionals | Working Holiday | Age Limit |
| United Kingdom | N/A | N/A | Up to 2 years | 18 to 30 |
| Ukraine | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 35 |
| Switzerland | Up to 12 months | Up to 18 months | N/A | 18 to 35 |
| Taiwan | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 35 |
| Sweden | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 30 |
| Spain | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 35 |
| Slovenia | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 35 |
| Slovakia | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 35 |
| Poland | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 35 |
| Norway | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 35 |
| New Zealand | N/A | N/A | Up to 23 months | 18 to 35 |
| Netherlands | N/A | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 30 |
| Mexico | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 29 |
| Lithuania | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 35 |
| Latvia | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 35 |
| Korea | N/A | N/A | Up to 1 year | 18 to 30 |
| Japan | N/A | N/A | Up to 1 year | 18 to 30 |
| Italy | N/A | N/A | Up to 6 months | 18 to 35 |
| Ireland | Up to 1 year | Up to 2 years | Up to 2 years | 18 to 35 |
| Hong Kong | N/A | N/A | Up to 1 year | 18 to 30 |
| Greece | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 35 |
| Germany | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 35 |
| France | Up to 1 year | Up to 2 years | Up to 2 years | 18 to 35 |
| Estonia | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 35 |
| Denmark | N/A | N/A | Up to 1 year | 18 to 35 |
| Czech Republic | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 35 |
| Croatia | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 35 |
| Chile | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 35 |
| Costa Rica | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year | 18 to 35 |
| Belgium | N/A | N/A | Up to 1 year | 18 to 30 |
| Austria | Up to 6 months | Up to 1 year | N/A | 18 to 30 |
| Australia | Up to 1 year | Up to 2 years | Up to 2 years | 18 to 30 |