Are you among the expats/immigrants planning to apply for a Holiday Working Visa in Canada? Read further!

working holiday visa canada

1. IEC Programme & Working Holiday Visa

The Northern American nation-state has bilateral youth mobility agreement with several other countries in the world. If you happen to hold the citizenship of one of them, you could apply to participate in the International Experience Canada (IEC) Programme, which is based on a quota system.

There are three pools young expats can enter:

• Internship Co-Op
• Young Professionals
• Working Holiday

With the latter, which is the most popular one, in fact, expats could do nearly any kind of jobs and nearly anywhere in Canada. What would be a better and more local way to explore the vast regions of this country of only 36.71 million people than travelling and working in it?

working holiday visa canada

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2. Requirements

Probably due to negotiations and some other factors, there are different requirements set for citizens of the 34 countries listed. For example, a 25-year-old Australian can stay in Canada for two years, but someone from Italy or Ukraine can only spend 6 months there. Therefore, it’s essential to find out what requirements you need to meet.

Some general info about the conditions regarding the Working Holiday Visa:

• Be a citizen of one of the 34 countries, and be between 18 and 30, or 35 (inclusive), at the time of your application. (Some countries require applicants to be resident of their country of citizenship when applying for a Working Holiday Visa.)

• Have a valid passport for the entire stay in Canada; the work permit issued won’t be longer than the validity of your passport.

• Have at least CAD$2,500 on landing to cover your expenses in the first few weeks.

• Have health insurance valid until at the end of your stay in Canada.

• Have the right to be admitted to Canada.

• No dependents are allowed.

• Give a proof of a round-ticket or the financial resources that shows that you can purchase one.

• Pay the subsequent fees.

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working holiday visa canada

3. How to Apply

To get a Working Holiday Visa, future expats must apply for one. Hopefully, it’s clear by now whether you are eligible for this specific visa or not. The steps are the following:

• If you have completed the questionnaire here, you must have received a reference code.

• You have to enter this code and create an account here. Remember that you need to give your biometrics (such as fingerprints and a photo).

• Personalise your IEC profile.

• Submit it and select your IEC pool you’d like to join. You can maybe pick more than one.

• After this, a bit of luck is needed. Applicants have to receive an invitation to apply (ITA) to be able to continue the process. Only a number of permits will be issued. That means the more people have chosen the particular pool, the fewer the chances are you get an invite. Fingers crossed, though!

• If you were among the selected ones, they will give you 10 days to start your application or decline it. Keep in mind it can take days, weeks or months. So check your inbox regularly.

• If you just like other expats are accepted, you need to pay additional fees (a participation fee of CAD$150 and an open work permit holder fee of CAD$100) and upload some documents. The Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will assess your application and might require you to give them more information.

Best of luck!

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