International Experience Canada (IEC), also called Working Holiday Visa (WHV), is a program for young people to visit Canada and gain work experience. It is aimed at people under the age of 35 and gives them the opportunity to work for up to 2 years. The program is offered only to certain countries with which Canada has a bilateral agreement. This is definitely the easiest way to enter Canada to work.
To participate, the following requirements must be met:
- Be a citizen of one of the countries with which Canada has a bilateral agreement with the applicant’s home country.
- Be a resident of your own country
- Be between 18 and 35 years old
- Have at least $2,500 thousand to cover expenses during your stay in Canada
- Be covered by health insurance for the duration of your stay (you may be required to show proof of insurance upon arrival in Canada) Health insurance is required for the duration of your stay. This must also cover the full cost of any return transportation.
- You must have a return ticket or be able to prove that you have the financial means to purchase a return ticket at the end of your stay in Canada
- You must not be accompanied by family members
Once registration is complete, all you have to do is wait. When you enter Canada, you will receive a work permit, the duration of which varies from country to country, so you can only work for the designated period.
On a working holiday visa, you are not allowed to work in Canada if your visa has expired. However, if you have the required skills and some luck, you may find an employer who will sponsor you, so you can stay and work in Canada.
Also, I point out that if you want to try to get permanent residency after your working holiday visa expires, you can try to look in the Atlantic provinces. There is a good programme there called the Atlantic Pilot Programme that allows you to find work in those provinces.
Working Holiday Visa Canada, how to apply for it
First, applicants must register on the International Experience Canada (IEC) website. At this point, Canadian authorities will know that you are interested in a Canadian working holiday visa. Based on your profile, they will tell you whether or not you can complete your application.
Once approved, you will be required to fill out a special form that will verify that you are eligible to apply for the Working Holiday Visa to Canada. If your application is approved, you will receive a unique code that you will need to create your personal account. Then you will receive a request to submit your official working holiday visa application, which you must submit within 10 days and wait for extraction. If approved, you will need to submit the application to get the long awaited work permit.
Once you get the fateful working holiday visa, you have one year to go to Canada. This gives you more than enough time to plan your trip. And from the moment you enter Canada, you can stay for 1 or 2 years, depending on your country of origin.
The entire process is done exclusively online, so you do not have to go to a Canadian consulate.
The cost of applying for a Canadian working holiday visa is 150 Canadian dollars.
Citizens of some countries can apply for a visa only once in a lifetime, citizens of other countries twice.
Work Holiday Visa Canada, Countries
Here you can find the list of countries and the duration of their visa:
- Germany (18-35 years) duration 12 months
- Andorra (18-30 years) Duration 12 months
- Australia (18-35 years) Duration 24 months
- Austria (18-30 years) Duration 12 months
- Belgium (18-30 years) Duration 12 months
- Chile (18-35 years) Duration 12 months
- Costa Rica (18-35 years) Duration 12 months
- Croatia (18-35 years) Duration 12 months
- Czech Republic (18-35 years) duration 12 months
- South Korea (18-30 years) duration 12 months
- Denmark (18-35 years) Duration 12 months
- Slovakia (18-35 years) Duration 12 months
- Slovenia (18-35 years) Duration 12 months
- Spain (18-35 years) Duration 12 months
- Estonia (18-35 years) Duration 12 months
- France (18-35 years) Duration 24 months
- Japan (18-35 years) Duration 12 months
- Greece (18-35 years) Duration 12 months
- Hong Kong (18-30 years) Duration 12 months
- Ireland (18-35 years) Duration 24 months
- Italy (18-35 years) Duration 12 months
- Latvia (18-35 years) Duration 12 months
- Lithuania (18-35 years) Duration 12 months
- Luxembourg (18-30 years) Duration 12 months
- Mexico (18-29 years) Duration 12 months
- New Zealand (18-35 years) Duration 23 months
- Norway (18-35 years) Duration 12 months
- Netherlands (18-30 years) duration 12 months
- Poland (18-35 years) duration 12 months
- Portugal (18-35 years) duration 24 months
- San Marino (18-35 years) Duration 12 months
- Sweden (18-30 years) Duration 12 months
- Taiwan (18-35 years) Duration 12 months
- United Kingdom (18-30 years) Duration 12 months
- Ukraine (18-35 years) Duration 12 months
Nearly 40 countries participate in the program, and each has its own visa quota. Some IEC countries have higher visa quotas, making it easier for citizens of those countries to obtain visas (e.g., Australia, which has an unlimited number of visas available).
The number of visas is limited, so you need to plan well in advance. It is true that there is a lottery, but the earlier you apply the better. There is also a Canadian government Facebook community for this type of visa that you can join and request information.
If your country is not on the list, but you still want to have an experience in Canada, one option might be to be represented by recognized organizations that can help you organize your trip to Canada and they can help you:
- For all information about languages, laws and taxes in Canada
- Finding work
- To organize you with the means of transportation
- With assistance and general advice
ROs are private organizations that provide employment and travel assistance to youth. They may be nonprofit, for-profit, or educational. Most charge a fee for their services.
Each RO offers different services to help you. They may have different criteria or serve only certain countries of origin. They often offer young people paid opportunities in a variety of fields:
- agriculture
- hospitality
- culinary
- tourism
- other sectors
If you want all the information about working in Canada, read the article: How to work in Canada
