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Submitting biometrics is now a required step for certain applicants for a Canadian work permit, including those applying under the International Experience Class (IEC) program.
On February 23, 2023, Canada removed the pandemic-era biometrics exemption for certain foreign nationals. Temporary residence applications submitted within Canada will now require biometrics as per regular procedures, unless otherwise exempt.
Here’s how it works
There is some confusion out there because many people think they need to submit their biometrics when they first submit their documents with the IEC application.
Rather, you receive a request to submit biometrics AFTER you submit your IEC application and have paid the fees (including a biometrics fee).
These biometrics can only be submitted at a Visa Application Centre (VAC) or Application Support Centre (ASC, in the USA only). Or, for applicants in Canada, you can now submit your biometrics by appointment only at any designated Service Canada Centre.
After submitting your work permit application, you’ll soon receive a request to submit biometrics. From the date you receive the request for biometrics, you have 30 days to complete them and upload your receipt.

Your personalized guide to IEC!
What is the IEC program?
The IEC program is a youth exchange program for international youth from more than 30 countries to spend time living and working in Canada. Through the IEC, Canada welcomes tens of thousands of working holidaymakers, young professionals and interns annually.
What are biometrics?
The biometric process involves the collection of electronic fingerprints, a digital photograph, and personal details of applicants.There is a fee of $85 CAD for individual applicants, with families applying together at the same time paying a maximum of $170.
Why does Canada require biometrics for IEC participants?
Submitting biometrics is not only required for IEC, it’s required for applications for a work permit (including IEC applicants), study permit, visitor visa, permanent residence, or refugee or asylum status, with a few exceptions.
New Visa Application Centres (VACs)
In order to meet the increased demand for biometric testing facilities for IEC applicants, particularly in Europe, Canada has opened a number of additional Visa Application Centres (VACs). It is important to know that these centres are run by third-party companies, and their remit extends only to the collection of biometric data. IEC applications will not be accepted at a VAC.
In addition to existing European-based VACs in Dusseldorf (Germany), Warsaw (Poland), Madrid (Spain), London (United Kingdom), Paris (France), Rome (Italy) and Stockholm (Sweden), new VACs have opened in Lyon (France), Berlin (Germany), Vienna (Austria), and Athens (Greece), with a very limited biometrics collection service also available in Dublin, (Ireland) and Oslo (Norway).
In addition to these European-based VACs, centres are also present in a number of cities in other IEC designated countries. However, changes that took place in early November, 2018 resulted in the closure of some VACs in the Asia, Asia Pacific and the America regions, with new VACs opening in new locations. In addition, changes were made to whether or not applicants must make an appointment before visiting a VAC, with many VACs now making an appointment mandatory.
At present, there are VACs in Melbourne and Sydney in Australia (the Perth VAC having closed in early November, 2018), Auckland (New Zealand), Tokyo (Japan), Seoul (South Korea), Taipei (Taiwan), Hong Kong and San Jose (Costa Rica), among others.
More are expected to be rolled out in the future.
Click the slide below to find the closest Visa Application Centre to you.
Find a Visa Application Centre: locations, contact details, and updates
City | Country | Website | Biometrics | Updates |
---|---|---|---|---|
Abidjan | Ivory Coast | Ivory Coast VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Abu Dhabi | United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates VACs | By appointment or walk in | None |
Abuja | Nigeria | Nigeria VACs | By appointment or walk in | None |
Accra | Ghana | Ghana VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Addis Ababa | Ethiopia | Ethiopia VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Ahmedabad | India | India VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Al Khobar | Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia VACs | By appointment or walk in | None |
Algiers | Algeria | Algeria VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Almaty | Kazakhstan | Kazakhstan VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Amman | Jordan | Jordan VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Ankara | Turkey | Turkey VACs | By appointment or walk in | None |
Antananarivo | Madagascar | Madagascar VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Asuncion | Paraguay | Paraguay VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Athens | Greece | Greece VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Auckland | New Zealand | New Zealand VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Baku | Azerbaijan | Azerbaijan VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Bali | Indonesia | Indonesia VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Bamako | Mali | Mali VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Bangalore | India | India VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Bangkok | Thailand | Thailand VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services |
Beijing | China | China VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Beirut | Lebanon | Lebanon VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Belgrade | Serbia | Serbia VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Berlin | Germany | Germany VACs | By appointment or walk in | October 25, 2018: Opening date |
Bishkek | Kyrgyzstan | Kyrgyzstan VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Bogota | Colombia | Colombia VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Bridgetown | Barbados | Barbados VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Brasilia | Brazil | Brazil VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Bucharest | Romania | Romania VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Buenos Aires | Argentina | Argentina VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Cairo | Egypt | Egypt VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Cali | Colombia | Colombia VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Cape Town | South Africa | South Africa VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Caracas | Venezuela | Venezuela VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Cebu | Philippines | Philippines VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Chandigarh | India | India VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Chengdu | China | China VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Chennai | India | India VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Chisinau | Moldova | Moldova VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Chittagong | Bangladesh | Bangladesh VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Chongqing | China | China VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Colombo | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Conakry | Guinea | Guinea VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Dakar | Senegal | Senegal VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Dar es Salaam | Tanzania | Tanzania VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Dhaka | Bangladesh | Bangladesh VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Doha | Qatar | Qatar VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Dubai | United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates VACs | By appointment or walk in | None |
Dublin (Now open) | Ireland | Ireland VAC | By appointment or walk in | March 1, 2019: Opening date |
Dushanbe | Tajikistan | Tajikistan VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Düsseldorf | Germany | Germany VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Erbil | Iraq | Iraq VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Georgetown | Guyana | Guyana VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Guangzhou | China | China VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Guatemala City | Guatemala | Guatemala VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Hangzhou | China | China VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Hanoi | Vietnam | Vietnam VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Harare | Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Ho Chi Minh | Vietnam | Vietnam VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Hong Kong | Hong Kong SAR | Hong Kong VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Hyderabad | India | India VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Islamabad | Pakistan | Pakistan VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Istanbul | Turkey | Turkey VACs | By appointment or walk in | None |
Jakarta | Indonesia | Indonesia VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Jalandhar | India | India VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Jeddah | Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia VACs | By appointment or walk in | None |
Jinan | China | China VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Kampala | Uganda | Uganda VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Karachi | Pakistan | Pakistan VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Kathmandu | Nepal | Nepal VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Kigali | Rwanda | Rwanda VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Kingston | Jamaica | Jamaica VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Kinshasa | Democratic Rep. of Congo | Democratic Rep. of Congo VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Kolkata | India | India VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | Malaysia VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Kunming | China | China VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Kuwait City | Kuwait | Kuwait VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Kyiv | Ukraine | Ukraine VACs | By appointment or walk in | None |
La Paz | Bolivia | Bolivia VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Lagos | Nigeria | Nigeria VACs | By appointment or walk in | None |
Lahore | Pakistan | Pakistan VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Lima | Peru | Peru VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
London | United Kingdom | United Kingdom VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Los Angeles | United States | United States VAC | By appointment only | As of April 1, 2019: no longer accepts study permit applications As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Lviv | Ukraine | Ukraine VACs | By appointment or walk in | None |
Lyon | France | France VACs | By appointment or walk in | None |
Madrid | Spain | Spain VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Managua | Nicaragua | Nicaragua VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Manila | Philippines | Philippines VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Medellin | Colombia | Colombia VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Melbourne | Australia | Australia VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Mendoza | Argentina | Argentina VACs | 018: New set of | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Mexico City | Mexico | Mexico VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Montego Bay | Jamaica | Jamaica VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Montevideo | Uruguay | Uruguay VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Moscow | Russia | Russia VACs | By appointment or walk in | None |
Mumbai | India | India VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Muscat | Oman | Oman VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Nairobi | Kenya | Kenya VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Nanjing | China | China VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
New Delhi | India | India VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
New York | United States | United States VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Niamey | Niger | Niger VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Ouagadougou | Burkina Faso | Burkina Faso VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Panama City | Panama | Panama VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Paris | France | France VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Phnom Penh | Cambodia | Cambodia VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Podgorica | Montenegro | Montenegro VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Port Louis | Mauritius | Mauritius VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Port of Spain | Trinidad and Tobago | Trinidad and Tobago VACVAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Port-au-Prince (New) Opening soon | Haiti | Available November 2, 2018 | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Porto Alegre | Brazil | Brazil VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Pretoria | South Africa | South Africa VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Pristina | Kosovo | Kosovo VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Pune | India | India VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Quito | Ecuador | Ecuador VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Rabat | Morocco | Morocco VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Rangoon (Yangon) | Burma (Myanmar) | Burma (Myanmar) VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Recife | Brazil | Brazil VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | Brazil VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Riyadh | Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia VACs | By appointment or walk in | None |
Rome | Italy | Italy VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Saint Petersburg | Russia | Russia VACs | By appointment or walk in | None |
San Francisco | United States | United States VACs | By appointment only | Only offers biometrics services — no other immigration services available. Opened temporarily in November, 2020, to address backlogs caused by COVID-19. |
San Jose | Costa Rica | Costa Rica VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
San Salvador | El Salvador | El Salvador VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Santiago | Chile | Chile VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Santo Domingo | Dominican Republic | Dominican Republic VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Sao Paulo | Brazil | Brazil VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Sarajevo | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnia and Herzegovina VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Seattle | United States | United States VACs | By appointment only | Only offers biometrics services — no other immigration services available. Opened temporarily in November, 2020, to address backlogs caused by COVID-19. |
Seoul | South Korea | South Korea VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Shanghai | China | China VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Shenyang | China | China VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Singapore | Singapore | Singapore VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Skopje | Macedonia | Macedonia VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Sofia | Bulgaria | Bulgaria VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Stockholm | Sweden | Sweden VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Suva | Fiji | Fiji VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Sydney | Australia | Australia VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Sylhet | Bangladesh | Bangladesh VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Taipei | Taiwan | Taiwan VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Tbilisi | Georgia | Georgia VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Tegucigalpa | Honduras | Honduras VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* & New service provider |
Tel Aviv | Israel | IsraelVAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Tirana | Albania | Albania VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Tokyo | Japan | Japan VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Tunis | Tunisia | Tunisia VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Ulaanbaatar | Mongolia | Mongolia VAC | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Vienna | Austria | Austria VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Vladivostok | Russia | Russia VACs | By appointment or walk in | None |
Warsaw | Poland | Poland VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Wuhan | China | China VACs | By appointment only | As of November 2, 2018: New set of services* |
Yaoundé | Cameroon | Cameroon VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
Yerevan | Armenia | Armenia VAC | By appointment or walk in | None |
If you are an IEC hopeful living in or near one of these cities, then your application process should not be too challenging, at least as far as biometrics are concerned. However, if you happen to be resident in a city not in close proximity to one of the aforementioned locations or worse still, a country without a VAC at all, then you are suddenly at a logistical and financial disadvantage. After all, applicants only have 30 days to submit biometric requirements following the issuing of the Biometrics Instruction Letter.
At present, many designated IEC countries do not have a VAC located within their borders, while other countries like Ireland and Norway have very limited operating hours each month. In practise, this means that an IEC applicant from Chile will have to make their way abroad (for example, to Buenos Aires in Argentina) to complete the required biometric testing in the closest VAC, while applicants from Latvia or Estonia may need to travel to Warsaw, Kiev or Moscow to complete this part of their IEC journey.

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Biometrics for IEC: what next?
Through engagement on our IEC Working Holiday Forum and elsewhere on our network, we have received first-hand accounts of IEC applicants who have recently had to address travel issues needed to make their IEC dream a reality. In the case of applicants from the Republic of Ireland and parts of the United Kingdom far from London, this has meant having to pay for flights or other travel to London and often accommodation when there, while also taking a day or two off work or studies. Similarly, in continental Europe we have encountered IEC applicants who have had to travel large distances by train, plane, bus or car to their nearest VAC.
From an IEC perspective, many of the concerns about the biometric requirements are from applicants who were caught unaware of the changes back in 2019, while others who feel that the lack of a designated VAC in each IEC country is making the process unnecessarily difficult. There is no doubt that the biometrics for IEC requirement is somewhat of a game-changer for a program that had previously been renowned for its convenience, but if additional VACs are added in the near future, then this should make the process run a little smoother.
For now, we recommend that all IEC applicants in 2020 take note of their closest VAC, even if it is in a different country, and allocate sufficient time and money to complete this crucial stage of their IEC journey within 30 days of receiving their Biometric Instruction Letter. We know that taking a multi-hour flight or train-ride for a biometric test that takes only a few minutes to complete is far from ideal, but if you really want to live and work in Canada, then we think it’s a sacrifice worth making.
This page on biometrics for IEC applicants will be updated as and when any relevant new information becomes available.
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