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By Rebecca Major
Updated on January 15, 2026
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Your odds of receiving an invitation to apply for an IEC work permit changes from week-to-week, depending on how many people from your country are in the pool and how close it is to the annual quota. Knowing your weekly odds of approval can help you plan your working holiday in Canada or know if you need to adjust your plans or try for a different pathway.
Use our IEC tracking tool to see your real-time odds of receiving an ITA for an IEC work permit
The 2026 IEC season officially opened on December 19, 2025. You can now create your profile and enter the pools. Apply early to improve your chances. Sign up to get the latest IEC updates and quota announcements.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) ranks countries as having the following odds of receiving an invitation to apply in the next round:
If you live in a country and are applying for an IEC pathway with Excellent odds of approval, you are likely to receive an invitation to apply for that pathway in the next round. Conversely, those in the very low and low range may not receive an invitation to apply for that pathway in the next round – or any future round (since rounds are random and more people are likely to join the pool each week).
If you’re hoping to secure an IEC Work Permit, there are a few ways to improve your chances and maximize your opportunities:
✅ Enter the pool as early as possible – Even if you’re not planning to move right away, submitting your profile as soon as you’re eligible gives you more chances to be selected in multiple rounds of invitations. The longer you’re in the pool, the better your odds.
✅ Keep an eye on your country’s selection odds – Check Immigration, IRCC updates on selection probabilities. If your country’s odds are low, you might want to explore alternative pathways.
✅ Consider applying through the Young Professionals Program – If your country has an agreement for the Young Professionals stream, this can be a less competitive route compared to the Working Holiday visa. The catch? You’ll need a job offer from a Canadian employer before applying. Start job searching early, network through LinkedIn, and explore job boards like Job Bank Canada and Moving2Canada’s own job board.
✅ Expand your job search beyond major cities – If you’re applying through the Young Professionals program, looking for jobs outside of popular hubs like Toronto and Vancouver can boost your chances. Smaller cities and rural areas often have less competition and may be more open to hiring international workers.
✅ Ensure your documents are ready – If selected, you’ll need to accept your invitation quickly and submit all required documents on time. Delays or missing paperwork can result in losing your spot.
✅ Stay flexible – If your country has a low quota or high competition, consider other immigration pathways, such as student visas, employer-sponsored work permits, or applying through a provincial program if you meet the criteria. A great example of this is alternative options for French citizens.
International youth between the ages of 18 – 35 or 18 – 30, depending on where you are applying from, can now submit their profiles to the IEC pool of candidates for a chance to work in Canada.
There are three IEC programs:
Working Holiday: participants get an open work permit to work anywhere in Canada, no job offer required. International Co-op (Internship): student participants receive an employer-specific work permit that allows them to gain targeted experience in their field of study. This program requires a valid job offer. Young Professionals: participants get an employer-specific work permit to gain targeted, professional work experience in their field of study or career path. A valid job offer is required.
If your country allows for eligibility up to 35, you have until you turn 36 to enter the pool and receive an invitation.
If your work permit application has been approved, you must enter Canada while your Port of Entry (POE) Letter is still valid. You do not have to enter Canada before your birthday.
IEC seasons typically open in late December or January and remain open until October or November. To find out the latest information about which countries’ pools are open and how many spots remain, please check our Working Holiday Newshub.
In order to apply, pools for must be open (Working Holiday Visa in Canada, IEC Young Professionals and International Co-Op) and your must be eligible for a participating program. To find out the latest information about which countries’ pools are open and how many spots remain, please check our Working Holiday News Hub.
You will need to receive your Port of Entry (POE) Letter of Introduction in order to enter Canada and receive your work permit. Usually, this document is valid for 12 months.
Bear in mind that it can take some months to receive an invitation to apply, complete your application, and have this application assessed. So when is the best time to apply for an IEC permit?
Both are million-dollar questions! IRCC say this ‘varies’ from draw to draw, and won’t commit to an exact figure, or an exact timeframe. The 2024 IEC season invited more than 115,000 candidates. You can find the latest invitation figures in our Working Holiday News Hub.
IEC candidates may have only one IEC profile at any time. However, it is possible to be eligible for more than one IEC pool.
When you complete your profile, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) informs you which pools are available to you. For most candidates, only one pool is available – typically, the Working Holiday pool for your country of citizenship. However, you may also be eligible for the Young Professionals and / or International Co-op pool for your country as well. If so, you can submit your profile to any of these available pools. For example, you might be eligible to submit your profile to the Working Holiday and Young Professionals pools.
Invitations to Apply are issued in the following order:
If your profile is in an International Co-op (Internship) pool and Working Holiday pool, you’ll receive an Invitation to Apply for an International Co-op category. You’ll only receive an Invitation to Apply for a Working Holiday work permit if there are no spots left in the International Co-op (Internship) category.
Under the old first-come, first-serve system, allocations sold out in a matter of days – sometimes, even hours. This system was in use until 2015.
The system used currently by IEC Canada allows for people to become a candidate at any stage before work permits in their pool run out.
However, it is recommended to become a candidate as soon as you can, so that you can be exposed to as many rounds of invitations as possible. In countries like the UK, where demand far exceeds supply, it is crucial to create a profile early in the IEC season.
IRCC has committed to giving at least five days of notice before each country’s and category’s final rounds of invitations, which will mark the closure of that pool for the season.
If you receive an invitation to submit a work permit application, you will have 10 days to accept the invite and a further 20 days to submit your work permit application.
You can research the requirements and ensure that you have the appropriate documents and information ready at hand and apply as soon as the program opens. External agencies cannot guarantee you a place and will charge you to fill out the forms.
Visit our International Experience Canada section for our full range of articles.
Selection is done randomly, and not on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. All eligible candidates stand an equal chance of being selected in any given draw. Furthermore, previous participation in IEC programs is not a consideration of the random invitations.
It is recommended that you apply early, so as to become exposed to a greater number of draws, as this may improve your likelihood of receiving an ITA.
The Working Holiday program is by far the most competitive of the 3 program. If your country offers a Young Professionals program, consider utilizing this program with securing an offer of employment. You are much more likely to be accepted under the Young Professionals program compared to the Working Holiday program.
Once you enter the pool of candidates, you could be in the pool for several weeks or months before you receive an ITA. There is no guarantee that you will receive one.
After your ITA is received, and you’ve completed your work permit application and paid relevant fees, IRCC has committed to a service standard of six weeks to process applications.
This depends on the country you are applying from as each country has different rules but it will be for either 12 or 24 months. You can learn more about the duration for your country and category on our International Experience Canada country list.
For IEC Young Professionals and International Co-Op work permits, these will be employer-specific, and tied to the job you have lined up.
If you’re applying for a Working Holiday Visa in Canada, these work permits are ‘open’, meaning you can find work with any eligible employer, and can arrange this employment after you arrive if you wish.
Participation in IEC programs is for those aged between 18 and 35 for applicants from many of the eligible countries.
Take our Canadian Immigration Quiz to determine other immigration options you may have.
This may be possible through an IEC Recognized Organization. Common countries include the USA, Brazil and India.
IEC candidates only get a certain number of IEC participations, depending on their country. Since December 11th, 2023, a participation only counts if you arrive in Canada and receive your work permit.
In the past, getting a port of entry (POE) letter of introduction counted as a participation. However, Canada changed the definition of a participation to help people who could not come to Canada before their POE letter expired.
If you applied before or after December 11th, 2023 and have not used all your participations (i.e. activated your IEC work permit in Canada) you can create a new profile if you are still eligible and receive a new POW letter.
Recognized Organizations (ROs) provide support for applying for IEC work permits, especially to participants from countries without a Youth Mobility Agreement (YMA) with Canada. These organizations offer the possibility of repeat IEC Working Holiday participation, particularly useful for those looking to extend their international experience. As private companies authorized by the government, ROs offer additional assistance for various needs, such as finding employment, arranging transportation, and securing accommodations. Note that applicants using ROs must still meet all IEC eligibility requirements. The typical cost for RO services is around CAD $4,000.
Find more information about IEC Recognized Organizations here.
Yes. IRCC says that participation in the IEC program through a Youth Mobility Agreement (YMA) with Canada does not affect your eligibility to participate through a Recognized Organization (RO). If you have already used your allowable participations under a YMA, you can still apply through an RO, up to the maximum number of lifetime participations allowed in the IEC program (2).
IRCC states:
Under the IEC program requirements, applicants may not include any dependants (i.e., spouses, common-law partners or children) on their application to benefit from the IEC program. This means that an applicant and their family members may not benefit from the IEC program as a family unit under one IEC application. However, this does not prevent spouses or common-law partners, dependant(s) from submitting their own individual request to come to Canada (e.g., spouse may submit their own application to benefit from the IEC program).
IRCC has no specific policy prohibiting spouses and dependants of IEC participants from joining them in Canada. However, the spouse and dependant(s) must be admissible to Canada on their own merits.
Generally, minor children need to apply for a study permit from outside Canada, if they want to go to study in Canada. However, a minor child can go to school without a study permit if at least one parent (biological or adoptive) is permitted to work in Canada. IEC participants are one such group permitted to work in Canada.
The IEC Canada participation fee for 2025 is CAD$179.75. For Working Holiday Visa in Canada participants, an open work permit holder fee of CAD$100 is also due.
For IEC Young Professionals and International Co-Op participants, your employer will need to pay a CAD$230 Employer Compliance Fee through the Employer Portal on the IRCC website.
Fees are due after you receive your ITA and you’ll be asked to submit this as part of your application for a work permit. Payment is required before your application is assessed.
Note: Payment is made via credit/debit card. There will be a currency conversion fee automatically applied. You will receive a receipt for your records but you do not need to sign anything.
Get more info on how much the whole IEC application process costs here.
Each participant must submit their candidate profile based on their own merit. There is no mechanism to apply to the pool as a group.
Learn more about IEC visa applications for couples and groups.
Yes. You’ll need to have a valid passport for the country you’re applying under, and provide a letter of explanation which mentions you’re a dual citizen, and that your previous work permit was issued under your other country of citizenship.
Yes. Make sure you don’t fall for the following:
Find here the complete list of common mistakes to avoid
Yes, you may come across some scams you will want to avoid as an immigrant to Canada:
Read our list of tips to avoid being scammed as an immigrant.
Yes.
You must have health insurance for Canada for a second participation of IEC. Provincial health cover (e.g. MSP in British Columbia or OHIP in Ontario) is not accepted as it does not cover repatriation costs (i.e. costs incurred to fly you home in event of serious illness or death).
Insurance must cover the full duration of the work permit. If you want to find the most affordable and comprehensive IEC health insurance coverage, we recommend checking out BestQuote Travel Insurance. BestQuote allows you to compare insurance rates for different providers so you can find the best one for your needs — get started with a free quote here.
Police clearances can take time to be issued. In the event you do not receive your clearance in time , you may upload a copy of the receipt showing you have requested one, or a screenshot of the confirmation page or email you received when you ordered it online.
An IRCC Processing Officer will later request to see your police certificate, and will give you a deadline which you must meet. The deadline is often 30 days. If you don’t, then your application will be refused.
You’ll need to merge them into a single PDF so you can upload the multiple documents as a single file. You can do this at a website such as this*.
*Please note Moving2Canada takes no responsibility for the safety and availability of third-party websites. Use the link at your own risk.
Medical exams are required for candidates who have lived or travelled for six months or more in certain countries or territories in the year before their arrival in Canada.
See our International Experience Canada participating countries list for more details.
A letter from your bank, on official letterhead, will suffice. It must be issued no more than one week before your departure for Canada, clearly show your account balance (of more than CAD$2,500), and be signed (and preferably stamped).
The original letter must be provided – not a photocopy.
Submitting biometrics (including electronic fingerprints) is mandatory for work permit applicants.
The biometrics requirement has already caused confusion and disruption. That’s why we have created this guide on biometrics for IEC applicants, so that you can be prepared.
This is your Unique Client ID. If you’ve applied for IEC Canada previously, you’ll have been given one by IRCC.
If you haven’t been issued one previously, you can leave this field blank.
If you receive a POE letter, and don’t use it before its expiry date, this will not count as one participation in IEC Canada.
See our International Experience Canada participating countries list for more details on the number of times citizens from your country can participate in IEC.
You can work in many different areas. Many participants find work in the tourism and hospitality industries, such as restaurants, pubs, cafes, hotels, and resorts, where employers may be more willing to offer temporary work for shorter periods of time.
If you have the right education, experience or certifications, you can also work in fields such as:
If you are applying under the Young Professionals category, your job must add to your professional development. This means that it must be TEER 0,1,2, or 3 of the National Occupational Classification.
TEER 4 jobs may be accepted if the youth can submit a post-secondary diploma, certificate or degree with their work permit application.
If you’re seeing a message like the one below, or are otherwise struggling to view your document, save a copy of it to your desktop, and open it from there.
For participants whose passport expires before their 24 months elapses, they may have received an earlier expiry date on their IEC Canada work permit to match the expiry date on their passport.
Where this occurs, and assuming all other eligibility criteria are met, the visa-holder can submit an application to amend their work permit, up to the maximum permitted duration from the date of entry.
The official guidelines are listed under ‘Scenario 2’ on our Work and Travel in Canada: IEC extensions page.
If you’re still in the pool, and have not yet received an ITA: Withdraw your current profile, and submit a new profile using your updated passport details.
If you’ve submitted your work permit application, and don’t yet have your POE Letter of Introduction:
Send a scan of your new passport to IRCC, and provide your old passport number, and your application ID number (found in the acknowledgement letter).
If you have received your POE Letter of Introduction:
The IEC Canada work permit you received is still valid. However, you’ll need to take these steps:
When you receive your work permit on arrival in Canada, ensure all information on it is correct.
Let’s take an example. David landed in Canada in July 2022. He was eligible for a two-year work permit, and expected to be allowed in Canada until July 2024.
But because his passport expires in December 2023, the expiry date on his IEC Canada work permit was brought forward to December 2023.
It is possible for David to get the expiration date on his work permit extended to July 2024, so long as other eligibility requirements are still met.
The official guidelines are on our Work and Travel in Canada: IEC extensions page.
Case-specific inquiries can be made at this page.
Where a second participation in IEC is permitted, the application for a second IEC work permit should be completed in the same way as a new applicants. This will be a second participation in the program, not an extension of the original permit.
Yes. Permanent Residence is a natural next step for many immigrants in Canada who want to stay in the country long-term.
After your temporary status, it is the right time to move on to a permanent one. Like your IEC work permit, your PR will allow you to work anywhere in Canada for any employer. This is also a crucial step to become eligible for Canadian Citizenship.
There are several pathways to obtaining a PR such as the Express Entry program or the Provincial Nominee Programs, for example.
Explore all your options for getting Canadian Permanent Residence.
Join other like-minded individuals navigating their journey to success within the Express Entry system — from Immigration tips to settlement and job search support, you're not alone.
Join 170,000+ adventurers and get insider tips, visa updates, and job resources to make the most of your International Experience Canada (IEC) adventure.
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