What is IEC – International Experience Canada: Frequently Asked Questions

Aspiring immigrants to Canada are eligible to participate in the IEC program if:

• They are citizens of a country that has a bilateral Youth Mobility Agreement with Canada. You can find the full list of eligible countries here.
• They have a valid passport from their home country. The passport must remain valid throughout their stay in Canada.
• They are between the ages of 18 and 35 for most of the participating countries. The age limit may differ for some partner countries, like Mexico (29) or Australia, Belgium, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (30)
• They can demonstrate that they have enough funds to cover their expenses in Canada (at least CAD 2,500). They must also prove that they have the financial resources to buy a departure ticket at the end of their stay in Canada (or have proof that they have already purchased a departure ticket.)
• They have valid health insurance for the entire duration of their stay in Canada.
• They show a clean criminal record by providing police certificates from the countries they have lived in.

International Experience Canada (IEC) opened for 2024 on December 11th, 2023. International youth between the ages of 18-35 (depending on your country as some set the age requirement between 18 and 29 or 30. More information below) 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.

Yes, the age limit for most eligible countries is 35, including the year in which you turn 35. However, the age limit is different for some countries, such as Mexico (29) and Australia, Belgium, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (30).

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?

Let’s take the example of Karen, who wants to arrive in Canada in early 2025. Here are some of her options:

1. She could apply for a 2024 IEC Canada permit in early January, and if she’s lucky enough to receive an invite, she may have her POE letter within a month or two. This letter would be valid for 12 months, allowing her to arrive in Canada at any time within that 12-month period.

2. Apply for a 2024 permit as of December 11th, now that the pools are open.  If she receives an invite in the months that follow, her application may be processed, and her POE letter sent. As the letter is still valid for 12 months, she can then arrive in early 2025.

As there is no definite time frame for if, and when, you will receive your POE letter, it’s not possible to offer complete guidance. The best advice is to plan early, and remember that the POE letter is valid for 12 months, so you will have plenty of time to use it, if and when you receive it.

It is also advantageous to submit your profile to the pool earlier on in the  season. the more draws your profile is exposed to, the more likely you are you get an invitation to apply for a work 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 2021 IEC season invited more than 130,000 candidates. You can find the latest invitation figures in our Working Holiday News Hub.

For 2024, it is likely that between 95,000 and 100,000 work permits will be issued. Because not all those that are invited will apply or receive a work permit, you can expect around 140,000 candidates to receive an invite in 2024.

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.

How IRCC issues Invitations to Apply

Invitations to Apply are issued in the following order:

1. International Co-op (Internship)
2. Young Professionals
3. Working Holiday

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.

IRCC announced in December 2023 that they implemented automation into their process to help speed up the processing of International Experience Canada work permits.

Delays can occur if your application is incomplete, or you don’t provided additional documentation that is requested.

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 most of the eligible countries. Australia, Belgium, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom set the age requirement to be between 18 and 30. As for candidates from Mexico, it is between 18 and 29. If you are older than the cut-off for your country, you will not be able to apply to the IEC program.

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).

Note that participations that occurred before 2016 do not count toward the 2 participations.

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.

There are four main steps to getting an IEC Canada work permit:

1. Determine eligibility.

2. Become a candidate, and become placed in a pool(s).

3. Receive an ITA.

4. Apply for a work permit and complete payments.

From then on, it’s a case of waiting for your application to be assessed, and respond to any queries IRCC may have for you.

5. Receive your port of entry letter and land in Canada.

See our working holiday visa in Canada guide for more detail.

The IEC Canada participation fee for 2024 is CAD$172. 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:

• Not landing within 12 months of receiving your Port of Entry (POE) letter,
• Subscribing to a short insurance policy. Its duration will determine the duration of your stay under IEC. You might not be able to stay for the full length of your visa if your insurance policy doesn’t cover the entire period,
• Waiting till the last minute to submit important documents,
• Not getting your police certifications before an invitation.

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:

• Services that guarantee entry to the country or faster processing times for your application. Major red flags.
• Fake immigration consultants. They would usually offer these impossible promises in exchange for an upfront fee.

Read our list of tips to avoid being scammed as an immigrant.

While many newcomers are not asked by immigration authorities to provide proof of health insurance, it’s not true to say that nobody gets checked.

You run the risk of not being given a work permit if you don’t buy some – is it worth letting all your effort go to waste over one detail? Furthermore, we encourage you to be responsible as an adult, and not to leave your family to pick up the tab on expensive medical bills if something goes wrong.

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.

The rules on this are clear – you need to have health insurance for the full duration of your visa.

You may be asked when entering Canada to provide evidence of this. If your health insurance is shorter than the full duration of your visa, you may be issued a work permit to match the expiry date of your health insurance.

Where this occurs, you will not be able to apply for an extension to your work permit by buying new, longer health insurance.

For example, if you want a two-year work permit, then you need to be able to present evidence you bought a two-year health insurance policy when you land in Canada. Having an insurance policy which automatically renews after a year is not sufficient.

The official guidelines are on our Work and Travel in Canada: IEC extensions page.

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.

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.

IEC applicants applying within Canada can give their biometrics from within Canada by appointment only, saving applicants time, money, and stress as they apply for new status in Canada.

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.

UCI: If you have not applied to immigrate to Canada before you will not have a UCI (Unique Client ID) number and leave this field blank.

You will have a UCI number if you have applied before. The UCI number is on your previous immigration documentation, including the work permit that was stapled into your passport on arrival.

Intended Work in Canada: This only applies to IEC Young Professionals and International Co-Op participants, who have arranged employment before they arrive.

For the Working Holiday Visa in Canada, you do not need arranged employment. Write “unknown”.

Employment: If you do not have enough room to list all of your employment history, you can add more in a separate Word document, and submit it along with the optional documents under Letter of Explanation.

Other advice:

• If some of the questions do not apply to you, write “N/A” to show that you have read the form.
• Upon completion, enter the date on the form and click VALIDATE. You do not need to sign this form. You must then save the form to your desktop and upload.

The “residential address” on the IEC Canada application is the address where you are currently residing.

For example, if you are currently in Canada on an IEC work permit and are submitting a new application, it is recommended you insert your Canadian residential address on the application form in this field.

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:

• science
• law
• health
• education
• commerce
• communications

If you are applying under the Young Professionals category, your job must add to your professional development. This means that it must be classified as a National Occupational Classification (NOC) Skill Type Level 0, A or B.

IEC participants only require the following to enter Canada:

• IEC health insurance coverage
• A bank statement (no more than seven days old) showing proof of funds in the amount of CAD$2,500.
• Up-to-date passport.
• Your Port of Entry (POE) Letter of Introduction letter from the IEC.
• Any additional paperwork you may be requested to bring.

Be prepared to provide the address where you’ll be spending your first few nights in Canada. This could be a friend’s house, or a hostel, if you don’t yet have your own long-term accommodation sorted.

You’ll need to present it to a Border Officer at your port of entry. Staff on-site will be able to assist you.

Note that your port of entry will be the first place you arrive in Canada, for example:

• The Canadian border crossing, if driving from the United States.
• The first airport you land in within Canada’s borders. If you’re flying from London to Calgary, via a connecting flight in Toronto, then Toronto will be your port of entry, and staff in Toronto will provide you with your work permit (once you’re eligible).

After your application is processed, you typically have one year to enter Canada and activate your work permit.

If your application is successful, you will receive a Port of Entry, or POE, letter of introduction. This letter indicates the exact date by which you must enter Canada.

Note: ‘Port of Entry’ is the technical term for an official border crossing, e.g. an airport, ferry port, land border with the United States.

The POE (Port of Entry) Letter of Introduction is the document you’ll present to an immigration official at an airport, ferry port, or land border in Canada to receive your IEC Canada work permit.

POE letters cannot be extended. Even if you never travel to Canada to activate your work permit, it will count as a participation.

Note: ‘Port of Entry’ is the technical term for an official border crossing, e.g. an airport, ferry port, land border with the United States.

eTA stands for Electronic Travel Authorization. Passengers travelling to Canada by air may be required to make an online application for an eTA before they’ll be allowed enter the country.

It costs CA$7 fee and must be completed in advance of your flight. The eTA will last for five years, or until the expiration date of the visitor’s passport if this is sooner.

Foreign workers, including IEC participants, from Canada visa-exempt countries will automatically be issued an eTA, along with their Port of Entry Letter of Introduction. Check your letter to ensure it mentions approval of your eTA before you depart, because you need this to board your flight to Canada. The eTA is electronically linked to your passport, so if you have changed your passport since receiving your POE Letter of Introduction, you need to apply for a new ETA.

There is only one country within the IEC program that is not currently visa-exempt: Costa Rica. If you’re an applicant from Costa Rica, a different sort of visa will be required, approval for which should be clear on your POE Letter of Introduction.

Yes, you may exit and re-enter Canada as often as you please. You will need to ensure that your health insurance policy permits this.

Make sure you bring your passport and work permit with you so you can present this when you return to Canada.

Yes, but only for up to six months.

You are allowed to enroll in individual courses under any of the IEC categories (Working Holiday, Young Professionals, International Co-op). The course(s) must be completed within a six-month period. The course(s) also must not be part of a program lasting longer than six months, such as a two-year program or four-year degree. If the course or program is longer than six months, you will need to apply for a study permit.

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:

• You’ll need a new eTA (or visa, if you’re from a visa-required country).
• Upon arrival in Canada, provide a photocopy of your old passport, and explain that you have obtained a new passport.
• If you changed your passport because of marriage or divorce, bring a copy of official documents proving this.

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 2018. He was eligible for a two-year work permit, and expected to be allowed in Canada until July 2020.

But because his passport expires in December 2019, the expiry date on his IEC Canada work permit was brought forward to December 2019.

It is possible for David to get the expiration date on his work permit extended to July 2020, 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.

As a general rule, the answer is no.

However, there are some limited circumstances where it is possible to do so. See our Work and Travel in Canada: IEC extensions page for more.

Find the answer for your country and category on our International Experience Canada participating countries list page.

No.

Maintained status will only come into effect for the application of a work permit, not the LMIA, which is a separate document. A LMIA is issued by Service Canada, a completely different body from IRCC.

If you have LMIA acceptance, it will be approved and you can continue to stay in Canada on the conditions of the new work permit. If there is no LMIA on file, the application will be refused quickly and you will have to change status to remain as a visitor until the LMIA is issued and a new work permit can be applied for.

Learn more about IEC and maintained status in Canada.

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.

See our International Experience Canada participating countries list for more details.

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.