IEC 2024 is now open

The pools for the International Experience Canada (IEC) 2024 season are open as of Dec 11. If you are eligible, you can create a profile in the IEC pool of candidates. Don’t waste time as spots are filling up fast! See how the French have taken over their pool!

What happened the first week of IEC opening?

We now have fresh data from IRCC to see how many candidates entered the pool within the first 5 days of the program opening and the numbers may shock you. Over 15,000 people have already entered their countries working holiday pool. This number shows that people are not messing around and that IEC 2024 may be the most competitive year yet.

How are these 15,000 distributed across the various countries? France definitely takes the lead here when it comes to which country is the most in demand, with over 7,000 people already in the working holiday pool. Chile and South Korea each have over 2,000 applicants and the UK has just over 1,000 in the pool. Other popular countries include Australia, Costa Rica, Germany and Japan, all of which have a couple hundred applicants in the pool. We expect this number to keep growing in anticipation of the first round of invitations, due to take place in the new year.

When will the first round of invitations take place?

The first round of IEC invitations will take place during the week of Jan. 8, 2024. That leaves candidates four weeks to submit a profile and prepare to respond to an invitation from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, Canada (IRCC).

Canada regularly invites eligible candidates from the IEC pools to apply for a Canadian work permit. The number of candidates invited varies each invitation round.

Canada will continue holding draws for the IEC season until there are no more spots available or the IEC season closes, whichever comes first. The IEC 2023 closed on October 13, roughly around the same time that the IEC season usually closes. We can expect a similar closing period for the IEC 2024.

There are different quotas for each eligible country. Canada has not yet announced the quotas nor the dates of the first rounds. Quotas will be updated as the Canadian government deems it necessary.

“Canada benefits when young people around the world participate in International Experience Canada,” Canada’s immigration minister, Marc Miller, said in a government media release.

“This program will help Canadian employers in their search for talented employees, but will also serve to stimulate the tourism sector across the country. We also hope that young Canadians will take advantage of the reciprocal aspect of this program to gain work and travel experience from around the world that will serve them throughout their lives.”
– The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

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What’s new in IEC 2024?

The IEC 2024 season will include two entirely new countries: Iceland and Finland—welcome guys!

Canada is also expanding the programs for the UK, and South Korea, as well as requiring International Co-op students from Chile to be registered in a school in Chile when they apply for that particular stream.

Here are the IEC 2024 updates in point form:

• United Kingdom: Young Britons ages 18-35 are now allowed 2 participations for a total of 36 months under the bilateral agreement. Their first participation is 24 months under any IEC category, plus a second participation of 12 months. Plus! If your first participation was for 12 months before 2015, you are eligible for a second participation of 24 months.
• South Korea: Korean youth, ages 18-35, are now allowed 2 participations, and can be eligible to apply for the Young Professionals and International Co-op (internship) categories. While Canada allows a repeat category for the Working Holiday and Young Professionals categories, applicants can only participate once under the International Co-op category.
• Chile: Under the International Co-op, Chilean applicants ages 18-35 must be registered at a school in Chile at the time of application.
• Finland: Finnish youth ages 18-35 will be able to work in Canada under any of the three IEC programs for 12 months.
• Iceland: Youth ages 18-30 will be able to come to Canada under the Working Holiday program. Participants can stay for a total of 24 months with one renewal of a 12-month participation.
• Ukraine: Canada and Ukraine signed a bilateral agreement, which will allow young people from both countries to benefit from when travel to Ukraine becomes safe.
• Fees increasing: IEC participants will have to pay a $172 CAD IEC fee, an increase from previous years.

Keep yourself updates with all the news related to IEC by following our IEC News Hub.

What to do if you want to come to Canada with IEC 2024?

The most important thing to do now is to get your profile into the IEC pool. The longer your profile is in the pool, the higher your chance of being invited in a round of invitations.

If you’re interested in coming to Canada in 2024 using an IEC program, check out our article on how to prepare for IEC 2024. This article covers the documents you need to submit a profile, and what to expect if you receive an invitation, as well as some other important details that will help you prepare for Canada.

If you’re interested in moving to Canada but not sure which program you may be eligible for, check your eligibility for the IEC as well as more than 20 Canadian immigration programs by taking Moving2Canada’s free Canada Immigration Quiz.