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By Stephanie Ford
Updated 4 days ago
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This week’s IEC update is brought to you by BestQuote. Get your affordable IEC health insurance quote from BestQuote here.
If you plan to come to Canada through IEC in 2026, submitting your profile as early as possible is strongly recommended.
You can join our community to receive weekly updates covering invitation activity, key information about the IEC pool, and tips to make your season run smoothly.
Track how the top IEC countries are performing week by week. Dive into detailed draw data, invitation numbers, and country-specific insights by selecting a country below.
This week the UK got the second highest number of invitations at 1,356.
Last week no invitations went to Working Holiday candidates, which was surprising since the UK consistently has been receiving the most invitations since draws started this year.
IRCC forecasts that those candidates currently in the pool for the UK have excellent odds of receiving an invitation next week.
That said, you aren’t guaranteed an invitation in any round — even if odds are excellent for receiving one, or if your quota is not yet full. The best way to improve your odds of receiving an invite is to enter the pool as early as possible.
The number of invitations for Australian candidates keeps shrinking with just 279 issued this week. Last week 410 were issued and two weeks ago it was 599.
The introduction of a quota for Australians may have turned some heads initially but with only 254 candidates in the pool, competition isn’t fierce yet. IRCC forecasts an excellent chance of an invitation. There have been 2,563 invitations issued so far, still short of the 5,670 quota.
This week 269 Irish working holiday makers received invitations. This is a drop from week’s 523 and the 450 the week before.
There are now 184 profiles in the IEC pool and 2,735 spots total for this program for the year.
IRCC estimates the odds for those in the pool receiving an invitation to be excellent – though there have been plenty of changes this year, so we may be surprised here.
If you’re an Irish citizen considering a working holiday in Canada in 2026, it’s worth considering entering the pool as early as possible. The earlier you enter, the more draws you’ll participate in.
Once again, New Zealanders hoping to do an IEC working holiday in 2026 will need to wait at least one more week for more information. The quota and the date for the first round of invitations have not yet been released by IRCC for this season.
There are currently 650 profiles in the pool for the 2026 season. For what it’s worth, NZ’s 2025 quota was 2,500 for this program so if that remains in place for 2026, competition may remain low throughout the year. However, we think that the quota may decrease, given that last year’s NZ pool was undersubscribed.
French candidates looking to do a working holiday in Canada in 2026 are having a tough season.
On February 13 IRCC issued 758 invitations to Working Holiday Makers, bringing the total number of invitations issued to 5,569
This is just 92 invitations shy of the 5,661 quota and the pool now has 11,756 applications. So, the odds of an invitation for French working holiday candidates are very low.
So, where does that leave you? You could consider applying to the Young Professionals stream, which currently has a quota of 1,900 and just 84 candidates in the pool.
IRCC also says there are excellent odds for those who apply under the International Co-op stream.
If those don’t work, as French speakers, you do have alternate pathways to live and work in Canada – especially if you choose to live outside Quebec. There are multiple pathways that could offer you a temporary work permit in Canada that are worth considering instead of the working holiday program this year.
IRCC issued 463 invitations to South Korean working holiday makers on February 13, 2026.
It’s another drop the previous week when 599 invitations went out.
Looking ahead, South Korean working holiday hopefuls may not experience the same level of high competition for spots that we’re either seeing or expecting to see in many other popular programs (like France or Australia’s working holiday pools). South Korea has the highest quota of all IEC countries, at 10,239 but there are just 332 candidates still in the pool.
While this is good news, it doesn’t mean you should delay entering the pool. It’s almost always a good idea to enter as early as possible, especially if you really want to come to Canada in 2026 or early 2027.
Once again, Japanese working holiday hopefuls will need to wait at least one more week before we can offer a deeper analysis on the season ahead. Unfortunately, Japan’s quota has not yet been announced and we aren’t sure when the first round of invitations for Japan will take place, just yet. But we keep our community members informed through our weekly IEC newsletter. Join us if you’re keen to learn more about the year ahead, whenever the information is released.
Germany has finally recieved some Working Holiday invitations. IRCC invited 1,664 candidates, the highest amount of invitations this week.
With a quota of 3,030 and just 96 profiles in the pool, IRCC predicts an excellent change of getting an invitation.
Italian working holiday hopefuls saw their fourth round of invitations on February 13.
121 invitations were issued, the smallest round yet. Last week 207 invitations went out.
Italy’s quota dipped slightly for 2026 (down to 1,850 from 1,915 in 2025). But the good news is: we don’t expect competition to be too high – unless many more Italian citizens are interested in a working holiday in Canada this year compared to last year.
IRCC’s latest IEC update, published on February 13, confirms that since the previous update on February 6, 6,985 additional invitations were issued across several countries.
This brings the overall total to 34,660 invitations issued since invitations began on January 19.
The United Kingdom’s Working Holiday program remains on top with a total of 7,350 invitations, with an additional 1,356 invitations being issued this past week (out of a 9,330 quota). Germany saw its first round of invitations, issuing 1,644 Working Holiday invitations, the highest number this past week, meaning half of their 3,030 quota has already been filled.
France came in second again for the highest number of total invitations issued, and its Working Holiday quota is nearly maxed out, with 5,569 invitations issued out of 5,661 – leaving just 92 spots remaining.
As of the latest IEC update, the following pool-open countries have not yet received invitations this season for the following programs, despite candidates already being in the pools.
IRCC has also now announced the chances of receiving an invitation in the next round for many countries.
At the moment, nearly all IEC programs show “Excellent” chances of receiving an invitation. The exceptions are the following programs, which currently have lower chances:
As of February 13, there were 28,872 candidates in the IEC pools, down from 30,345 in last week’s update. While that isn’t a huge drop on its own, it continues the decline we’ve seen since the first update, when the pools sat at 43,005 candidates. This likely reflects a slowdown after the initial rush to enter the pools when they first opened.
Secondly, there were 6,985 invitations issued the past week, an increase from 4,981 invitations the week prior, which has brought the pool numbers down.
The programs with the highest number of candidates in the pool, as of February 13, 2026 are:
Between February 6 and February 13, Germany Working Holiday saw the largest drop in pool size from 1,532 to just 96 after issuing their first round of invitations.
The largest increase in pool size was again Japan’s Working Holiday pool, up another 413 candidates – still no invitations have been issued yet this season.
Remember: IEC is not a first-come, first-served program, entering the pool early allows you to participate in more invitation rounds, increasing your chances of receiving an invitation. So, don’t let the number of people in the pool already put you off submitting your profile. If anything, it’s more important than ever to get into the IEC pool early.
Here’s what we don’t know, based on this update:
Quotas are still being released in waves: while most countries now have their quotas and invitations have been rolling out since the week of January 19, several countries with open pools are still waiting for their first invitation rounds.
Updates for 2026 IEC season
Here’s the data from the most recent IRCC update. To check your country’s odds for receiving an invitation, check out our IEC tracker.
Keen to see how the round sizes have been trending over time? Here are all the details:
Many IEC Working Holiday participants may want to start looking for jobs in Canada before they arrive. Thankfully, we have partnered with several Canadian employers who are looking to hire 2026 IEC participants.
Check out the Moving2Canada Jobs Board and join our IEC Talent Pool.
If you’re looking for a physically demanding job with a great crew, we recommend taking a look at our partner, Young Guns Container Crew. They’re hiring labourers to help unload shipping containers in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Cornwall, Ontario (among others!). They love IECers and can offer you a job before you arrive. Apply here — or get more information by watching this video:
Please explore our many resources to help you plan your application. Research is crucial as you plan for success on your Working Holiday Canada permit.
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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