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1,914 IEC Invitations Issued The Week of May 2, 2025

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued 1,914 invitations to International Experience Canada candidates this week.

The total number of IEC invitations issued this year now sits at 65,267.

 

Important Update
Until December 1, 2025, eligible in-Canada IEC applicants who have received a POE (Port of Entry) letter can now have their new IEC work permit mailed to a Canadian address.

To qualify, you must meet all of the following:

  • Were Canada with a valid IEC work permit when you submitted your application for another participation.
  • Have a valid Port of Entry (POE) Letter.
  • Have valid legal status in Canada.
  • Submit your mail request via webform before your POE expires.
If you do not meet these requirements, you have to leave Canada and re-enter to activate your new IEC work permit (but not via the U.S. or Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon).

Learn more

Everything You Need for Your IEC Adventure

We saw almost 1,914 invitations issued this week. So, we’ve hit the time in the 20245 IEC season where the number of invitations sent so far (65,267) is higher than the total quota for the 2025 season (63,555).

But remember: the number of invitations issued each year will not equal the quota. IRCC knows that a proportion of candidates won’t accept the invitation, and a further amount won’t use their POE in 2025 or at all. So the number of invitations issued tends to be higher than the quota for the year. This is important to keep in mind!

But it does mean that we’re not likely to see large IEC draws (in the 3,000+) range for the rest of the season.

The working holiday programs in UK, France, Korea, Australia, and Japan saw the highest numbers of invitations this round.

Last week, we noted that the overall number of candidates in the IEC pool decreased, which isn’t something we typically see. This week, the pool has +304 candidates over last week — even when we account for the 1,914 invitations issued. This means that around 2,218 candidates entered the pool in the last seven days.

Very Low Odds of Receiving An Invitation Next Round

There have been no additional programs added to the list of programs with very low odds of receiving an invitation next round. Helpfully, most programs have excellent odds of receiving an invitation in the next round. This is broadly good news for candidates in the pool.

However, there are some programs that have very low odds of receiving an invitation in next week’s round:

  • Costa Rica — Young Professionals
  • Chile — Young Professionals
  • Chile — Working Holiday
  • Costa Rica — Working Holiday
  • France — Working Holiday
  • Taiwan — Working Holiday
  • Netherlands – Young Professional
  • Netherlands – Working Holiday.

The working holiday programs for Chile and Costa Rica have thousands of candidates waiting for an invitation, while the working holiday pool for France has over 14,000 candidates in the pool.

Quotas & invitations for the 2025 IEC season

Updates for 2025 IEC season- what we know so far

The first round of invitations took place in the week of January 13, with the quota for this year’s IEC season sitting at 63,555.

Here’s the data from the most recent round of IEC invitations:

PoolQuotaInvitations since last weekSpots availableSpots filled last roundEligible candidates in poolCandidate ChangeChances of invite in next round
Andorra - WH25022100Excellent
Australia - WHunlimited181unlimitedn/a17240Excellent
Australia - YPunlimited8unlimitedn/a5-1Excellent
Australia - ICunlimited0unlimitedn/a00Excellent
Austria - WH100432041Excellent
Austria - YP6002000Excellent
Austria - IC2001000Excellent
Belgium - WH750162017186Excellent
Chile - WH72591117368117Very low
Chile - YP202112845Very low
Chile - IC505000Excellent
Costa Rica - WH80340166545Very low
Costa Rica - YP1501115918Very low
Costa Rica - IC505000Excellent
Croatia - WH85156032Excellent
Croatia - YP1008000Excellent
Croatia - IC505000Excellent
Czech Republic - WH7001840615194Excellent
Czech Republic - YP14575163-2Excellent
Czech Republic - IC505000Excellent
Denmark - WH3501220394-2Excellent
Estonia - WH110061211Excellent
Estonia - YP101110-1Excellent
Estonia - IC505000Excellent
Finland - WHUnlimited3unlimitedn/a20Excellent
Finland - YPUnlimited0unlimitedn/a00Excellent
Finland - ICUnlimited0unlimitedn/a00Excellent
France - WH66152891122021440327Very low
France - YP208043119824509Excellent
France - IC35907517744646-12Excellent
France - VIE94587758529Excellent
Germany - WH349087175657712Excellent
Germany - YP3501114457-1Excellent
Germany - IC160213621-1Excellent
Greece - WH180247144Excellent
Greece - YP1032311-2Excellent
Greece - IC1002000Excellent
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region - WH200311751-1Excellent
Iceland - WH1201113100Excellent
Ireland - WH38009419815067-6Excellent
Ireland - YP1504119053Excellent
Ireland - IC50037011Excellent
Italy - WH17504375527417Excellent
Italy - YP2003164131Excellent
Italy - IC50234211Excellent
Japan - WH65001363256114105-2Excellent
Korea, Republic - WH1000022528761471836Excellent
Korea, Republic - YP150051349241Excellent
Korea, Republic - IC500749035-2Excellent
Latvia, Republic - WH404122-3Fair
Latvia, Republic - YP803000Excellent
Latvia, Republic - IC202000Excellent
Lithuania - WH175276031Excellent
Lithuania - YP20015100Excellent
Lithuania - IC505000Excellent
Luxembourg - WH8016010-1Excellent
Luxembourg - YP10010000Excellent
Luxembourg - IC1009000Excellent
Netherlands - WH430000606Very low
Netherlands - YP170000102Very low
New Zealand - WH2500331590133611Excellent
Norway - WH1301981134-14Excellent
Norway - YP15112000Excellent
Norway - IC505000Excellent
Poland - WH43518239148-5Excellent
Poland - YP110270031Excellent
Poland - IC505000Excellent
Portugal - WH75019472158-8Excellent
Portugal - YP4043311-2Excellent
Portugal - IC1009111Excellent
San Marino - WH25025000Excellent
Slovakia - WH3155195174Excellent
Slovakia - YP30111132Excellent
Slovakia - IC505000Excellent
Slovenia - WH8036721-1Excellent
Slovenia - YP15012000Excellent
Slovenia - IC505000Excellent
Spain - WH80040120623-4Excellent
Spain - YP12037474Excellent
Spain - IC3001000Excellent
Spain - IV500500n/a0Excellent
Sweden - WH3501122976-4Excellent
Sweden - YP4053313-2Excellent
Sweden - IC10010000Excellent
Switzerland - YP20035842-1Excellent
Switzerland - IC50132100Excellent
Taiwan - WH94068304683613Very low
Taiwan - YP5022201-1Excellent
Taiwan - IC1006100Excellent
United Kingdom - WH9000345193420826617Excellent
United Kingdom - YP900156508209Excellent
United Kingdom - IC100194122Excellent

Get the latest IEC news straight to your inbox! To receive alerts and updates about the 2025 IEC Working Holiday Canada season, make sure you sign up for the Moving2Canada newsletter.

What’s New For 2025?

For the 2025 season, applicants are required to pay an increased IEC fee of CAN $179.75, up from the 2024 fee of CAN $172.

Here are some notable changes we saw to quotas this year:

France: The Working Holiday and Young Professionals quota decreased by over 2,000 combined.

United Kingdom: The International Co-op program and Young Professionals quota increased however the quota for the Working Holiday program decreased by  500.

Ireland: The Working Holiday quota has been significantly reduced from 10,500 in 2024 to 3,800 in 2025. While this might seem concerning at first glance, it reflects a practical adjustment. In 2024, only 5,746 invitations were issued, indicating a lower level of interest in this pool. The new quota aligns more closely with the current demand.

Australia: This year, Australians will continue to enjoy unlimited quotas.

South Korea: The Working Holiday decreased by 1,625 spots however the quota for the Young Professionals and the International Co-op program increased by 1,625 spots showing that the overall spots available for South Koreans remain the same as in 2024.

Taiwan: The Working Holiday decreased by 2,240 spots.

You can read more about this in our IEC Quota comparison.

Haven’t entered the pool yet? Here’s what to do (ASAP)

If you’re hoping to snag an invitation through IEC, the best thing to do is plan ahead. You can start by checking your eligibility for IEC — take our free Canadian Immigration Quiz to see if you’re eligible.

First, make sure you’re eligible for one of the three IEC programs: the Working Holiday program (the most popular option), Young Professionals, and International Co-op.

If you meet the eligibility for one of the programs, the next step is to submit yourself to the pools. Submitting your profile as early as possible will guarantee that you’re considered for all invitation rounds. Invitations are issued randomly and will be sent starting January 13 (for select countries), so you want to be in the pools as early as possible.

You can also begin preparing yourself for the work permit application you’ll have to submit if you receive an invitation.

For free personalized guidance, make sure to sign up for a Moving2Canada account. Your account gives you access to tons of resources, including checklists with step-by-step instructions for your immigration process, job openings from Canadian employers looking to hire IEC participants, and much more!

The Ban on Flagpoling and How It Could Affect Your IEC Status

Effective December 23, flagpoling is no longer permitted for those in Canada as workers or students.

According to the IRCC, if you’re in Canada when you receive your POE letter of introduction, you must leave the country and re-enter to activate your work permit.

On 19 February, 2025, IRCC updated its guidance to note that “You may not be able to activate your work permit if you re-enter from the US or Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.”

In other words, if you intend to travel to the US to activate your approved work permit, there is a high risk that such a request will be refused due to the confusion around the flagpoling issue and it’s impact on IEC workers.

How to move to Canada through IEC: VIDEO

Rachel walks us through how to come to Canada through IEC in 2025.

In order to come to Canada on an IEC work permit, such as the Working Holiday Visa, you need to get health insurance for the duration of your stay.

Every year, we hear stories of people who make major errors when it comes to insurance for their IEC adventure in Canada, leading to shorter-than-expect work permit durations and unnecessary medical bills. That’s why we released a video on all things health insurance. Check it out!

The 2025 IEC season

The 2025 International Experience Canada (IEC) season opened on December 16, 2024.

Eligible candidates are able to complete these steps:

  1. Submit a profile: Submit a profile through your IRCC account in order to be considered for an invitation. If you submitted a profile in previous years, you can use the same account, but you have to create a new profile.
  2. Receive an invitation: In order to apply for a work permit, first you have to be invited. Invitations are issued each week through a randomized lottery system. The earlier you’re in the pool, the more invitation rounds you’ll be considered for.
  3. Submit a work permit application: If you receive an invitation, you then have 10 days to accept or decline the invitation. If you accept, you have 20 days from that moment to prepare and submit your application.

Invitation rounds typically begin in the weeks following the season opening.

Finding a job for the 2025 IEC season

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 2025 IEC participants.

Check out the Moving2Canada Jobs Board and join our IEC Talent Pool.

Young Guns Container Crew

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:

Further help with your Working Holiday Canada application

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.

Other IEC Working Holiday Canada Resources

IEC Health Insurance

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About the author

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Stephanie Ford

She/Her
Finance, Law and Immigration Writer
Stephanie is a content creator who writes on legal and personal finance topics, specializing in immigration and legal topics. She earned a Bachelor of Laws and a Diploma in Financial Planning in Australia. Stephanie is now a permanent resident of Canada and a full-time writer at Moving2Canada.
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Citation "Latest IEC Working Holiday Canada News." Moving2Canada. . Copy for Citation