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By Rebecca Major
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.
This page is for International Experience Canada (IEC) applicants waiting for an invitation to apply or planning their next steps. On this page, you can track all key IEC updates in one place.
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.
Follow the latest IEC rounds of invitations for 2026 and see how each country is performing inside the Canada IEC pool.
This table breaks down weekly invitation numbers, total invites issued, current IEC pools size, quotas, and your odds of being selected in the next round.
Select a country below to track draw history and monitor your chances in real time.
UK nationals received 389 Working Holiday invitations this week, down from the 540 last week.
This leaves 295 applicants in the pool, who have an excellent chance of receiving an invite next week.
12,058 UK Working Holiday applicants have been invited so far in 2026, beating the 9,330 quota, but there are still 1,298 spots available.
On April 17, 220 Australian nationals got IEC Working Holiday invitations, an increase over the 175 issued last week.
IRCC has now issued 5,187 Working Holiday invitations to Australians out of a quota of 5,670. There are 2,193 spots remaining for eligible applicants, so those in the pool have an excellent chance of receiving an invite next week.
This week 83 Irish working holiday makers received invitations,. This is a drop from the 119 invitations on April 10.
Interestingly, the 83 applicants invited this week is the same number of applicants who were in the pool last week.
Ireland has already exceeded its quota of 2,753 by over 1000 invitations. But,there are still 339 spots available. IRCC says the chances of getting an invitation are excellent. So, if you were thinking of applying, now is a good time.
New Zealanders got 69 Working Holiday invitations this week. That’s up from the 39 that went out on April 10.
IRCC has issued 1,325 invitations to New Zealanders out of the 1,574 quota.
Since the quota still hasn’t been reached and there are 698 spots still available, IRCC estimates you have an excellent chance at getting an invitation next week.
Once again, this week saw 203 invitations issued to French Working Holiday applicants. This is the same as last week, April 10.
Today’s draw brings the total number of invitations issued up to 6,784.
There are now just 556 spots still available and 14, 563 applications in the pool. The odds of getting a working holiday invitation are considered very low
This week 272 invitations went to South Korean Working Holiday candidates this week, April 17. That’s up slightly from the 221 last week.
South Korea has the largest IEC quota among participating countries, at 10,239 invitations. So far, 7,874 invitations have been issued, and 5,074 spots are still available.
IRCC estimates that candidates in the pool have an excellent chance of an invitation this year but if you are considering applying, you should do it now.
Japan Working Holiday hopefuls received 155 invitations this week, down from the 412 issued last week.
Japan has now issued more invitations than the quota available of 6,283. With spots filling up fast, IRCC estimates there is still a very good chance of getting an invitation if you are have an application in the pool.
This week German nationals got 113 Working Holiday invitations. It’s a slight improvement over the 95 issued last week.
So far, 2,962 German nationals have received invitations out of a quota of 3,030.
Even though the quota has almost been reached, there are 1,102 spots available. With only 99 candidates in the pool, those who apply now stand an excellent chance of receiving an invite soon.
This week IRCC invited 81 Italian Working Holiday hopefuls. That’s almost the same as last week’s 88.
That brings the total up to 2,153 invitations issued against a quota of 1,850.
Still, there are 641 spots still available and just 55 applications in the pool. So, any applicant currently in the pool has an excellent chance of receiving an invite next week.
Date of the latest update: April 17th, 2026
Invitations issued since last update: 2,074
Total IEC applicants invited so far: 64,788
IRCC’s latest IEC update, published on April 17, 2026, confirms that since the previous update on April 10, 2,076 additional invitations were issued across all countries.
The total is now 64,788 invitations issued since January 19.
The United Kingdom’s Working Holiday program remains the highest number of total invitations at 12,058 (out of a 9,330 quota) issued, and applicants still have an excellent chance of receiving an invitation next week.
IRCC has also now announced the chances of receiving an invitation in the next round for many countries.
At the moment, almost all IEC programs show “Excellent” chances of receiving an invitation. The exceptions are the following programs.
Very low chances: Austria (Working Holiday), Chile (Working Holiday), Chile (Young Professionals), Costa Rica (Working Holiday), Costa Rica (Young Professionals), Spain (Working Holiday), France (Working Holiday), Latvia (Working Holiday), Netherlands (Young Professionals), Netherlands (Working Holiday), Taiwan (Working Holiday).
Very good chances: Japan (Working Holiday), Slovenia (Working Holiday).
Date of the IEC Pools update: April 17th, 2026
Total of candidates on the IEC Pools: 28,138
As of April 17, there are 28,138 candidates in the IEC pools, a slight increase from last week, which is understandable given the number of invitations issued.
These 28,138 candidates are competing for 18,000 spots, which sounds highly competitive. However, candidates in most pools still have a strong chance of receiving an invitation. That is because the total number of candidates is heavily concentrated in just a few countries. For example, the French Working Holiday pool has more than 14,000 candidates, while the Chilean Working Holiday pool has more than 7,000. Together, those two pools account for roughly 21,000 of the 28,138 candidates currently in the system.
The programs with the highest number of candidates in the pool, as of April 17, 2026 are:
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.
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.
An IEC pool is a group of candidates who have submitted a profile for the International Experience Canada (IEC) program and are waiting to receive an invitation to apply for a work permit. Each country and category, such as Working Holiday or Young Professionals, has its own separate pool. During each IEC round of invitations, candidates are randomly selected from the pool until the quota for that round is filled.
Join 170,000+ adventurers and get insider tips, visa updates, and job resources to make the most of your International Experience Canada (IEC) adventure.
BestQuote offers affordable IEC insurance for the Moving2Canada community
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