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Working Holiday Canada News
Canada has now invited 118,838 IEC candidates in 2023
As of September 15, Canada has issued a total of 118,838 invitations to IEC candidates for the 2023 IEC season.
The IEC 2023 season began on January 9. This year, Canada will accept up to 90,000 newcomers under IEC. Although more than 100,000 have been invited, not all will apply and not all will be accepted.
In 2024, Iceland will be joining the list of participating IEC countries. Canada and Iceland signed a reciprocal agreement on August 4 that will allow youth ages 18-30 to work and travel between the two countries. Finland will also be joining in 2024, and South Korean youth will be able to participate in Young Professionals and International Co-Op programs.
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 just released a new video on all things health insurance. Check it out!
The 2023 IEC season
The 2023 International Experience Canada (IEC) season opened on January 9, 2023. During the 2023 season, Canada expects to admit 90,000 youth from more than 30 countries to work and travel. With overall quotas for IEC increasing by 20 percent, 2023 is shaping up to be a great year for the program.
Since January 9, eligible candidates are able to complete these steps:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Once quotas for each country are announced, they will be posted on this page along with regular updates on spots remaining and chances of receiving an invitation.
Do you have IEC health insurance?
Quotas & invitations for the 2023 IEC season
Updates for 2023 IEC season
| Pool | Quota | Invitations to date | Invitations since last week | Spots available | Spots filled last round | Eligible candidates in pool | Candidate change | Chances of invite in next round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andorra – WH | 25 | 26 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Australia – WH | Unlimited | 10,028 | 475 | Unlimited | n/a | 108 | -35 | Excellent |
| Australia – YP | Unlimited | 186 | 8 | Unlimited | n/a | 3 | 1 | Excellent |
| Australia – IC | Unlimited | 1 | 1 | Unlimited | n/a | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Austria - WH | 100 | 277 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 31 | -3 | Very Low |
| Austria - YP | 60 | 14 | 0 | 7 | -1 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Austria - IC | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Belgium - WH | 750 | 1,457 | 87 | 28 | 48 | 74 | 5 | Very Low |
| Chile - WH | 1475 | 4,690 | 901 | 1,459 | 600 | 8,518 | 234 | Very Low |
| Chile - YP | 270 | 517 | 46 | 67 | 8 | 11 | -13 | Excellent |
| Chile - IC | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Costa Rica - WH | 400 | 2,054 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 924 | 198 | Very low |
| Costa Rica - YP | 95 | 218 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | Excellent |
| Costa Rica - IC | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Croatia - WH | 275 | 177 | 13 | 168 | 6 | 2 | 1 | Excellent |
| Croatia - YP | 20 | 13 | 1 | 16 | -1 | 2 | 2 | Excellent |
| Croatia - IC | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Czech Republic - WH | 1,000 | 1,171 | 62 | 301 | 30 | 19 | -7 | Excellent |
| Czech Republic - YP | 145 | 274 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | Excellent |
| Czech Republic - IC | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Denmark – WH | 350 | 438 | 23 | 37 | 15 | 5 | -2 | Low |
| Estonia - WH | 110 | 141 | 11 | 29 | 7 | 0 | -3 | Excellent |
| Estonia - YP | 10 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Estonia - IC | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| France - WH | 7,000 | 16,885 | -1 | 76 | -76 | 14,167 | 1,249 | Very Low |
| France - YP | 2,200 | 3,545 | 152 | 495 | 80 | 33 | -21 | Excellent |
| France - VIE | 550 | 534 | 33 | 116 | 32 | 55 | 3 | Excellent |
| France - IC | 4,250 | 4,033 | 69 | 489 | 40 | 16 | -4 | Excellent |
| Germany – WH | 4490 | 5,650 | 254 | 819 | 126 | 56 | -14 | Excellent |
| Germany – YP | 350 | 559 | 30 | 74 | 14 | 9 | 0 | Excellent |
| Germany – IC | 160 | 120 | 5 | 99 | 4 | 1 | -1 | Excellent |
| Greece - WH | 180 | 415 | 21 | 104 | 9 | 7 | -1 | Excellent |
| Greece - YP | 10 | 161 | 11 | 36 | 4 | 1 | -1 | Excellent |
| Greece - IC | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Hong Kong - WH | 200 | 473 | 11 | 6 | -3 | 172 | 28 | Very Low |
| Ireland – WH | 10,500 | 8,084 | 264 | 5,887 | 128 | 74 | -8 | Low |
| Ireland – YP | 150 | 147 | 9 | 123 | 2 | 6 | 3 | Excellent |
| Ireland – IC | 50 | 18 | 0 | 38 | -1 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Italy - WH | 1,000 | 2,942 | 209 | 309 | 108 | 52 | -2 | Low |
| Japan - WH | 6,500 | 8,238 | 298 | 100 | 181 | 332 | 185 | Excellent |
| Latvia - WH | 40 | 79 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 2 | Very low |
| Latvia - YP | 8 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Latvia - IC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Lithuania - WH | 175 | 398 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 86 | 13 | Excellent |
| Lithuania - YP | 20 | 25 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Lithuania - IC | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Luxembourg - WH | 80 | 50 | 5 | 43 | 2 | 0 | -2 | Excellent |
| Luxembourg - YP | 10 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Luxembourg - IC | 10 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Netherlands - WH | 430 | 1,269 | 56 | 67 | 27 | 12 | 0 | Excellent |
| Netherlands - YP | 170 | 170 | 7 | 20 | 5 | 2 | -1 | Excellent |
| New Zealand – WH | 2,500 | 2,878 | 99 | 595 | 44 | 38 | 7 | Low |
| Norway - WH | 130 | 163 | 8 | 38 | 4 | 4 | 3 | Excellent |
| Norway - YP | 15 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Norway - IC | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -1 | Excellent |
| Poland - WH | 635 | 1,004 | 27 | 99 | 11 | 14 | 7 | Excellent |
| Poland - YP | 110 | 90 | 2 | 74 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Excellent |
| Poland - IC | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Portugal - WH | 1,750 | 1,282 | 69 | 928 | 41 | 28 | 3 | Low |
| Portugal - YP | 200 | 44 | 3 | 186 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Portugal - IC | 50 | 3 | 0 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| San Marino - WH | 25 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Slovakia - WH | 315 | 555 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 24 | 14 | Excellent |
| Slovakia - YP | 30 | 59 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 3 | 3 | Excellent |
| Slovakia - IC | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Slovenia - WH | 80 | 62 | 2 | 53 | 0 | 2 | 0 | Excellent |
| Slovenia - YP | 15 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Slovenia - IC | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| South Korea - WH | 6,500 | 12,937 | 475 | 1,064 | 275 | 102 | -64 | Excellent |
| Spain – WH | 1800 | 2,590 | 162 | 459 | 66 | 43 | 8 | Very Good |
| Spain – YP | 150 | 188 | -24 | 61 | -1 | 6 | 5 | Excellent |
| Spain — IECX Vives | 50 | 10 | 0 | 44 | 0 | Excellent | ||
| Spain – IC | 50 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Sweden - WH | 580 | 529 | 37 | 306 | 17 | 6 | -1 | Excellent |
| Sweden - YP | 100 | 41 | 4 | 85 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Sweden - IC | 20 | 16 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| Switzerland - YP | 200 | 287 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | Excellent |
| Switzerland - IC | 50 | 53 | 5 | 18 | 2 | 1 | -2 | Excellent |
| Taiwan - WH | 2375 | 5,951 | 583 | 527 | 406 | 1,494 | -378 | Very Low |
| Taiwan - YP | 115 | 171 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 3 | -1 | Excellent |
| Taiwan - IC | 10 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excellent |
| UK – WH | 10,000 | 14,347 | 781 | 2,273 | 339 | 215 | 15 | Low |
Get the latest IEC news straight to your inbox! To receive alerts and updates about the 2023 IEC Working Holiday Canada season, make sure you sign up for the Moving2Canada newsletter.
What to do to prepare yourself for IEC?
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, 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!
Your personalized guide to IEC!
Finding a job for the 2023 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 2023 IEC participants.
Check out the Moving2Canada Jobs Board.
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 (with more locations to come in 2023). They love IECers and can offer you a job before you arrive. Apply here — or get more information by watching this video:
Pursuit
Pursuit provides awe-inspiring experiences for guests and team members alike in locations such as Banff, Jasper, Golden, and Waterton. Don’t take our word for it, check out this spectacular video!
Pursuit is hiring for a bunch of seasonal and year-round positions. Send in your application here.
What is the IEC program?
The IEC program allows international youth from more than 30 countries aged 18 to 35 (or in some cases, 18 to 30) to live and work in Canada for up to 24 months.
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
- Health insurance is a mandatory requirement for IEC — compare prices for IEC health insurance options with a free quote comparison from BestQuote
Articles
- Read our FAQ guide for IEC permits
- Find out which documents you need for your IEC application
- Learn about 5 avoidable mistakes IEC applicants make
- Visit our full IEC portal for more articles
- Where to buy your health insurance for Canada (note: this is a mandatory IEC requirement).
Employment tips
- For construction and engineering jobs, visit our Outpost Recruitment agency
- How to adapt to the resume format in Canada (or ‘CV’)
