Canada and Italy have signed a new mobility agreement, allowing Italians to stay longer and be eligible for two new International Experience Canada (IEC) programs.
For years, Italians have only been able to get an IEC work permit for up to six months. Now Italians aged 18 to 35 can get back-to-back work permits for 12 months at a time, for a total of 24 months.
Also, Italians may now participate in all IEC streams, including the International Co-op and Young Professionals. Before, Italians were only eligible for the Working Holiday Visa.
“I’m very pleased to celebrate this agreement with Italy, which will provide Canadian and Italian youth with more opportunities to live, travel and work abroad for longer than ever before,” Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said in a media release. “This will give young people even more opportunity to benefit from the diversity and economic strengths of Italy and Canada, deepening the ties between our two countries.”
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About International Experience Canada (IEC)
Canada supports reciprocal bilateral youth mobility agreements with other countries through IEC. These agreements allow Canadians to work in partner countries, and allows international youth to do the same in Canada.
The IEC has three categories:
Working Holiday, which provides an open work permit allowing participants to work anywhere in Canada.
International Co-op participants get an employer-specific work permit that allows students to gain work experience in their field of study.
Young Professionals participants also get an employer-specific work permit to get professional work experience within their field of study or career path.
Canada has formal youth mobility agreements with 36 countries and foreign territories, including:
- Andorra
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Chile
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hong Kong
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- San Marino
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
The 2022 IEC season closed on October 17. The 2023 IEC season will likely open in late December or January. Create a free Moving2Canada account and sign up for our newsletter to be notified when the 2023 season is announced.
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