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By Stephanie Ford
Updated 4 days ago
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This week’s in-depth coverage of the latest IEC news is made possible by the support of Outpost Recruitment.
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.
This week’s draw invited 151 working holiday hopefuls from the UK. It’s almost identical to last week’s (March 20) 152.
Still, IRCC has upgraded the chance of being invited from low to excellent 2,601 spots remaining and 1,119 profiles in the pool
So, if you’ve been considering applying, now would be a good time before spots are filled.
On March 27 , 125 Australian nationals got IEC working holiday invitations.
This is a slight uptick from last week’s 100. IRCC has now issued 3,953 invitations to Australians hoping for a working holiday visa, out of a quota of 5,670.
There has also been a change in the odds of getting an invitation, upgrading from fair to excellent. So, things are looking up but it could change any time. Apply now if you’ve been thinking about it.
This week, 100 Irish working holiday makers received invitations. This is up from the 75 invitations on March 20.
Ireland has already exceeded its quota of 2,753 and just 685 spots remain. Still, IRCC says the chances of getting an invitation are excellent so now is the time to apply if you’re considering coming to Canada for a working holiday.
New Zealanders got 50 Working Holiday invitations this week, March 27. That’s an improvement over the 30 invitations on March 20.
IRCC has issued 1,014 invitations to New Zealanders out of the 1,574 quota. Given there’s still a little room, IRCC estimates you have an excellent chance at getting an invitation.
So, if you’re thinking about applying, now is the time.
Yet again, we saw a single digit draw for French nationals looking for a working holiday visa this week, March 27. Only 2 invitations were issued, down from last week’s 5.
It’s still an improvement on the 1 invitation that went out on March 13.
This week’s draw brings the total number of invitations issued up to 6,363.
With just 800 spots still available and 14,022 applications in the pool, the odds of getting a working holiday invitation are considered very low.
Only 100 invitations went to South Korean Working Holiday candidates this week, down from the 125 on March 20.
South Korea has the largest IEC quota among participating countries, at 10,239 invitations. So far, 6,393 invitations have been issued amd there are 5,962 spots available. IRCC estimates that candidates have an excellent chance of an invitation this year.
For the fourth week running, Japan has been issued the highest number of IEC Working Holiday invitations. This week 269 Japanese nationals were invited.
IRCC issued 600 invitations last week, March 20 so despite the “high” number of invitations issued, it shows a slow-down in invitations.
Japan is quickly reaching its quota of 6,283 for 2026 and has now been issued 4,907 invitations. Still, IRCC estimates there is an excellent chance of getting an invitation if you are in the application pool.
German nationals got 80 working holiday invitations this week. This is more than the 49 we saw last week on March 20.
So far, 2,406 German nationals have received invitations out of a quota of 3,030 and there are only 237 candidate’s in the pool. IRCC has upgraded the chance of getting an invitation from fair to excellent, but only if you have an application in the pool. So, apply now if you’re thinking about it.
IRCC invited 60 Italian working holiday hopefuls this week. That’s a minor increase over the 40 who were invited on March 20.
This is another modest draws for Italian nationals, as they all have been modest since the season opened. This could be because there is a quota of just 1,850.
So far, 1,745 invitations have been issued and IRCC says the chances of getting invited in an upcoming draw are excellent.
Date of the latest update: March 27
Invitations issued since last update: 1,486
Total IEC applicants invited so far: 53,309
IRCC’s latest IEC update, published on March 27, confirms that since the previous update on March 20, 1,486 additional invitations were issued across all countries. This is the lowest number of invites issued since the program started, possibly hinting at a slowdown.
The total is now 53,309 invitations issued since January 19.
The United Kingdom’s Working Holiday program remains the highest number of total invitations at 9,877 (out of a 9,330 quota), with applicants no having a low chance of being successful next week.
As of the latest IEC update, the following pool-open countries have not yet received invitations this season for the following programs.
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, which currently have lower chances:
Date of the IEC Pools update: March 27, 2026
Total of candidates on the IEC Pools: 31,077
As of March 27, there were 31,077 candidates in the IEC pools, a slight increase since last week. That increase suggests that while invitations continue to be issued, new candidates are still entering the pools at a steady pace.
The programs with the highest number of candidates in the pool, as of March 27, 2026 are:
Of these countries, between March 20 and March 27, France saw the largest change, increasing by 305 candidates, while most others also saw small increases.
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
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 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.
We partner with trusted brands like Outpost Recruitment, who share our commitment to supporting newcomers. This allows us to provide valuable resources and information to you and thousands of others – completely free.
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