International Experience Canada (IEC)

International Experience Canada (IEC) is a reciprocal program that gives youth the opportunity to travel and work in Canada for up to 3 years. Young adults aged 18 to 35 can participate in the program under the following categories:

  • Working Holiday (open work permit)
  • Young Professional (employer-specific "closed" work permit for jobs contributing to professional development)
  • International co-op (employer-specific work permit for student internship terms)


Who Can Apply

Citizens of partner countries may be able to apply to one or more of these three categories. Citizens of other countries may still be able to apply to the IEC program through a Recognized Organization (RO). 

The number of participations and length of work permit depend on the applicant's country of citizenship. While some countries allow repeat participations in the same or a different category, others are limited to one participation. The length of work permit under the IEC program can vary from 6 months to 3 years depending on the country's bilateral agreement with Canada. As an example, Italy's agreement has recently been revised and Italian citizens aged 18 to 35 (inclusive) can now participate twice, under any category, for up to 12 months per participation. 

To participate, candidates need to create a profile in their country's IEC pools, and receive an invitation to apply (ITA). Throughout the season, IRCC will regularly issue invitations to candidates in the pool. It is the luck of the draw - all eligible candidates in the pool have the same chances of receiving an ITA. Pools are now open, and the first round of invitations will be on January 8, 2024. Each country's pool is allocated a certain number of spots, with special allocations for ROs. To learn more about the numbers of candidates in the pool, available spots and the chances of receiving an invitation to apply, click here.



Application process at a glance

Residence Requirements

The following IEC partner countries have a so-called residence requirement:

  • Belgium
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Hong Kong
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Latvia
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Slovakia
  • Spain
  • Sweden

Applicants from these countries must provide a permanent mailing address in their country of citizenship even if their current residential address is elsewhere. In addition, Italian citizens must also provide a residence certificate ("certificato di residenza").


Discontinuance

Countries that allow more than one participation in the IEC program may require a break between the expiry date of the first Canadian work permit under IEC and the submission date of the second IEC work permit application. This is known as a discontinuance requirement, i.e. a specific length of discontinuous stay between two IEC participations as specified in the country's bilateral agreement with Canada. Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland, Slovakia, and Spain have a discontinuance requirement ranging from 3 months to 3 years. 


TL;DR

Too much text? Watch this video instead! 

Popular posts from this blog

What's a CLB?

Image
In most cases, applicants for permanent residence in Canada need to prove their language skills in English or French. To do so, they must take an approved language test. There are five language tests accepted for immigration to Canada; three for English and two for French: •   Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program ( CELPIP) •   International English Language Testing System ( IELTS) •   Pearson Test of English ( PTE)  •   Test de connaissance du français ( TCF) •   Test d’évaluation de français ( TEF) IRCC will use the test results as proof of an applicant's language skills. In order to be valid, test results must be less than two years old at the time of application for permanent residence. There are provisions if a candidate cannot complete one or more sections of the language test because of a disability. The Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) (or Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadien (NCLC) for French) was created to assess language skills of permanent residen
Read more

How Express Entry works

Image
The Express Entry online system is used to manage applications for Permanent Residence under three separate programs: Federal Skilled Worker Program Federal Skilled Trades Program Canadian Experience Class Each program has its own eligibility criteria. Candidates need to meet all requirements for at least one program to apply under Express Entry, and can't mix and match criteria from different programs. The following table shows the eligbility requirements for each of the three programs: Eligibility Criteria Canadian Experience Class Federal Skilled Worker Program Federal Skilled Trades Program Language skills English or French skills CLB 7 for TEER 0 or TEER 1 occupations CLB 5 for TEER 2 or TEER 3 occupations English or French skills CLB 7 English or French skills CLB 5 for speaking and listening CLB 4 for reading and writing Type/Level of work experience Canadian work experience in an occupation
Read more