International Experience Class (Iec) / Working Holiday Visa

 
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International Experience Class (Iec) / Working Holiday Visa

 

Did you know you can come and work in Canada without having a LMIA or in some cases even a job offer?

Yes, it is possible. You can achieve your dream of working in Canada through the International experience class

You can come to Canada and Work.

No need of LMIA

How about taking a vacation to exquisite Canadian location while getting paid here?

Interested in a working holiday in Canada. Find out about International Experience Canada (IEC) Working Holiday work permits (sometimes referred to as a Working Holiday Visa in Canada.

Let’s see what is IEC?

It provides temporary work permits to young people from over 30 countries, so they can legally live and get a job in Canada. The permits are valid for either 12 or 24 months, depending on your country of citizenship.

Are from one or more of the 30 designated countries? Are you between the ages 18 and 35 years? If yes, this may be the perfect opportunity for you to work and travel in Canada for up to 2 years.

Now let’s dig a bit more deeper.

 

There are 3 IEC categories    

  1. Working Holiday
  2. Young Professionals
  3. International Co-op (Internship)

 

Working Holiday

 

This is by-far the most popular and most flexible category of the entire program. This allows you to work for almost any employer and you can even switch jobs when you like to. The type of work permit you get for Working Holiday is an open work permit. This means you can work for more than one employer if you wish.

Give yourself the best chance to make the most of your dream!! This is your lottery to a paid Canadian Vacation

The process is so simple that you will almost wish that you had known this earlier. So let’s get started:

  1. IEC working holiday applicants must first complete the ‘Come to Canada’ questionnaire to check their eligibility for the IEC program.
  2. Eligible candidates then create a profile (with identity details, citizenship, current residence etc) which is put in a pool for the category they wish to participate.
  3. CIC will regularly invite candidates from each pool to participate in the program throughout the next year unless the quota runs out sooner. It is a random selection. An invite may take a week, a month, six months to arrive, or in the case of countries with more demand than places (such as the UK) not at all.
  4. Once an invite is received, the applicant has to decide whether to accept or decline within 10 days.
  5. After the invite has been accepted, applicants will then need to apply for a work permit submitting completed forms, documents (such as police certificates) and payment within 20 days.
  6. Up to 8 weeks after submitting the work permit application, a decision will be made.
  7. If successful with your IEC working holiday application, you will find a ‘Correspondence Letter’ in your MyCIC inbox. This is your Port of Entry Letter of Introduction (referred to as a POE or LOI).
  8. Congratulations! Be sure to print and save your IEC POE Letter, so you have both electronic and paper copies

 

January 2021 update – there are new additional, hopefully temporary, requirements for POE holders travelling to Canada (job offer, negative test, quarantine plan, quarantine hotel)

 

The IEC working holiday program runs in year-long ‘seasons’, generally running from autumn to autumn.

Participating IEC countries have at least one of these programs available, with some countries having more than one.

The most popular IEC stream is the working holiday program. The length of the included work permit varies from country to country. Check out the chart below for more info.

Australia: 24 months
18 – 35

Austria: 12 months

18 – 30

Belgium: 12 months

18 – 30

Chile: 12 months

18 – 30

Costa Rica: 12 months

18 – 35

Croatia: 12 months

18 – 35

Czech Republic: 12 months
18 – 35

Denmark: 12 months
18 – 35

Estonia: 12 months
18 – 35

France: 24 months
18 – 35

Germany: 12 months
18 – 35

Greece: 12 months
18 – 35

Hong Kong: 12 months
18 – 30

Ireland: 24 months
18 – 35

Italy: 12 months*
18 – 35

Japan: 12 months
18 – 30

Latvia: 12 months
18 – 35

Lithuania: 12 months
18 – 35

Luxembourg: 12 months
18 – 30

Netherlands: 12 months
18 – 30

New Zealand: 23 months
18 – 35

Norway: 12 months
18 – 35

Poland: 12 months
18 – 35

Portugal: 24 months
18 – 35

San Marino: 12 months
18 to 35

Slovakia: 12 months
18 to 35

Slovenia: 12 months
18 to 35

South Korea: 12 months
18 to 30

Spain: 12 months
18 to 35

Sweden: 12 months
18 to 30

Switzerland: 18 months
18 to 35

Taiwan: 12 months
18 to 35

United Kingdom: 24 months
18 to 30

 

 

Using an RO

If you’re from an IEC country or territory, you don’t have to use an RO

If you’re not from an IEC country or territory, you can only come to Canada through IEC if you use an eligible RO.

List of ROs

  • AIESEC Canada

Types of work permits:

Young Professionals (employer-specific work permit) for career development

Target market: Youth aged 18 to 30

Eligible to: IEC countries/territories, Brazil, India

  • GO International

Types of work permits:

Working Holiday (open work permit)

Target market: Youth aged 18 to 35

Eligible to: IEC countries/territories, the United States

  • International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience (IAESTE)

Types of work permits:

  • Young Professionals (employer-specific work permit) for career development
  • International Co-op (Internship) (employer-specific work permit) for students

Target market: Youth aged 18 to 35

Eligible to: IEC countries and other IAESTE country partners

  • International Rural Exchange (IRE)

Types of work permits:

  • Working Holiday (open work permit)
  • Young Professionals (employer-specific work permit) for career development

Target Market: Youth aged 18 to 35

Eligible to: IEC countries/territories only

  • Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN)

Types of work permits:

  • Working Holiday (open work permit)
  • International Co-op (Internship) (employer-specific work permit) for students

Target market: Youth aged 18 to 35

Eligible to: IEC countries/territories only

  • Stepwest

Types of work permits:

  • Working Holiday (open work permit)
  • Young Professionals (employer-specific work permit) for career development

Target market: Youth aged 18 to 35

Eligible to: IEC countries/territories only

  • SWAP Working Holidays

Types of work permits:

  • Working Holiday (open work permit)
  • Young Professionals (employer-specific work permit) for career development

Target market: Youth aged 18 to 35

Eligible to: IEC countries/territories, the United States

  • University of British Columbia

Types of work permits:

  • Young Professionals (employer-specific work permit) for career development
  • International Co-op (Internship) (employer-specific work permit) for students

Target market: Youth aged 18 to 35

Eligible to: IEC countries/territories, Brazil, China, Iceland, India, Pakistan, Singapore, the United States

  • University of New Brunswick

Types of work permits:

  • Young Professionals (employer-specific work permit) for career development
  • International Co-op (Internship) (employer-specific work permit) for students

Target market: Youth aged 18 to 30

Eligible to: IEC countries/territories only

 

We wish you make the most out of this opportunity to come and experience first hand the beautiful landscapes of Canada, the quintessential Canadian courtesies and most importantly the work-life balance in Canada. Make the most of out this opportunity. If you loved the Canadian life, this experience will help you gain points towards securing a Permanent Resident status in Canada