International Experience Canada application in 15 seconds

• Check you meet the eligibility requirements using CIC “Come to Canada” online guide
• Complete your online profile with MyCIC and join a “pool” of applicants
• CIC will regularly issue invitations to candidates from the IEC pools during the year
• Working Holiday invitations are selected at random
• International Co-op and Young Professional invitations will be issued as long as there are places available
• Once you are invited to continue with your application you have 10 days to respond and 20 days to complete the online application including all supporting documents
• There is a CAN$150 participation fee, CAN$85 biometric fee (certain countries only) and CAN$100 permit holder fee for Working Holiday category applicants
• Your passport must be valid for at least one day beyond the date of your departure from Canada and you need at least one blank page available in your passport
• There are three categories of IEC for Irish applicants, see below for an outline of each
• IEC information for Irish nationals
• IEC information for British nationals
• Quick reference table for IEC options, quotas and availability

IEC Application Process

In summary; there are four key stages:

1. Check your eligibility using the CIC “Come to Canada” online guide and receive a reference number
2. Create a GCKey – this is an online, password secured, log-in for the CIC website. Once you’ve created your GCKey you’ll be able to log-in to MyCIC and create your Profile.
3. Create an IEC Profile – the Profile is an expression of interest and places you in a Pool of similar candidates wishing to apply via the IEC programme. At this stage you do not have a visa but CIC know that you want one! You should receive notification that your Profile has been accepted.
4. Receive an invitation from CIC to progress from the Pool stage to complete the full permit application including supporting documents and fees

NOTE FOR UK APPLICANTS: When doing the Come to Canada guide, answer your questions carefully, you’ll have options for GBR-UK (for UK British nationality) and England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland for country of residence.

2019-iec-online-application info graphic

What Happens Next?

CIC will contact applicants through a series of Rounds – these are dates spread across the calendar year when CIC will contact applicants in the Pool and invite them to proceed with the official IEC permit application.

IMPORTANT: once you are invited to continue with your application you have 10 days to respond (accept) and 20 days to complete the online application and include all supporting documents. If you fail to meet either of the deadlines then you could jeopardise your place.

What else do I need to know?

For certain nationalities (including UK and Ireland) it is expected that there will be more people in the Pool than there are available visas. This means that there’s a chance some people won’t get invited to continue with the application.

Some nationalities (including Irish nationals) have the option to apply for one of three types of IEC: Young Professional (YP), Internship/Co-op (Internship) or Working Holiday. The YP and Internships aren’t always as competitive as the Working Holiday and can provide a more assured way to get a permit (subject to eligibility).

Biometrics (fingerprints and photo) are required for applicants from certain countries (including EU) and are being phased in for other countries. Find out more about how to get your biometrics here:

IEC Biometrics

See below for more details.

Eligibility and useful links

British Nationals

The Working Holiday category is designed for British citizens, who intend to travel in Canada and who wish to find temporary paid employment to help pay for their trip (up to 24 months).

Note: As a British citizen you may participate in IEC once. (If you participated in IEC before 2015 for a period of up to 12 months, you are eligible for a second participation of up to 24 months. Those who participated in IEC more than once before 2015 are no longer eligible to apply.)

To be eligible for the International Experience Canada category visa you must:

• be a British citizen from the following territories: the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey,
• have a valid UK passport with British citizenship or a valid Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey) passport for the duration of your stay in Canada – your work permit in Canada will not be longer than the validity of your passport,
• be between the ages of 18 and 30 (inclusive) when you submit your application to the pool,
• have the equivalent of C$2,500 to help cover your expenses in Canada,
• be able to take out health insurance for the duration of your stay – you may have to present evidence of this insurance when you enter Canada, (Endsleigh and True Traveller policies are acceptable; make sure you select cover including North America and choose a level appropriate to the activities you will be doing. See Insurance for more details.)
• be admissible to Canada,
• have, prior to departure, a round-trip ticket or demonstrate that you will have the financial resources to purchase a departure ticket at the end of your authorized stay in Canada,
• not be accompanied by dependents and
• pay the participation fees (CAN$150) and permit holder fees of CAN$100.

Successful applications are authorised for a stay of 24 months or until the expiry of your passport, whichever is sooner.

The information above is correct at the time of publication. However, eligibility, fees and availability are subject to change and you should always check details with Immigration Canada before submitting a visa application.

Note: in 2016 a total of 6,000 permits were issued. However, there were over 9,000 applicants. Some people didn’t get invited to apply for a visa.

Useful links to Canadian Immigration:

IEC application process

CIC “Come to Canada” guide

Explanation of how the “pools” will work

Canadian Immigration provides very comprehensive information about all aspects of the programme (including your arrival in Canada and job hunting) on their website. Read through the website carefully, finding the answers online is likely to be quicker than seeking an answer through the High Commission.

Irish Nationals

There are three categories of IEC for Irish applicants. They are as follows:

Standard eligibility required for all of the International Experience Canada categories are as follows. You must:

• be between the ages of 18 and 35 (inclusive) when you submit your profile to the pool,
• be an Irish citizen,
• have a valid Irish passport for the duration of your stay in Canada—your work permit in Canada will not be longer than the validity of your passport,
• have, prior to departure, a round-trip ticket or demonstrate that you will have the financial resources to purchase a departure ticket at the end of your authorized stay in Canada,
• have the equivalent of CAN$2,500 to help cover your expenses in Canada,
• be able to take out health insurance for the duration of your stay – you may have to present evidence of this insurance when you enter Canada, (True Traveller policies are acceptable; make sure you select cover including North America and choose a level appropriate to the activities you will be doing. See Insurance for more details.)
• be admissible to Canada,
• not be accompanied by dependents and
• pay the participation fees (CAN$150)

The information above is correct at the time of publication. However, eligibility, fees and availability are subject to change and you should always check details with Immigration Canada for submitting a visa application.

Useful links to Canadian Immigration:

IEC application process

CIC “Come to Canada” guide

Explanation of how the “pools” will work

Canadian Immigration provides very comprehensive information about all aspects of the programme on their website. Read through the website carefully, finding the answers online is likely to be quicker than seeking an answer through the High Commission of CIC.