International Experience Canada (IEC)
You can work and live in Canada if you are under 35 years old and from select countries
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Depending on your nationality, you may need to give your biometrics:
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The International Experience Canada (IEC) Work Permit provides young people from around the world with the opportunity to travel and work in Canada. There are more than 30 countries participating in the International Experience Canada program, and you can apply if you are a citizen of one of these countries. This article will let you know all you need to understand this youth-targeted program.
Overview
IEC provides youth with the opportunity to travel and work in Canada. There are three categories under IEC, and depending on each country, one or two or the three categories are eligible:
Working Holiday
If you don't have a job offer and want to travel while working at your different locations and for different employers, the Working Holiday IEC category is perfect for you.
If you are eligible (see below list of countries), you will be issued an Open Work Permit.
If you are eligible (see below list of countries), you will be issued an Open Work Permit.
Young Professionals
If you have a job offer in Canada that contributes to your professional development and will be working for the same employer during your stay in Canada, the Young Professionals IEC is perfect for you.
The job you are offered in Canada must be classified as a National Occupational Classification (NOC) Code Skill Type Level 0, A or B. A job offer classified as a NOC C might be accepted if you can have a post-secondary diploma, certificate or degree.
Your employer must meet all labour laws in the province or territory you plan to work.
If you are eligible (see below list of countries), you will be issued an Employer-Specific Work Permit.
The job you are offered in Canada must be classified as a National Occupational Classification (NOC) Code Skill Type Level 0, A or B. A job offer classified as a NOC C might be accepted if you can have a post-secondary diploma, certificate or degree.
Your employer must meet all labour laws in the province or territory you plan to work.
If you are eligible (see below list of countries), you will be issued an Employer-Specific Work Permit.
International Co-op Internship
If you are a student registered at a post-secondary institution in your country, and you have a job offer for a work placement or internship in Canada that will complete your studies, the International Co-op Internship IEC category is perfect for you.
The job you are offered in Canada must be classified as a National Occupational Classification (NOC) Code Skill Type Level 0, A or B. A job offer classified as a NOC C might be accepted if you can have a post-secondary diploma, certificate or degree.
Your employer must meet all labour laws in the province or territory you plan to work.
If you are eligible (see below list of countries), you will be issued an Employer-Specific Work Permit.
The job you are offered in Canada must be classified as a National Occupational Classification (NOC) Code Skill Type Level 0, A or B. A job offer classified as a NOC C might be accepted if you can have a post-secondary diploma, certificate or degree.
Your employer must meet all labour laws in the province or territory you plan to work.
If you are eligible (see below list of countries), you will be issued an Employer-Specific Work Permit.
List of Participating Countries
The following table will let you know if you are eligible (age, country of citizenship, and eligible category, and if you need to take a medical exam as part of your application):
Participating countries
You will need to apply for a visitor Temporary Resident Visa if you are from Costa Rica or Ukraine at the same time as your IEC. You can read why you need a visa here. All other countries will be issued an electronic Travel Authorization when their IEC Work Permit is approved.
You will need to undergo a medical exam if you are from Hong Kong, Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of Korea, Taiwan or Ukraine and lived there for more than 6 months in the year prior to applying. If you lived for more than 6 months in another country, check here if you need a medical exam.
You will need to undergo a medical exam if you are from Hong Kong, Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of Korea, Taiwan or Ukraine and lived there for more than 6 months in the year prior to applying. If you lived for more than 6 months in another country, check here if you need a medical exam.
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Country |
Age limit |
Working Holiday (WH) |
Young Professionals (YP) |
International Co-op Internship (CO) |
# of Participations |
Maximum Validity |
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Australia |
18-35 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total Once (i) WH or YP, and once (ii) CO |
WH: 24 months YP: 24 months CO: 12 months |
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Austria |
18-30 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total One per category |
WH: 12 months YP: 12 months CO: 6 months |
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Belgium |
18-30 |
Yes |
No |
No |
One total |
WH: 12 months |
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Chile |
18-35 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total Any category |
WH: 12 months YP: 12 months CO: 12 months |
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Costa Rica |
18-35 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total One per category |
WH: 12 months YP: 12 months CO: 12 months |
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Croatia |
18-35 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total One per category |
WH: 12 months YP: 12 months CO: 12 months |
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Czech Republic |
18-35 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total One per category |
WH: 12 months YP: 12 months CO: 12 months |
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Denmark |
18-35 |
Yes |
No |
No |
One total |
WH: 12 months |
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Estonia |
18-35 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total One per category |
WH: 12 months YP: 12 months CO: 12 months |
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France |
18-35 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total Once (i) WH or YP, and once (ii) CO |
WH: 24 months YP: 24 months CO: 12 months |
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Germany |
18-35 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total One per category |
WH: 12 months YP: 12 months CO: 12 months |
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Greece |
18-35 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total One per category |
WH: 12 months YP: 12 months CO: 12 months |
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Hong Kong SAR |
18-30 |
Yes |
No |
No |
One total |
WH: 12 months |
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Ireland |
18-35 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total Once (i) WH or YP, and once (ii) CO |
WH: 24 months YP: 24 months CO: 12 months |
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Italy |
18-35 |
Yes |
No |
No |
One total |
WH: 6 months |
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Japan |
18-30 |
Yes |
No |
No |
One total |
WH: 12 months |
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Korea, Republic |
18-30 |
Yes |
No |
No |
One total |
WH: 12 months |
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Latvia Republic |
18-35 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total One per category |
WH: 12 months YP: 12 months CO: 12 months |
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Lithuania |
18-35 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total One per category |
WH: 12 months YP: 12 months CO: 12 months |
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Mexico |
The Youth Mobility Arrangement between with Mexico is not accepting applicants at this time |
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Netherlands |
18-30 |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Two total One per category |
WH: 12 months YP: 12 months |
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New Zealand |
18-35 |
Yes |
No |
No |
One total |
WH: 23 months |
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Norway |
18-35 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total One per category |
WH: 12 months YP: 12 months CO: 12 months |
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Poland |
18-35 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total One per category |
WH: 12 months YP: 12 months CO: 12 months |
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San Marino |
18-35 |
Yes |
No |
No |
Two total |
WH: 12 months |
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Slovakia |
18-35 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total One per category |
WH: 12 months YP: 12 months CO: 12 months |
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Slovenia |
18-35 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total One per category |
WH: 12 months YP: 12 months CO: 12 months |
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Spain |
18-35 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total One per category |
WH: 12 months YP: 12 months CO: 12 months |
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Sweden |
18-30 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total One per category |
WH: 12 months YP: 12 months CO: 12 months |
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Switzerland |
18-35 |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Two total, cannot exceed 18 months |
YP: 18 months CO: 12 months |
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Taiwan |
18-35 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
One total |
WH: 12 months YP: 12 months CO: 12 months |
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Ukraine |
The Youth Mobility Arrangement between with Ukraine is not accepting applicants at this time |
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U.K. |
18-30 |
Yes |
No |
No |
One total |
WH: 24 months |
If your country is not in the list of participating countries, you can still try and go through a Recognized Institution for foreign youth (list available here). These Recognized Institutions usually require a fee that can go from $250 to a couple thousands.
Chances of getting an Invitation to Apply
If you want to know what are you chances of getting out from the pool with an Invitation to apply, click here. You can check your chances by country and by IEC category.
Application Process
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If you want to travel and work temporarily in Canada as part of an IEC category, your first step is to become a candidate in one or more IEC pools. There is one pool for each country and each category (Australia has 3 pools, Belgium 1 pool, etc.). There is one pool that is for all others countries that are not participating in the program. You will have to go through a Recognized Institution to be able to be in that pool.
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To be able to get into the pool of candidates, you need first to be eligible. You can either answer the eligibility questionnaire first (here) or create an account with GCKey and select "International Experience Canada" and answer the questions to see if you are eligible. We would recommend you to use the first option so as not to waste your time creating an account if you are not eligible.
If you are eligible, you can complete your IEC profile on your account. If you used the first option and are eligible, you should end up with a personal reference code that you should use when asked.
You will be asked the personal information on your passport. You should not use commas in your first and last names and not use any special characters other than (é, à, è, ù, â, ê, î, ô, û, ë, ï, ö, ü, æ, ç, œ).
When you complete and submit your profile, the system will tell if you are eligible in any IEC category and will put you on the corresponding pool(s) of applicants. Your profile will not be scored or ranked.
A computerized system will randomly pick a number of candidates and send them an Invitation to Apply (ITA), depending on the spots available for each country/category pool and on the candidates in the pool. However, invitations are issued in the following order: (1) International Co-op Internship, then (2) Young Professionals, and finally (3) Working Holiday.
You usually should get an Invitation to Apply in a matter of weeks if you are from the first two categories. You can find your chances of getting an ITA here.
When you receive an Invitation to Apply, you will have 10 days to accept or decline it. The invitation will expire if you don't respond within the 10-day period. You will have 20 days from the date you accept the invitation to apply for the IEC Work Permit. If you are a candidate in multiple pools and received an Invitation to Apply from the first pool, you cannot receive an invitation from the second pool until you decline the first one.
If you are eligible, you can complete your IEC profile on your account. If you used the first option and are eligible, you should end up with a personal reference code that you should use when asked.
You will be asked the personal information on your passport. You should not use commas in your first and last names and not use any special characters other than (é, à, è, ù, â, ê, î, ô, û, ë, ï, ö, ü, æ, ç, œ).
When you complete and submit your profile, the system will tell if you are eligible in any IEC category and will put you on the corresponding pool(s) of applicants. Your profile will not be scored or ranked.
A computerized system will randomly pick a number of candidates and send them an Invitation to Apply (ITA), depending on the spots available for each country/category pool and on the candidates in the pool. However, invitations are issued in the following order: (1) International Co-op Internship, then (2) Young Professionals, and finally (3) Working Holiday.
You usually should get an Invitation to Apply in a matter of weeks if you are from the first two categories. You can find your chances of getting an ITA here.
When you receive an Invitation to Apply, you will have 10 days to accept or decline it. The invitation will expire if you don't respond within the 10-day period. You will have 20 days from the date you accept the invitation to apply for the IEC Work Permit. If you are a candidate in multiple pools and received an Invitation to Apply from the first pool, you cannot receive an invitation from the second pool until you decline the first one.
How to Apply for the IEC Work Permit
After accepting the Invitation to Apply, you will have a form to fill, that will generate a customized list of supporting documents to upload in the system. You will need to upload the following supporting documents:
- Your passport. It must be valid at least until your leave Canada after your IEC experience. The Work Permit cannot be issued for longer than the validity period of your passport.
- Digital photo. Your upload section will let you know the specifications for the photo.
- Family information. You will need to fill, sign and upload either the form IMM 5645 or IMM 5707, depending on your country. Your upload section will let you know which one.
- CV/Resume. You need to upload a recent CV/resume that includes your education, professional experience, qualifications, and city/country where you currently live.
- You will need to provide a police certificate for each country you lived in for more than 6 consecutive months after your 18th birthday. You can find here how to get each country's police certificate. If you’re not able to get a police certificate before the deadline to submit your application, you may upload (i) a copy of the receipt proving you have requested one, or (ii) a screenshot of the confirmation page or email you received when you ordered your police certificate online. In the country where you are currently living, the police certificate must be issued within six months before you apply.
- If you are an International Co-op Intern applicant, you will need to provide proof of school registration (letter from your institution assessing that you are still a student) and the signed internship agreement that contains:
- the position title,
- the description of the tasks performed by the student,
- the exact start and end dates of the internship,
- the complete address of the internship site, and
- the employer's contact information.
- If you are using a Recognized Institution, you need to provide a confirmation letter from them.
- If you are a VIE applicant (France), you need to provide an official certificate from Business France, which identifies the applicant and the employer.
- If you are from Costa Rica or Ukraine (or any other country needing a visitor Temporary Resident Visa), you will need to fill, sign and upload the IMM 5257 form.
- If you need a medical exam, you must see an IRCC-approved doctor. You will need to upload the document given to you by the doctor into the system, either in the 'Proof of medical exam" section, or the "Optional Documents" section. You should take the medical exam only after receiving an Invitation to Apply. For more information on medical exams, visit our dedicated guide.
Fees
All participants must pay a $150 fee (2018 season).
If you applied under the Working Holiday category, you will need to pay an additional $100 for the Open Work Permit.
If you applied under the Youth Professionals or the International Co-op Intern categories, your employer must pay a $230 compliance fee and submit your offer of employment to Immigration, Refugees, Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
If you applied under the Working Holiday category, you will need to pay an additional $100 for the Open Work Permit.
If you applied under the Youth Professionals or the International Co-op Intern categories, your employer must pay a $230 compliance fee and submit your offer of employment to Immigration, Refugees, Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Processing Time
As of time of writing, an IEC application is processed within 8 weeks
You can check the processing times here. You need to select "Visiting, studying, working temporarily", then "International Experience Canada".
You can check the processing times here. You need to select "Visiting, studying, working temporarily", then "International Experience Canada".
