Many young people love to travel, but they also need to work on their future careers and improve their professional standing as well. For many, staying in their own country and working on their CV/resume is the only option there is, but there are more. One of them is IEC. So, what is IEC? Let’s dive in and find out.

IEC is the International Experience Canada Program that has been designed for young people who would like to gain valuable work experience, work on their intercultural and language skills, and who would like to gain the said work experience by working for a Canadian employer. The program is very popular and has three possible pathways for you to take.

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What Is IEC?

IEC Canada is a very easy program to join. You should be young, under 35 years of age, have little financial funds, and have a lot of desire to travel and explore the world, or, in this case, Canada. After a simple application procedure, you can be drawn and sent an ITA – Invitation to Apply – after which you apply for a work permit. If your case is a bit more complicated, you can hire an immigration agency to help you out, although this comes at a cost.

Who Can Apply for IEC?

When it comes to the program itself, it is open to all who would like to apply, who are younger and who would come from one of the participating countries. If you would like to apply, you should also be medically and criminally admissible to Canada, while the special International Co-op program also demands that you have an active student status at a University in a participating country.

When it comes to age, most programs and countries demand that you be between 18 and 35 years of age. The only exceptions here are:

  • Austria – max 30 years of age
  • Belgium – max 30 years of age
  • Hong Kong – max 30 years of age
  • Japan – max 30 years of age
  • Luxembourg – max 29 years of age
  • The Netherlands – max 30 years of age
  • South Korea – max 30 years of age
  • Sweden – max 30 years of age
  • the United Kingdom – max 30 years of age

When it comes to the participating countries, the reason that not all countries are allowed here is that the Canadian work permit here is issued on a special basis, and only those coming from a participating country of origin can join the program. So, if you come from another foreign country, that is not an IEC-eligible country, you may not have access to government programs organized under the IEC.

In addition to this, as these programs are not designed with employment or permanent immigration to Canada in mind, it is useful to know that they aid in providing you with practical work experience, and a chance to make money and use it to travel – further developing yourself as a person and a young professional in your respective field.

IEC Eligibility

IEC Canada eligibility requirements are not many, but they are strict. IEC has a total of three immigration pathways that you can use to get a temporary work permit and professional work experience. When it comes to the pathways eligibility criteria, some apply to all pathways. On the other hand, access to government programs has to be granted by your country of citizenship.

With this in mind, it is easy to conclude that individual countries may have their eligibility criteria and that different programs have them as well. After all, only the Working Holiday Visa pathway does not ask for a valid job offer, while Young Professionals does. On the other hand, the International Co-op asks for a valid job offer and even insists that the job is related to your field of studies and that you have a letter from your college or university confirming that.

When it comes to other general eligibility criteria, you should be between 18 and 35 years of age for most programs, including these years. When it comes to this, the eligibility criteria are very simple – all IEC temporary immigration programs are aimed at young people. Besides this, you should be medically and criminally admissible to Canada, and you will need to have some funds to keep you ticking until your first Canadian paycheck. Let’s consider these eligibility requirements in more detail:

  • You need to be a citizen of a participating country, not only its resident or permanent resident
  • You need to hold a valid passport issued by your country of citizenship (which also has to be a participating country), and the passport needs to be valid for the duration of your stay in Canada. You can join the program even if your passport is not valid for the full 2 years after the application date, but you will only be given the work permit and the right to temporarily reside in Canada for the period of duration of your passport. To avoid staying shorter in Canada, ask for a new passport
  • You should be between the ages of 18 and 35, including these years. Please bear in mind that some countries and programs may be limited to those up to 30 years of age and that Luxembourg only makes its immigration programs available to those up to 29 years of age (including those that are 29 years old)
  • You will need to have sufficient financial funds – CAD2,500 as settlement funds to last you until your first paycheck, and enough money to purchase the return ticket home if you haven’t purchased a round-trip ticket already. When it comes to the funds, please bear in mind that CAD2,500 is not that much – you may have to pay the rent if the employer does not provide accommodation and you will have to purchase health insurance
  • You will need to have healthcare insurance issued by a Canadian insurance company/agency, and you will have to pay for this. Check with your potential employer if you will be getting medical insurance with your work contract and please be ready to purchase travel insurance for the first portion of your temporary residency programs (whichever you choose)
  • You must be admissible to Canada on both health and criminal grounds. You will have to stay out of trouble, as even an ongoing police investigation (regardless of the verdict) will easily deem you inadmissible to Canada. You will need to prove this through a police certificate, which you should proclaim from your country of citizenship, country of residence, and all other countries where you have resided for at least a year since you turned 18 years of age.
  • When it comes to medical admissibility, you may be deemed inadmissible if you have a medical condition, state injury, or a disease that could cost the Canadian healthcare system more than CAD20,000 (approximately) a year. You may also be deemed medically inadmissible if you have visited high-risk areas, areas with ongoing epidemics in the past year, or if you harbour pathogens that may put you in danger, Canadian citizens. You will need to prove your medical admissibility to Canada through a medical examination which has to be carried out by a licensed professional named on the IRCC website (the Immigration, Refuge and Citizenship Canada)
  • You need to have no accompanying dependents. This would mean that these types of programs do not allow for family migration. During the online application process, you will be asked to provide your family information (IMM 5707 form) and you will have to answer truthfully
  • You need to pay all the fees. These fees include the placement internship fee (the processing fee or the application fee), the biometrics fee as well and all the other fees that you may have to pay in your own country to get the documents you need for the application process. Please beware that none of these fees will be deducted from the CAD2,500, but that you rather need a separate fund for them.

When Can I Submit an IEC Work Permit Application?

For this type of program, you will need to make your application in two steps. The first step is submitting your documents to the IEC pool of candidates. All candidates from the countries that have signed the bilateral agreement with Canada will have a separate pool of candidates that the selectees are drawn from. Once you are selected, you will get an ITA – Invitation to Apply, and you will have 10 days to respond to it and 20 days to submit the rest of the documents. Within 20 days, you will also have to submit your work permit application, which is the travel opportunities within Canada open up for you.

The first step in this process means making the IRCC profile and then, shortly afterward, the IEC profile. This profile will then be used for the application and all the following steps on your way to Canada. Once the first step is complete and you get your ITA, and your work permit, you will also receive your Port-of-Entry Letter of Introduction. This letter allows you to enter Canada and is valid for 12 months after the issue date. But, what is the best time to apply for IEC Canada?

Best Time to Apply

The best time to make your application depends on when you would like to get to Canada first. As the POE Letter of Introduction is valid for 12 months, it is necessary to time your application to your arrival. If you would like to go to Canada early next year, a popular option would be to apply as soon as possible, or as soon as the application process is open. Applying this year for a trip planned next year is a valid option, regardless of where you could be coming from.

Even with countries that are close by, such as the United States of America, it is necessary to consider the timing and to plan early on. So far, we need to plan when we will apply for the program when we will submit our IEC application, when we will accept the ITA, and when we will collect the necessary documents for the rest of the application process. Planning is necessary during the whole application process.

Programs Under IEC

As we’ve mentioned before, the IEC (International Experience Canada) is the result of an international agreement between Canada and many other countries. This agreement is reciprocal, meaning that if the citizens of one country can go to Canada using the IEC agreement, young Canadians can use that same agreement to go to that country as well.

This creates a diversified market of people who can travel and putting all of their needs in one basket can do more harm than good. For this reason, if you want to use the IEC to grab your travel opportunities and go through a variety of job opportunities while doing so, you will have to choose between one of the three programs that are offered under the Canada IEC:

  • The Working Holiday Visa
  • The International Co-op Internship Program
  • The Young Professionals Program

Let’s consider these programs in more detail:

Working Holiday

The Working Holiday Visa is the most popular option among the three. Every year, around 90,000 students use the IEC program to come to Canada and the majority of them use the Working Holiday Visa program to do so. This program has been designed for students and youngsters who would like to travel to Canada and work in more than one workplace. It has also been designed for those who would like to travel to Canada but do not have a valid job offer, or no job offer at all.

This program provides you with an open work permit and it allows you to work in any workplace, for as long as IEC international standards are followed and respected. This means that all these countries need to guarantee that the young workers on the program will have a great experience working in Canada and that all their rights will be respected. The remaining two programs do not give you an open work permit.

Here are the countries enabling the Working Holiday Visa Program:

  • Andorra
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Chile
  • Costa Rica
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hong Kong
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Mexico
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • San Marino
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Taiwan
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom

International Co-op Internship

When it comes to the International Co-Op Category, this immigration pathway is somewhat different to the remaining programs in that it secures a single job position for you. You do not get an open, but rather a closed work permit. This type of work permit is also called an employer-specific work permit and is issued to the student who has a valid job offer.

However, considering that this pathway is not for those who would simply like to work in Canada, but rather for those looking for professional and academic development, this program is carried out in cooperation with the university you study in. You will need to provide a letter from the University or college you attend confirming that this work is a part of the normal internship without which you will not be able to finish your studies and graduate. The international work experience in that case is intended to enrich your work abilities and to help you prosper professionally later on in life.

Here are the countries that enable the International Co-op program:

  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Chile
  • Costa Rica
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Estonia
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Ireland
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Mexico
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Taiwan
  • Ukraine

Young Professionals

When it comes to the Young Professional program, it is important to note that this program is somewhere between the precious two. The list of countries that enable it is a bit shorter than with the working holiday visa program, but there are still many that enable you to travel and enrich your CV in Canada. The Young Professionals program is, therefore, aimed at people who would like to travel and work in Canada, but the work is not necessary for their graduation.

Still, it is encouraged that the workplace you will be joining has to do with your field of studies and your workplace. When it comes to this Canadian government program, it is important to note that the program is still very popular despite demanding a valid job offer and awarding a closed work permit. In this program, just like with the International internship co-op, you can switch your employer only with a previous registration of the new employer on the IEC platform, and you can work in different locations with the same employer but only if they have had named all the locations during their application.

Here are the countries that enable the Young Professionals program:

  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Chile
  • Costa Rica
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Estonia
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Ireland
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Mexico
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Taiwan
  • Ukraine

How To Apply for IEC?

When applying for the IEC, there will be a few steps that you have to undertake to ensure your application goes smoothly and almost guarantees success. Since many students apply for the program every year and the places are limited, an early and complete application is the surest way to ensure that you get to hop from your academic program straight into a large Canadian corporation. When it comes to long-term career goals, there is nothing better than foreign work experience in a developed country.

But, every voyage starts with the first step, and in the case of the IEC Canada program, the first step is registering with the IRCC (Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Canada) website. You will receive your registration number which you can then use to make your IEC account. During the application process, you will be asked questions that relate to you, your education, and your family, as well as your work experience. Although self-reported in the first stage, you will have to prove all these facts, so it is best to be truthful from the beginning.

The next step involves patience, as you will have to wait for the ITA to arrive. An ITA (Invitation to Apply) is sent only to those students who manage to get to the next step in their application process. This is the time when you should submit your documents for verification by an actual Canadian visa officer. Once you have received the ITA, you will have ten days to respond to it – accept or decline. If you do not click on any option, the ITA will be declined and you will have to reapply.

Once you hit accept (hopefully), you will have 20 days to submit all your documents. Considering that some of these can take days to get, it is probably best to go and secure the documents even before you have received the ITA. This will give you peace of mind that no appointment or tardy documents will get in the way between you and your trip to Canada. During this time, you will also need to apply for a work permit. Once both documents are ready, you will receive the Letter of Introduction that you will have to take with you to the Canadian port of entry you plan to use. Also, you should make sure that you have enough funds to cross the border and that you have copies of all the documents that you used for the work permit application in your IEC application.

Check Out IEC Canadian Visa Process | in Detail Step by Step:

What Is an Employer-Specific Work Permit?

As we’ve said before, you would need to choose the appropriate program for you, depending on your needs and expectations from traveling to Canada. You could also make sure that you are clear about the different kinds of work permits that can be issued to citizens of countries that participate in the program. When it comes to these, two basic kinds are issued: the open work permit, which we have described before, and the closed work permit, or, more specifically, the employer-specific work permit.

When it comes to the latter kind, it is easy to see how this is different from the open work permit – it allows you to work for a single employer and secure a single work position for you. When applying for one, you will need to have a valid job offer. You will also need to provide the details (in the job offer) about the location of the workplace, the employer, their registration number, the work position details, including hours you will be working, and the exact duties that the workplace entails.

You will also need to stick to this employer and you will only be able to switch the workplace or ask for a new employer under special circumstances, such as the closing of the business or the work position that you are employed on. When it comes to this, you will have to let the IEC know by filling out a special form, and you will also need to seek new employment.

What Is a Recognized Organization or RO?

A Recognized Organization or an RO is an organization that helps students find their way around Canada. The organization can help you with getting informed on the Canadian culture, languages, laws, and taxes. They can also help you find transportation after you land, offer general advice, and can even help you find a job. While some of these are for-profit, some are non-profit and some are sponsored and purely educational. If this is your first time traveling to Canada, we recommend getting help from these organizations.

IEC Processing Time

The IEC program application and the application for the IEC work permit have their processing times, which can differ based on the program you have chosen, the time of the year when you are making the application, and the country you are coming from. Let’s have a deeper look.

In general, it will take a few weeks at least to process your IEC application. The standard time is around seven weeks, but it can also take longer, depending on the current workload that the services have to handle. When it comes to the work permit processing time, it will take around eight weeks for the processing time, as this is what the IRCC has committed to provide – a timely service that should help relieve the work market that has a lot of job vacancies.

If you are tardy with submitting your documents, if you submit an incomplete application, or if you fail to submit the additional documents that were requested of you, your application processing time will be longer. Do not forget that this time also does not include how many days you need to accept the ITA and submit the documents for the work permit. Being punctual and having all the documents ready for your application will mean that you can save up to a month – 10 days for ITA acceptance and 20 days to submit your documents. Being organized is the key.

How To Extend IEC Work Permit?

Extending your EIC work permit is not possible. This is because the IEC is very fixed, and you will be issued your work permit for 6 months, 1 year, or 2 years. In some cases, you can be issued the IEC work permit for periods that are shorter than this – in the case that your passport validity is shorter than the length of the program, or in the case that your insured period is shorter than the maximum validity of the work permit issued to the program you have applied for and the country that you are coming from.

However, if you would like to extend your stay in Canada AFTER your IEC has ended, there are a few ways to do so:

  • You can apply for another IEC program. This should say that you need to return to your country of citizenship or residence and make another application in the next application period/cycle. Please beware that some countries impose limits on how many times you may join an IEC program, some state that the second visit has to be shorter than the first one and some even say that you cannot undertake the same IEC pathway as the first time. Please check out the IEC rules applying to your country of citizenship before making another application – the IEC system will allow the application, but it will be stopped when you send the application for the work permit
  • You can apply for a different immigration program than IEC. For example International mobility program, Temporary Foreign Worker Program, or an Express Entry program for a PR – Permanent Residence – for all who did not just like, but LOVED, their stay in Canada
  • You can also apply for a visitor visa, but beware that you may not be able to work with this type of visa. This is an entirely new application, and you will need to submit a lot of documents to get one
  • You can apply for an eTA. If you are coming from a country that has a visa-free travel regime with Canada, you will be able to travel to Canada with just your travel document (i.e. passport) and the eTA. This will allow you to stay in Canada for up to six months at a time. You will not be able to work while there but will be free to travel and visit all the places you could not during your first travel to the country
  • You can apply for the PR status through the EE – Express Entry – or a PNP – Provincial Nominee Program – both solutions are very popular, and the PNP programs even allow you to choose where in Canada you would like to settle. These programs have different processing times, with the Express Entry program being the fastest program that Canada can currently offer – at just six months of processing time after you have received your ITA and have submitted the COMPLETE documentation that you were asked to submit
  • You can also apply for a study permit. One of the prerequisites to joining the IEC Canada is to be a student or to have a degree from a post-secondary learning institution. With this in mind, it is easy to see how you could apply for a study permit – simply apply for Canadian universities and opt for a level of education that is higher than your current one. Canada has a lot of great MA, PhD, and specialization courses waiting for you. You could also opt for another degree at the same level of education, but in a different, although possibly related, field.

FAQs

How Much Does IEC Cost?

IEC is not an expensive program. You will need to pay the IEC fee of CAD161, the open work permit fee holder of CAD100, and the biometrics fee of CAD85. You will also need to have CAD 2,500 to be able to get into Canada. Besides this, you will need to have more funds on top for the plane tickets and all the fees that you have to pay in your country to get the documents needed for the application period.

How Long Does Canada IEC Take?

The IEC Canada does not take too long to process. The initial step, the processing of your application after you have received the ITA can take up to 7 weeks. It also takes 8 weeks to process your work permit application. That is about it. You can save up to a month by being punctual when you receive the ITA and sending the documents in early.

Does IEC Need LMIA?

No, your IEC application does not need an LMIA. LMIA or the Labour Market Impact Assessment is a necessary document in economic immigration pathways and some other programs that you may want to apply to move to Canada and find a workplace there. When it comes to the LMIA for IEC, this is not necessary. You need to use the exception code C21 to ensure your exception is approved.

How Can I Get PR from IEC Work Permit?

You can apply for PR status in Canada after you have your IEC finished. The work experience that you have used there will be taken into consideration during your PR application. You can use Express Entry, PNP programs, or other forms of economic immigration to get to the PR status, but beware that each program has its prerequisites which you will have to check out before making the application itself.

How To Know How Long Your IEC Will Last?

When applying for the IEC, you will need to consider the country that you are coming from and the program that you are applying for. In most cases, you will be able to see how long the work permit is going to be valid for in the program specs itself. Additionally, you can always check your IEC profile and see what was stated there.

Final Thoughts

When speaking of the IEC program and the ways to immigrate to Canada temporarily, this is your best bet if you are between the ages of 18 and 35, have had no issues with the law, and are feeling motivated to work and travel. When it comes to the program itself, it is up to 2 years long and it enables citizens of around 30 countries to join it. When it comes to the preparation and the eligibility requirements, the program is pretty relaxed, and you will be able to join it for as long as you have enough time to gather all the documents and modest financial sums to cover the initial expenses of living in Canada.