Canada ranks as one of the top choices for both travel and work purposes. The country is renowned for its diverse, welcoming society, easy immigration policies, stunning natural wonders as well a good work-life balance. The Canada Working Holiday Visa allows the youth to enjoy travel and benefits from working that Canada has to offer to its visitors.
The Working Holiday Visa in Canada offers a wonderful opportunity for the youth who are seeking temporary work opportunities while enjoying a vacation in the maple-leaf country. People aged under 18 to 35 years work and travel freely across the country with a working holiday visa in Canada. The Visa is valid for a period of 12 to 24 months, based on the country of residence.
The International Experience Canada is a streamlined program that enables young people from eligible countries to travel and work temporarily in Canada. It allows the youth from 30 participating countries to visit and stay in Canada for a working holiday for up to 2 years.
The table below has the details of the countries that participate in the IEC:
Country |
Working Holiday |
Young professionals |
International Co-Op Internships |
Andorra |
Yes |
No |
No |
Australia |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Austria |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Belgium |
Yes |
No |
No |
Chile |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Costa Rica |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Croatia |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Czech Republic |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Denmark |
Yes |
No |
No |
Estonia |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
France |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Germany |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Greece |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Hong Kong |
Yes |
No |
No |
Ireland |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Italy |
Yes |
No |
No |
Japan |
Yes |
No |
No |
Korea, Rep. |
Yes |
No |
No |
Latvia |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Lithuania |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Luxembourg |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Mexico |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Netherlands |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
New Zealand |
Yes |
No |
No |
Norway |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Poland |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Portugal |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
San Marino |
Yes |
No |
No |
Slovakia |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Slovenia |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Spain |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Sweden |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Switzerland |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Taiwan |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Ukraine |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
United Kingdom |
Yes |
No |
No |
IEC uses a randomized draw system to issue work permits to eligible candidates. The IEC has three programs via which immigrants can migrate to Canada. They are:
The Canadian Working Holiday Visa is designed with the purpose of letting work and leisure go hand-in-hand in Canada. Foreign nationals belonging to countries with a Youth Mobility Arrangement with Canada can avail themselves of the benefits of the Visa. The Visa allows young foreign nationals from the participating countries to work while traveling across Canada.
The working holiday visa Canada holders are eligible for open work permits in Canada. The open work permit issued to the visa holders allows them to take up employment under any Canadian employer from any location. They can also take up multiple part-time job roles and fund their trip to Canada on their own. The Canada working holiday visa Canada is a perfect way of acquiring Canadian work experience while enjoying the natural beauty and luxury of the Canadian lifestyle.
You can apply for the Canada Working Holiday Visa if you:
Note: The maximum age limit depends on your country or nationality. Applicants from certain countries can apply till the age of 35 years.
The following are the steps to be followed while applying for the Working Holiday Visa Canada:
Step 1: Create an IEC profile
To create an IEC profile, you must check if your country participates in the Working Holiday Visa program. You must also fulfill other eligibility requirements to be eligible for the Visa. If you qualify for the eligibility specifications, then your profile automatically enters the IEC pool of candidates.
Step 2: Receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA)
Draws are conducted on a regular basis for IEC candidates. The IRCC issues Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for candidates who qualify for the Visa. There are separate quotas for different countries on the basis of which the number of ITAs issued vary.
Step 3: Accept your ITA
Once you have received an Invitation to Apply (ITA), you will have a 10-day period to accept the ITA. On declining the application, your profile will return to the IEC pool of candidates and will be considered for the next draw.
Step 4: Apply for an IEC work permit
Another 20 days are given to apply for an IEC work permit after you accept the ITA issued to you. Gather and arrange all the documents required and apply for an IEC work permit via the official website of IRCC.
Step 5: Fly to Canada
You can fly to Canada once you have received a confirmation on your IEC work permit.
The country-wise eligibility requirements for the Working Holiday Visa are mentioned in the table below:
Country |
Age Limit |
Maximum Stay period |
Andorra |
18-30 years |
12 months |
Australia |
18-35 years |
24 months |
Austria |
18-30 years |
12 months |
Belgium |
18-30 years |
12 months |
Chile |
18-35 years |
12 months |
Costa Rica |
18-35 years |
12 months |
Croatia |
18-35 years |
12 months |
Czech Republic |
18-35 years |
12 months |
Denmark |
18-35 years |
12 months |
Estonia |
18-35 years |
12 months |
France |
18-35 years |
24 months |
Germany |
18-35 years |
12 months |
Greece |
18-35 years |
12 months |
Hong Kong |
18-30 years |
12 months |
Ireland |
18-35 years |
24 months |
Italy |
18-35 years |
6 months |
Japan |
18-30 years |
12 months |
Korea, Rep. |
18-35 years |
12 months |
Latvia |
18-35 years |
12 months |
Lithuania |
18-35 years |
12 months |
Luxembourg |
18-30 years |
12 months |
Netherlands |
18-30 years |
12 months |
New Zealand |
18-35 years |
23 months |
Norway |
18-35 years |
12 months |
Poland |
18-35 years |
12 months |
Portugal |
18-35 years |
24 months |
San Marino |
18-35 years |
12 months |
Slovakia |
18-35 years |
12 months |
Slovenia |
18-35 years |
12 months |
Spain |
18-35 years |
12 months |
Sweden |
18-30 years |
12 months |
Taiwan |
18-35 years |
12 months |
United Kingdom |
18-35 years |
24 months |
Along with maintaining the age limit and maximum duration of stay, candidates must also provide proof of sufficient financial resources and enough health insurance to cover the entire duration of their stay.
The total fees for a Canada Working Holiday visa depend on a number of factors, such as the country you are applying from and the IEC category you have chosen. No fees are required to submit an IEC profile in the pool of candidates. However, working holiday visa applicants must pay an open work permit holder fee when submitting an online work permit application under IEC.
The table below provides the breakdown of the total fees for Working Holiday Visa applicants:
Type of fee |
Amount to be paid (in CAD) |
Processing Fees |
$172 |
Open work Permit Holder Fee |
$100 |
Biometric Fee |
$85 |
Total |
$357 |
The following are the documents required to apply for a Canadian Working Holiday Visa:
Health Insurance Details
It is mandatory to have health insurance coverage to apply for the Working Holiday Visa in Canada. The country does not allow immigrants to enter Canada without a health insurance certificate. The work permit issued to you will expire at the same time as a health insurance policy if it does not cover the entire duration of your expected stay in Canada.
Your health insurance certificate must include the following details:
Note: Provincial Health Cards do not qualify as health insurance as they do not cover repatriation details.
Details of Proof of Funds
When you arrive at the port of entry, you might be asked to show proof of funds. The documents you provide as proof of funds must clearly demonstrate that you have sufficient financial resources to support yourself even without a job offer in Canada for at least 3 months or a minimum bank balance of CAD 2500.
The following documents qualify as proof of funds in Canada:
The Working Holiday Visa category is the most popular one among all three categories under IEC. It is a highly competitive category, as the number of candidates usually exceeds the number of spots available.
IRCC rates each category of the IEC on the basis of the following factors:
Your chances of receiving an ITA depend upon the rating provided by IRCC. The IRCC holds regular draws to invite candidates through this program, but the selection procedure is random. This implies that all candidates in the pool have equal chances of receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA).
There are quotas on the number of candidates to be invited from each country. Therefore, if you belong from a country which has a large quota, then your chances of getting an approval is more. The cap count for each country is negotiated each year, and the quota is announced before the first rounds of invitations are conducted for that country.
Tips for increasing your chances of getting an approval
One of the best ways to increase your chances of getting approval is to stay longer in the IEC pool of candidates. As the Working Holiday visa program is the most competitive program, you should try applying via the young professionals program if your country allows you to do so. The young professional's program is less competitive, and usually, there are more spots than the number of candidates. Therefore, applying under the young professionals will increase your chances of being selected.
The benefits of the Working Holiday Visa Canada are listed below:
The work experience acquired via a Canada Working Holiday Visa can be considered as Canadian work experience only if it meets the NOC requirements. However, to apply for Canada PR as a working Holiday visa holder, you must first get a Canadian work permit with a valid job offer under a Canadian employer.
Skilled workers and professionals who have been working in Canada on a valid work permit can apply for Canada PR. There are several pathways to obtain Permanent Residence in Canada.
Depending on the work experience you have gathered, you can opt for the following PR pathways:
Employees who have Canadian work experience can apply under the Canada Experience Class which is exclusively deigned for candidates like them.
Spouses or dependent children are not eligible to be included in a Working Holiday Visa. However, your spouse, common-law partner, or dependent children can be sponsored once you get a valid Canadian work permit. Your spouse, common-law partner, or dependent children under the age of 24 can migrate to Canada on a dependent visa. After arriving in Canada, the spouse or common-law partner can then apply for a Spousal Open Work Permit upon eligibility.
The International Experience Canada (IEC) comprises of three separate programs. Countries with a reciprocal bilateral agreement with Canada participate in these programs to let citizens work while travelling to Canada. Each category under the IEC has its own set of requirements and eligibility criteria. The three IEC categories include the working Holiday visa program, the Young professionals program, and the International Co-op internship program.
The other IEC programs are described below:
Note: You must have a co-op placement offer in Canada before you apply for the program.
The working Holiday Visa provides an excellent opportunity to gain professional work experience in Canada while you are on a vacation to Maple Leaf country. Here are the top 5 tips to help you get the best of Canada while you are on a Working Holiday Visa:
It is mandatory to have health insurance coverage to apply for a Working Holiday Visa or any other visa program under the IEC. Canada does not allow immigrants to enter the country without a health insurance certificate. The work permit issued to you will expire at the same time with a health insurance policy if it does not cover the entire duration of your expected stay in Canada.
IEC Health Insurance Coverage Details
Your health insurance certificate must include the following details:
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