Canada has done bilateral youth mobility agreements with over 30 countries and provinces.
Under the International Experience Canada program, foreign youths ranging from 18 to 35 years can obtain a temporary work permit, which gives them a chance of travelling and working in Canada.
If you are seeking to get more information about the International Experience Canada (IEC), then you may want to read up this article.
What is International Experience Canada (IEC)?
International Experience Canada (IEC) is a program that permits foreign youth workers to work in Canada for a specific period.
This program is offered to individuals between the age of 18 – 35 years of age who are from countries with a bilateral Youth Mobility Arrangement with Canada.
International Experience Canada is for people who wish to acquire a gap year before commencing post-secondary studies, an internship program, complete a co-op, or obtain an international work experience after your graduation. International Experience Canada can help you process it.
Different Categories of International Experience Canada
The work permits obtained through International Experience Canada are exempt from the option for an IEC falls into these different categories:
- Working Holiday.
- Young Professionals.
- International Co-op.
Working Holiday
The participants under this category can get an open work permit, which can be valid for one to two years.
The open work permits participants to work in any region in Canada for any Canadian employer that is available. Foreign workers can be permitted to live in Canada for more or less than a year.
The working holiday category is for people who:
- don’t have a job.
- want to work for a totally different employer in Canada.
- want to work in different locations.
- want to have enough before they travel.
Young Professional
Under the young professional, foreign citizens whose country is participating can get valuable International Experience by being employed by a Canadian company.
The applicants in young professionals can receive an employer-specific work permit if it is being approved.
The young professional category is for people who:
- have an official job in Canada for a given paid position.
- planning on working for a similar employer in Canada.
International Co-op Internship
This program gives citizens whose countries are participating to enrol at a post-secondary institution in their country to spend some time interning for any Canadian company.
The International Co-op Internship is for people who:
- have registered at a post-secondary association outside the shores of Canada.
- have a job offer for an internship or work placement in Canada.
- preparing on working for the same employer during the period of their time frame in Canada.
International Experience Canada Eligibility
The following is lists of requirements that must be possessed by any candidate for an International Experience Canada before they are deemed eligible:
- a passport holder that is among the 35 countries Canada is having a bilateral Youth Mobility arrangement.
- a valid passport for the period of living in Canada.
- be between the ages ranges of 18 to 35 during his or her time of application.
- possess the equivalent of $2,500 CAN help to cover primary expenses.
- be able to pay for their health insurance during the period they will live in Canada.
- make the right payment.
- have the ability to buy a departure ticket after the end of their approved date in Canada.
International Experience Canada Requirement/Documents
When you get to Canada, you will be welcomed by a border services officer. The next thing is to tell them your main purpose of coming to Canada which is to work. On entry to Canada, you must have the following documents:
- A passport.
- Police certificate.
- Port of entry letter.
- Sufficient funds to buy a ticket for your Canada departure.
- Some copies of the documents you presented during your work permit application.
After submitting your documents, you will get a work permit only if the border service officer is satisfied with his assessment and accepts you to work in Canada. If the border service officer is not satisfied, he or she may tell you to go back to your country by following the next flight using your own expenses.
Other Documents for International Experience Canada
Health Insurance
The border service officer can also ask you to show your health insurance. You might not be permitted to enter Canada without this insurance and it must cover the following:
- Medical care
- Repatriation
- Medical history
When you get to Canada at the port of entry, you should have health insurance valid for you to stay in Canada. Getting an official health card is enough for you. The repatriation is not covered by any form of health insurance.
If the insurance policy is valid less than your stay in Canada, you will be given a work permit that is going to expire in the same period as your insurance. If this occurs, you won’t apply to change the terms and conditions of your work permit at a future date.
Funds
The border service officer might want to ask for evidence of funds, and you must show them a financial statement of your bank account, not more than a week before you travel to Canada.
It must boldly show you have sufficient money to assist yourself for the first 3 months during your stay in Canada with the sum of CAN$2,500.
If you get to Canada with a higher sum of money, you must make the border service officer be aware of it. If you don’t tell them you will be given a fine or put in jail.
These funds could come in cash, bank drafts, stocks, debentures, cheques, or any money orders.
International Experience Canada Application
During the application, you can decide to save your information on the online form and then crosscheck them until you are satisfied and ready to submit it. You must make sure you:
- Answer all questions correctly and completely: If the officers find out any false information or you didn’t include some important details, may not accept your application and it is likely you will not be entitled to any entry to Canada in the future.
- Complete the compulsory fields in the form: There is no way your application is going to be accepted if some fields are empty.
- No gaps in work and educational history: These include all your periods of employment, absences, travel dates, and others.
NB: You are filing an application for a working holiday work permit and you were asked information about your employment offer, you can do this:
- Type “A9999999” where you have the offer of an employment number field.
- Choose “No” to the question if you are being asked whether your employer has made payment for the employer compliance fee?
- Type “non-applicable – working holiday” in the employer address fields.
When all these have been done, the system will create a customized document checklist for you, and then show you all the necessary documents you have to upload to support your documents.
Processing Time for International Experience Canada
The processing period for International Experience Canada (IEC) takes up to 10 days and you will receive a message in the account you have created and confirmed you are in the pools of International Experience Canada candidates.
