Can I Work and Travel?
Do you wish to travel and gain Canadian work experience or are you a Canadian citizen and like to gain foreign work experience?? If this is the case the International Experience Canada (IEC) is for you!! This program offers great opportunity to gain work experience while you are travelling and exploring the great cities of Canada and other foreign cities. Working abroad in a foreign country gives you the opportunity to learn about different cultures, languages and meet people from all walks of life. It is a great way to broaden your horizon and learn new things about the world we live in. Individuals that have international experience are less likely to be unemployed because they have attained great skills to apply to their daily lives. Depending where you want to travel you can choose from one of the follow categories: Working Holiday, Young Professionals or International Co-op (internship). Working Holiday is a great option for persons that want to travel and see the world but at the same time make some money. If you to gain new skills such as how to do business abroad, experience learning a new language, work in diverse groups then the Young Professional category is for you. If you are currently in school and like to gain work experience in your field of study and complete your co-op or internship abroad then International Co-op (Internship).
International Experience Canada Eligibility
To determine if you are eligible for the International Experience Canada to follow the following steps:
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You have to be 18-35 years of age
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Go on government website (cic.gc.ca)
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Type International Experience Canada
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Select your country/territory of citizenship to see which category is available
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Once you select the category for your country or territory it will give you instructions on requirements you need to meet based on your region.
How Can I become a Candidate under International Experience Canada
To determine if you can become a candidate under International Experience Canada (IEC) you need to answer some questions in the questionnaire provided on the CIC website. Based on the answers you provide on the questionnaire it will determine if you are eligible for a pool in one or more of the IEC categories: International Co-op (Internship), Working Holiday, Young Professionals. You can submit your profile to more than one category, once you receive the invitation you can apply for the Work Permit.
How does the Pool Selection Work for International Experience Canada
If you meet the eligibility criteria based on the questions you answered in the questionnaire you will be placed into one or more pools under the IEC. You will get a confirmation that confirms you are in the pool through the online account you created. You usually remain in the pool until you receive an Invitation to Apply for a Work Permit. When the season comes to end or you are no longer eligible for IEC your profile will be removed. Invitations are regularly sent to candidates in the IEC pool. You can submit an IEC profile anytime during the IEC season and as long your profile is submitted before the last round of invitation for your country.
Can I have more than one IEC profile?
You cannot have more than one IEC profile but you can be eligible
You can only have one IEC profile at any time. However, you can be eligible for more than one IEC pool.
When you complete your profile, we’ll tell you which pools are available to you. You can submit your profile to any of these available pools. For example, you might be eligible to submit your profile to the Working Holiday and Young Professionals pools.
How are Invitations to Apply issued for the International Experience Canada?
The Invitations to Apply are issued in the following order
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International Internship (Co-op)
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Young Professionals
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Working Holiday
You will receive an Invitation to Apply for International Internship (Co-op) if you submitted a profile under International (Co-op) pool or Working Holiday pool. If there are no spots left under the International Co-op (internship) category then you will receive an Invitation to Apply for Working Holiday work permit.
You have about 10 days to make a decision if you will accept or reject the invitation and once you accept the invitation you will 20 days to apply online for the work permit. If you fail to respond by the deadline then your invitation will be cancelled and have to resubmit an IEC profile and wait to be accepted in the pool.
So if you are not ready to accept the invitation simple decline the invitation this way you will still remain in the IEC pool for future draws but as long you meet the requirements.
If you are in one or more pool and you receive the Invitation to Apply you cannot be selected from another pool until you either decline the Invitation to Apply or you’ve submitted your work permit application but was refused. So your file will become active once you decline the invitation or your work permit application was refused then you may receive another Invitation to Apply.
What Documents do I need for International Experience Canada?
To get the work permit you will need to provide proof of all the information that was provided when creating the IEC profile. Also you need to include information on your work history, your education level and other background information. You may be asked for additional supporting documentation from citizenship and immigration Canada. Once you are placed in the IEC pool start collecting all your documents because you will need to provide proof for your work permit application. Don’t wait till last minute to gather your documents as most documents take months to gather such as police clearances. If you wait till last minute you could potentially miss the deadline once you receive the Invitation to Apply.
What happens if I don’t get Invitation to Apply for International Experience Canada?
If you are not invited to apply you can still remain in the IEC pool until all profiles are removed at the end of the season or you are no longer eligible for the IEC. Sometimes what happens is space runs out in the categories before the season ends and therefore profiles will not be accepted. So, if that happens you can either submit a profile under a different pool or wait till the next season. So once the new season opens you need to submit a new profile and have 60 days to complete your profile. Once you meet the criteria you get an IEC profile number, if you need submit your profile within 60 days then you have start over.
Like to Work and Travel then Contact Akrami & Associates
If you like to work and travel then the International Experience Canada program may be for you. If you are not sure if you are eligible or how to get started then contact our team of immigration experts at 416-477-2545. Akrami & Associates has assisted many travellers with work permits and we can help you too.
With Akrami & Associates there is always a way!!