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International Experience Canada: How to apply

From Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

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You can’t apply for a work permit under International Experience Canada (IEC) unless we’ve sent you an invitation to apply (ITA).

If you’ve accepted an ITA for a work permit, follow these steps.

Make sure you know the date and time of your deadline

Once you accept your ITA, you’ll receive a message in your account with your deadline. You have exactly 20 days from the time you accept your ITA to submit your work permit application.

The date and time of your deadline is in coordinated universal time (UTC). This may be different than your local time.

For example, if you accept your invitation at 7:25 a.m. UTC, you must submit your IEC work permit application before 7:25 a.m. UTC 20 days later.

Don’t wait until the last day to submit your application. The difference between your local time and the UTC could make you miss the deadline.

Step 1: Complete the online form

You can save the information in the online form and go back to it as often as you need to until you are ready to submit it.

Make sure you

If we ask you about your offer of employment

Follow the steps that apply to your situation:

Young Professional or International Co-op applicants

Your employer must give you an employer number that starts with “AXXXXXXX”. Enter this number in the employment number field.

Working Holiday applicants

If we ask you about your offer of employment

  • type “A9999999” in the offer of employment number field
  • select “No” to the question “Has your employer paid the Employer Compliance fee?
  • type “Non-applicable – Working Holiday” in the employer address fields

Step 2: Get all the documents you need

Once you have completed the application, the system will generate a personalized document checklist for you. It will show all the supporting documents you need to upload. Use this checklist to gather all your documents.

You must be able to make electronic copies of your supporting documents using a scanner or camera.

Once you have your documents ready, upload them on the Document Checklist page in your account.

If you have technical problems submitting documents, send them through our web form. Under the “Type of application/enquiry” drop-down menu, select International Experience Canada.

We may ask you for more documents after you submit your application. After you upload a document, make sure you complete all the steps. This means you must provide an electronic signature and confirm the information you’ve given. If you don’t, your application won’t be processed.

Learn more about how to submit additional documents.

If you haven’t applied yet and you’re missing a document

Find out what to do if you don’t have a document you need to submit.

Documents you may need

Police certificates

In most cases, you’ll need to get police certificates for countries or territories where you’ve spent 6 or more months in a row since the age of 18.

When processing your application, an officer might ask you for more police certificates.

How long is my police certificate good for?

For the country or territory where you currently live, the certificate cannot be older than 6 months from the day you apply.

For any other country or territory where you’ve stayed for 6 or more months in a row, the certificate must have been issued after you left. You can use the certificate for your IEC application as long as you haven’t gone back to that country or territory.

Uploading your police certificates

There will only be 1 upload field for police certificates. If you need to give us more than 1 certificate, make sure to include all your certificates together in 1 single file.

If your police certificate doesn’t have an expiry date or document number

If your police certificate doesn’t have an expiry date, select a day that’s at least 1 year after the date it was issued. It doesn’t have to be exactly 1 year after that date.

If your police certificate doesn’t have a document number, type N/A in the field.

If you can’t get one in time

If you can’t get a police certificate before the deadline to submit your application, you can upload

  • a copy of the receipt to prove you’ve applied for one, or
  • a screenshot of the confirmation page or email you got when you ordered your police certificate online

An officer will send you a request letter in your account later on to ask for your police certificate. You must give us the certificate by the deadline shown in the request letter, or your application will be refused.

Special instructions for police certificates

Some places of special instructions for IEC applicants. Read the special notes and considerations for the countries below:

Learn more about police certificates.

Medical exams

Before you submit your work permit application, you should get a medical exam if

  • you’ve recently lived or travelled in certain countries or territories for 6 months or more, or
  • you plan to work in
    • the health field
    • primary or secondary education,
    • child care or
    • elderly care

You must see a doctor that has been approved by IRCC (called a panel physician).

After the panel physician completes the medical exam

  1. you’ll get an information printout sheet or an IMM 1017B Upfront Medical Report form
  2. upload a copy of this document to your document checklist in the “Proof of medical exam” section. If you don’t see this section, upload the document in the “Optional documents” slot at the bottom of the checklist

If you don’t complete this step, we might refuse your application, or your work permit will have conditions on it, that won’t allow you to work in a job that requires a medical exam.

If you can’t complete a medical exam before the deadline to submit your work permit application, you can submit proof that you’ve made an appointment to get one.

Your medical exam results are valid for 12 months. To make sure they don’t expire, you should wait until you’re invited to apply before getting a medical exam.

Learn more about medical exam requirements.

CV/résumé

You’ll need to provide a copy of your CV or résumé. A curriculum vitae or résumé is a brief description of your

  • education
  • qualifications and
  • work experience (main duties for each job).

It should also include your current job title and the city and country in which you currently live.

Passport

You must provide a clear, readable copy of your passport.

Your passport must be valid

  • when you apply to the IEC program
  • when you enter and depart from Canada

Your work permit will not be issued for longer than the validity of your passport. Your passport must include a blank page other than the last page.

Digital photo

You must provide a digital photo of yourself.

  • The final frame size of the photo must be at least 35 mm x 45 mm.
  • The photographs must show a full front view of the head and tops of shoulders, with the face in the middle of the photograph.
  • The size of the head, from chin to crown, must be between 31 mm and 36 mm.
  • Digital dimensions are often expressed in pixels or DPI (dots per inch).
    • The physical dimensions in pixels must be at least 420 x 540.
Quality/resolution

If you scan a photo you already have, the minimum resolution must be 600 pixels per inch.

File format
  • The file may be submitted in JPEG or JPEG2000 format.
  • The final size of the image should ideally be 240 kB (kilobytes), but not less than 60 kB.
  • The image must be in colour (24 bits per pixel) in RGB colour space, which is the common output for most digital cameras.

Family information

You must complete the Family Information (IMM 5707) (PDF, 640.83 KB).

This form requests information about your

  • spouse or common-law partner
  • parents
  • children, step children and adopted children

Electronic travel authorization or visitor visa application

Depending on your country of citizenship, you’ll need either an electronic travel authorization (eTA) or a visitor visa. You don’t have to apply for these documents.

If you need an eTA, you’ll automatically receive one when your work permit application is approved. If you need a visitor visa, you’ll get a request letter asking you to send us your passport.

Proof of residency

In some cases, you’ll need to prove you’re a resident of your country of citizenship. If this applies to you, you must provide a residential or mailing address in your country of citizenship.

If you’re an Italian citizen, you’ll also need to provide a residence certificate (certificato di residenza) to prove you live in Italy. Make sure you include a certified English or French translation of the certificate. Upload the certificate and translation in the Optional documents slot at the bottom of the Document Checklist page in your account.

International Co-op (Internship)
Proof of school registration

You must provide a letter from your educational institution showing that you’re currently registered there.

Proof that your job is linked to your field of studies

Submit 1 of the following documents:

  1. internship agreement
    • This is a 3-party agreement signed by you, your employer and your educational institution. It must have all the following information:
      • job title
      • description of the tasks you’ll do
      • exact start and end dates of the internship
      • complete address of the job site
      • employer’s contact information
  2. letter from your educational institution
    • The letter must
      • be on official letterhead
      • say your job offer is linked to your field of studies

Young Professionals
Proof of education for jobs in Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) category 4

If your job offer is classified as TEER category 4, you’ll need a copy of your post-secondary

  • diploma
  • certificate or
  • degree

Upload it in the Optional Documents slot at the bottom of the Document Checklist page in your account.

Volontariat International en Entreprise applicants

Volontariat International en Entreprise letter

If you are participating in France’s Volontariat International en Entreprise (VIE) program, you must provide an official certificate from Business France, the French organization responsible for managing the program. The certificate must identify the participant and the employer.

ICEX Vives applicants

ICEX Vives letter

If you’re participating in Spain’s ICEX Vives program, you must provide an official letter from ICEX, the Spanish agency responsible for managing the program. The letter must identify the participant and the employer.

Upload the letter in the Optional Documents slot at the bottom of the Document Checklist page in your account.

Applicants using recognized organizations

Recognized organization acceptance letter

If you use a recognized organization and you receive an invitation to apply, you must submit a copy of the confirmation letter your RO sent you with your work permit application. This letter acts as proof that an RO is helping you plan your trip or find work in Canada.

Contact your RO if you have questions about the confirmation letter.

Documents you need before coming to Canada

Proof of financial support

You must bring proof of financial support (that is, a bank account statement) with you when you come to Canada. Border services officers may ask you for it when you arrive.

The statement must be issued no more than 1 week before your departure for Canada. It must clearly show that you have enough money (the equivalent of CAN$2,500) to support yourself for the first 3 months of your stay in Canada.

If you arrive in Canada with the equivalent of CAN$10,000 or more, you must tell the border services officer. If you don’t, you could be fined or put in prison. These funds could be in the form of

  • cash
  • securities in bearer form (for example, stocks, bonds, debentures, treasury bills)
  • bankers’ drafts, cheques, travellers’ cheques or money orders

See what to do if you can’t get a bank statement.

The cost of living varies depending on where you decide to settle in Canada. Prepare financially by finding out how much it costs to live in the city and province or territory where you plan to stay.

Health insurance

You don’t need to have health insurance when you apply. You do need to have it before you arrive in Canada. Your health insurance must cover the entire time you’re here.

You should purchase 1 policy to cover the entire length of your work permit. If this isn’t possible, you can get 2 consecutive policies instead.

Your insurance must cover

  • medical care
  • hospitalization
  • repatriation
    • This includes the cost of
      • getting you to a medical facility
      • returning you to your home country or
      • returning your remains to your home country

Before purchasing your policy, ask your provider what medical coverage is included.

If you don’t have sufficient coverage, you may be denied entry into Canada.

If you’ll work in Quebec

If your country has an agreement with this province, you may be eligible for health insurance coverage under the Quebec Health Insurance Plan. This insurance doesn’t cover repatriation, which is required to participate in IEC.

If you use the Quebec Health Insurance Plan, you must get additional insurance that covers repatriation. Find out more about Quebec’s social security agreements with other countries.

We strongly recommend you wait to get your health insurance until after you get your port of entry letter of introduction.

What if my health insurance is only valid for part of the time I want to stay in Canada?

If your health insurance doesn’t last the entire length of your stay in Canada, you’ll be given a work permit that expires on the same day as your insurance.

If this happens, you won’t be able to apply to change the conditions of your work permit at a later date.

Repatriation

This is when you need to return to your country in the event of severe illness, injury or death. Your insurance would need to include the cost of

  • getting you to a medical facility
  • returning you to your home country or
  • returning your remains to your home country

Step 3: Pay your fees

The fees you pay depend on the IEC category you’re applying to.

You can use the pay your fees tool to find out how much it costs to apply to IEC and how to pay your fees.

a) All participants

You must pay the IEC fee. For the 2024 season, the IEC fee is CAN$172.

If you need to give biometrics, you’ll need to pay the biometric fee when you pay your IEC fee.

b) Working Holiday participants

You must also pay an open work permit holder fee of CAN$100.

c) Young Professionals and International Co-op (Internship) participants

You don’t have to pay any additional fees, but your employer must pay a CAN$230 employer compliance fee and submit your offer of employment to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Your employer must complete this step before you submit your work permit application.

Refunds

The IEC fee, open work permit holder fee and employer compliance fee are refundable if

How refunds are processed

You don’t have to do anything else to get your refund. Normally, you’ll receive it within 8 weeks of your application being refused or withdrawn. Your refund will be issued to the credit card you used to pay the fees.

If you used a prepaid credit card to pay your fees, keep the card for at least 18 months after you pay in case you need a refund.

If we can’t refund your payment to your credit card, we’ll issue a cheque.

You will not receive a refund if we learn that you misrepresented yourself (gave false information or left out important details).

Step 4: Submit your complete application

Make sure you’ve

The system will not let you submit the application unless all required documents are included. Use the document checklist to make sure you don’t forget anything. If you can’t get a police certificate or medical exam before the deadline to submit your work application, you can submit proof that you have

This won’t affect the decision an officer will make when processing your application, but your application may take longer than the advertised processing service standard to process.

Once you submit your application, we’ll verify that

If you’re eligible, we’ll send you a message in your account and tell you what to do next.

Step 5: Give your biometrics, if you need to

In most cases, you now need to give your fingerprints and photo (biometrics) after you apply.

If you’ve already given your biometrics, they may still be valid.

You can check if your biometrics are still valid and when they expire by using the Check Status Tool.

If you need to give your biometrics

We’ll send you a biometric instruction letter (BIL) to explain how to give your biometrics. After you pay all your fees and submit your application, you’ll get this letter in your account message box within 24 hours. It tells you how and where to give your biometrics.

If you haven’t paid the biometrics fee, we’ll send you a letter asking you to do this first. You’ll get the BIL only after you’ve paid the biometrics fee.

Find out where to give your biometrics.

If you’re outside Canada

You can go to the location closest to you. It doesn’t have to be in your country of residence.

Find a biometrics collection point close to you.

If you’re already in Canada

If you’re already in Canada and need to give your biometrics, you can go to any of the designated Service Canada locations. Make sure you follow all the steps to give your biometrics.

You can also go to a visa application centre (VAC) in any country that you can legally enter, such as your home country.

Don’t go to the U.S. if you’re going only to give biometrics. The U.S. border officials might not let you enter the country. You can give biometrics at an ASC only if you’re already legally in the U.S.

If you need an extension

There may be factors outside your control that prevent you from giving your biometrics within 30 days. For example, the VAC may not have any appointments within your 30-day time frame. In this case, you can request an extension to give your biometrics.

You can’t request an extension because:

How to request an extension

Send us a request using an IRCC web form. You must choose “International Experience Canada” from the drop-down menu. If you don’t, your request won’t be assessed.

Include proof with your request. For example, if the VAC doesn’t have any appointments within your 30-day time frame, you should attach a screenshot of the available appointments of the VAC.

We assess extension requests on a case-by-case basis. If your extension request is approved, you won’t get a confirmation email. Instead, you’ll get a new BIL in your account.

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