Working Holiday Visa for Canada
If you would like to come to Canada temporarily to work and travel around the country, you might be eligible for the Canada Working Holiday Visa. You do not have to hold a job offer to apply for it. Find out more about the requirements and the application process for the Working Holiday Visa.
To receive assistance with your application, call our immigration lawyers on +1 844 290 6312.
Page Contents
- What is the Working Holiday Visa?
- Who can apply for the Working Holiday Visa?
- What are the eligibility requirements for the Working Holiday Visa?
- How to apply for the Working Holiday Visa?
- What documents do I need to include in the Working Holiday Visa application?
- How can Total Law help?
- Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Working Holiday Visa?
Usually, if you want to visit Canada, you’d get a visitor visa but that wouldn’t allow you to work.
The Working Holiday Visa will allow you to visit and work. This visa allows citizens of certain countries to come to Canada to work for up to 12 months. Generally, the visa is intended for individuals between the age of 18 and 35. Applicants from some countries, however, cannot apply for it if they are older than 30 years of age.
If your application for the Working Holiday Visa Canada is successful, you will be able to work at most jobs in Canada. Keep in mind, however, that there are certain positions where you will be required to pass a medical exam first.
This visa is one of those under the International Experience Canada (IEC). International Experience Canada is a program with three visas that allow young foreign nationals to come to experience the work environment in Canada for up to two years.
Who can apply for the Working Holiday Visa?
If you come from one of the following countries and you meet the country-specific age requirement, you can apply for the IEC Working Holiday Visa program:
- Australia – between 18 and 30 years old
- Belgium – between 18 and 30 years old
- Chile – between 18 and 30 years old
- Czech Republic – between 18 and 35 years old
- Costa Rica – between 18 and 35 years old
- Croatia – between 18 and 35 years old
- Denmark – between 18 and 35 years old
- Estonia – between 18 and 35 years old
- France – between 18 and 35 years old
- Germany – between 18 and 35 years old
- Greece – between 18 and 35 years old
- Hong Kong – between 18 and 30 years old
- Ireland – between 18 and 35 years old
- Italy – between 18 and 35 years old
- Japan – between 18 and 30 years old
- South Korea – between 18 and 30 years old
- Latvia – between 18 and 35 years old
- Lithuania – between 18 and 35 years old
- Mexico – between 18 and 29 years old
- Netherlands – between 18 and 30 years old
- New Zealand – between 18 and 35 years old
- Norway – between 18 and 35 years old
- Poland – between 18 and 35 years old
- Slovakia – between 18 and 35 years old
- Slovenia – between 18 and 35 years old
- Spain – between 18 and 35 years old
- Sweden – between 18 and 30 years old
- Taiwan – between 18 and 35 years old
- Ukraine – between 18 and 35 years old
- United Kingdom – between 18 and 30 years old.
Unfortunately, if your home country is not listed here, you are not eligible for the Working Holiday Visa.
What are the eligibility requirements for the Working Holiday Visa?
The eligibility criteria for IEC Working Holiday Visa in Canada include:
- Be a citizen of one of the 35 countries that participate in the International Experience Canada
- Have a valid passport (it needs to be valid throughout the duration of your stay in Canada)
- Be between the ages of 18 and 30 or 35, depending on the country of citizenship.
- Have at least CAD$2,500 at the time of admission into Canada.
- Be able to get health insurance for the duration of your stay in Canada.
- Be admissible to Canada
- Have either a return ticket at the time of admission into Canada or have enough funds to purchase one after arriving in the country
- Not be accompanied by dependents
- Be able to pay all the necessary fees.
Additionally, citizens of some countries have to also be residents in the country of their citizenship at the time of submitting the application for the Working Holiday Visa in Canada.
Before you submit your application for the Working Holiday Visa, seek advice from our immigration lawyers. They will review country-specific information and will assess your eligibility for the visa.
How to apply for the Working Holiday Visa?
To assess whether you are eligible for the Working Holiday Visa, you have to complete the Come to Canada questionnaire. If you determine that you meet the requirements for it, you can create an International Experience Canda (IEC) profile.
When you do that, you will receive a unique code allowing you to set up a CIC account. Once you create a CIC account, you will have 60 days to complete the application form for the Working Holiday Visa.
There are several sections in the application form. After you file them all, your IEC profile will be submitted to the pool and your name will enter the lottery. Those who get lucky enough to have their name drawn and receive the invitation to apply (ITA) can proceed with their visa application. There is a limited number of Working Holiday Visas that are granted to applicants each year. That is why there is no guarantee that you will receive the invite.
If you receive the ITA, you will have to start your application for the Working Holiday Visa in Canada within 10 days. To officially accept the ITA, you need to press the ‘Start Application’ button. Then, you will have 20 days to submit all required forms and documents and pay all the fees. If you no longer want to come to Canada, you can decline the invitation.
Once you submit the application, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will review it and will inform you about the decision. If your application is successful, you will receive a letter of introduction (LOI). You will have to show it to an immigration officer when you arrive in Canada.
What documents do I need to include in the Working Holiday Visa application?
In your Working Holiday Visa application, you need to include the following documents:
- Police certificate (you will need to prove you don’t have a criminal record, hence a police certificate for each country where you spent more than 6 months)
- Medical certificate proving that you will not be a burden to Canada’s health and social services system
- Biometrics and fingerprints (you only need to do it after your visa application is approved)
- Valid passport
- Receipts proving that you paid all the required fees
- Digital photograph.
When you are filing the application for this temporary working visa, you will see a section called ‘Letter of Explanation’. If some of the required evidence does not arrive before the application deadline, there you can explain why you did not include it.
If you are not sure what documents to submit with your application or you need help gathering them, seek assistance from our immigration lawyers. They will help you prepare a complete portfolio of evidence confirming your eligibility for the visa.
After you submit the application, you will receive your Port of Entry letter (POE) within 56 days. You will need to take it with you and present it at customs when you land in Canada.
How can Total Law help?
If you want to come to Canada to work and travel on the Working Holiday Visa, you can contact our expert immigration lawyers for help. They will assess your eligibility for the Working Holiday Visa and will help you submit your application. They will be around to answer all your questions and clear any doubts you might have.
Applying for the Working Holiday Visa can be a complicated process, especially if you are filing all the forms and gathering documents on your own. If you hire one of our immigration lawyers, however, you will have access to expert support and advice during each step of the application process and you will not have to worry about making mistakes and navigating the Canadian immigration system.
To find out more about how our team can help, call us today on +1 844 290 6312.
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Related pages for your continued reading.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to apply for the Working Holiday Visa in Canada, you have to be ready to pay a participation fee of CAD$150. In addition to that, all successful applicants have to pay an open work permit holder fee of CAD$100.
All applicants for the Working Holiday Visa are required to bring proof of financial support, in the form of a bank statement, with them when they arrive in Canada. Immigration officials might ask for it.
The bank statement has to be issued no more than 1 week before the departure to Canada and it has to clearly prove that you have at least CAN$2,500. This amount should allow you to cover initial expenses and support yourself during the first 3 months of your stay in the country.
If you are a holder of the Canadian Working Holiday Visa, you can leave the country and then return without losing the right to work there. The immigration officials will re-assess your admissibility each time you enter Canada but, if your visa is still valid, you have the right to leave and re-enter the country multiple times.
Yes. Generally, holding a job offer from a Canadian employer is not a requirement to apply for a Working Holiday Visa in Canada. That means that if your application for this IEC work permit is successful, you can look for employment opportunities after you arrive in Canada.