How to work in Canada?

The main objective of launching the IEC is to provide foreign nationals from participating countries who are between the ages of 18-35 (30 in some countries) with the opportunity to travel and work in Canada. There are 3 categories under the IEC program, these are:

If you are eligible for at least one of the programs mentioned above, you will be placed into one or more pools of IEC candidates and be notified of this movement by receiving a message in your online account.

Working Holiday

This option is appealing for candidates who want to both travel around Canada and find temporary work to fund their vacation.

The type of work permit granted is an Open Work Permit which allows you to:

  • Work without the need for a job offer
  • Work for more than one employer in Canada
  • Work in more than one location
  • Work most jobs available in Canada

Young Professionals

This category focuses on people who wish to gain Canadian professional work experience to better compete in a global economy.

The type of work permit granted is an Employer-Specific Work Permit, this means you have to:

  • Have a job offer in Canada that contributes towards your professional development
  • Work for the same employer in the same specified location throughout your stay in Canada

It is required that you are employed in a paid position and not self-employed.

In addition to your employer meeting all labour laws in the province/territory you plan to work in, the job being offered must be classified as Skill Type Level 0, A or B in accordance to the National Occupational Classification (NOC). Under certain circumstances, a NOC C job might be accepted if you can provide evidence of successfully completing post-secondary education with your work permit application submission.

International Co-op (Internship)

This stream offers aspiring candidates to gain valuable work experience related to their field of study.

The eligibility requirements include:

  • You are a student registered at a post-secondary institution
  • You have a job offer for a work placement or internship in Canada
  • It is necessary that you need to complete this work placement or internship to complete your studies
  • The internship you are offered in Canada must be directly linked to your field of studies

The type of work permit granted is an Employer-Specific Work Permit, this means you have to:

  • Work for the same employer in the same specified location throughout your stay in Canada

Your employer must meet all labour laws in the province/territory you plan to work in, with the labour code of the province or territory determining whether an internship needs to be paid or not.

Eligibility requirements

IEC requirements vary from country to country. Depending on your country of citizenship, you may be able to participate twice in the IEC program, however, you can only participate once under each category (that your country allows), therefore, you can be found eligible under a different pool.

Candidates are not eligible to include their dependents on their IEC application.

  • You must be a citizen from one of the countries that has an agreement with Canada in which allows you to apply for an IEC work permit
  • You must meet the eligibility requirements for both your country of citizenship and the IEC pool in which you are applying for

What is the process?

To apply under any of the IEC streams you must follow these steps:

Step 1

Answer questions related to the 3 IEC streams to determine if they meet the criteria for one or more pools

Step 2

Meet the eligibility requirements and become a candidate in one or more of the IEC pools

Step 3

Proceed to create a (free) online IEC profile

Step 4

Once their profile is complete, they can submit their profile to any of the indicated pools that are available to them

Step 5

Wait for an invitation to apply (ITA)

Step 6

Once an ITA has been received, they can then start and submit a work permit application through their online account within a set number of days

Step 7

Pay the required program fees

Step 8

Continue to check the status of their application for updates and confirmation of approved application