International Experience Canada

International Experience Canada (IEC) provides youth with the opportunity to travel and work in Canada

There are three categories for which you may be eligible under IEC:

Young Professionals
Working Holiday
International Co-op (Internship)

If you’re eligible, you’ll be placed into one or more pools of International Experience Canada (IEC) candidates. Once you receive ITA, you will be able to apply for work permit application.

In order to participate in IEC:

your country or territory of citizenship must have an agreement with Canada that allows you to apply for an IEC work permit or
you may be able to use a recognized organization (RO)

You must also meet the eligibility requirements for your country or territory of citizenship and the pool you’re applying for.

Category Details
Participating Countries & Requirements

Young Professionals

Gain Canadian professional work experience to better compete in a global economy.

This category is for you if

you have a job offer in Canada that contributes to your professional development
you’ll work for the same employer in the same location during your stay in Canada

Under this category, work must be

paid
not self-employed

The type of work permit you get in the Young Professionals category is an employer-specific work permit.

Working Holiday

Fund your vacation with temporary work in Canada.

Normally, this category is for you if

you don’t have a job

This category is also for you if

you want to work for more than one employer in Canada
you want to work in more than one location
you’d like to earn some money so that you can travel

The type of work permit you get for Working Holiday is an open work permit.

International Co-op (Internship)

Get valuable overseas work experience related to your field of study.

This category is for you if

you’re a student registered at a post-secondary institution
you have a job offer for a work placement or internship in Canada
you need to do this work placement or internship to complete your studies
you’ll work for the same employer in the same location during your stay in Canada

The type of work permit you get in the International Co-op (Internship) category is an employer-specific work permit. The internship you are offered in Canada must be directly linked to your field of studies.

Need help with your application to work in Canada?

Simply click the link below to speak to one of our highly qualified consultants for more information about the visa and work permit application process.

If you are from the following countries, you may be eligible to apply under one of the categories.

Country	International Experience Canada Category	Age eligibility	Type of work permit	Maximum validity	Participation frequency in International Experience Canada	Medical Exam needed?
Andorra	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	12 months	One participation	No
Australia	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	24 months	Two participations maximum in IEC. A participation of 24 months in either Working Holiday or Young Professionals; a second participation of 12 months in International Co-op. These two participations can be carried out in the order of the applicant’s choice. Exception: If you participated in IEC one or more times before 2015, you might be eligible for a final participation of up to 24 months in the category of your choice.	No
	Young Professionals (Graduates)	18-35	Employer-specific	24 months		No
	International Co-op	18-35	Employer-specific	24 months (unless it is the applicant’s second participation since 2015, in which case, 12 months)		No
Austria	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	12 months	Applicants are allowed 3 participations in total. No repeat categories are allowed.	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op	18-35	Employer-specific Internship or work placement must be in forestry, agriculture, or tourism	6 months	Must be a resident of Austria and must be registered as a student in forestry, agriculture or tourism or have graduated in 1 of those fields within the past 12 months.	No
Belgium	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	12 months	One participation	No
Chile	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations – Repeat category is permitted	No
	Young Professionals (Supplementary graduate training)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Young worker exchange program)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Costa Rica	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two International Experience Canada participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Croatia	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two International Experience Canada participations. Repeat category is permitted.	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Czech Republic	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Denmark (Danish citizens who reside in Greenland and the Faroe Islands are also eligible)	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	One participation	No
Estonia	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two International Experience Canada participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
France	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	24 months	Maximum of two participations. A participation of 24 months in either Working Holiday or Young Professionals or Young Professionals (VIE); a second participation of 12 months in International Co-op. Applicant can choose the order of these two participations. Exception: French citizens who participated prior to the 2015 quota year are eligible for one final participation in the category of their choosing. An applicant is considered to have participated prior to 2015 if their application(s) was submitted to any quota year prior to the launch of the 2015 quota year which took place on February 21, 2015. Those who have participated in IEC more than once before 2015 are no longer eligible.	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	24 months		No
	Young Professionals – VIE	18-35	Employer-specific	24 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months	Enrolment in a training centre in France is acceptable.	No
Germany	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two times. Repeat category is not permitted.	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Greece	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two International Experience Canada participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Hong Kong	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	12 months	One participation	Yes
Ireland	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	24 months	To avail of two International Experience Canada participations, one must be under the International Co-op (Internship) category.	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	24 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Italy	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	6 months	In future seasons, Italians will be eligible for all three IEC programs and for work permits of 12 months’ duration	No
Japan	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	12 months	One participation	No
Latvia	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	Yes
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		Yes
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		Yes
Lithuania	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	Yes
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		Yes
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		Yes
Luxembourg	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	12 months	Awaiting details.	No
	Young Professionals	18-30	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-30	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Mexico	The youth mobility agreement between Canada and Mexico is currently under review. As a result Invitations to Apply for an International Experience Canada permit are not being sent at this time.					No
Netherlands	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
Netherlands	Young Professionals	18-30	Employer-specific	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
New Zealand	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	23 months	One participation (if you participated in IEC before April 2, 2015, you are no longer eligible to apply)	No
Norway	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Poland	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Portugal	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	24 months	One participation	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	24 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	24 months		No
San Marino	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations	No
Slovakia	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Slovenia	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
South Korea	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	12 months	One participation	Yes
Spain	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Sweden	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-30	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-30	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Switzerland	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	18 months (Total duration of the two permits combined cannot exceed 18 months)	Two participations. Repeat category is permitted if the sum of the two participations is within the 18-month total limit.	No
Switzerland	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific			No
Taiwan	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	One participation	Yes
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		Yes
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		Yes
Ukraine	The youth mobility agreement between Canada and Ukraine is currently under review. As a result Invitations to Apply for an International Experience Canada permit are not being sent at this time.					Yes
United Kingdom	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	24 months	One participation	No

Need help with your application to work in Canada?

Simply click the link below to speak to one of our highly qualified consultants for more information about the visa and work permit application process.

Category Details

Young Professionals

Gain Canadian professional work experience to better compete in a global economy.

This category is for you if

you have a job offer in Canada that contributes to your professional development
you’ll work for the same employer in the same location during your stay in Canada

Under this category, work must be

paid
not self-employed

The type of work permit you get in the Young Professionals category is an employer-specific work permit.

Working Holiday

Fund your vacation with temporary work in Canada.

Normally, this category is for you if

you don’t have a job

This category is also for you if

you want to work for more than one employer in Canada
you want to work in more than one location
you’d like to earn some money so that you can travel

The type of work permit you get for Working Holiday is an open work permit.

International Co-op (Internship)

Get valuable overseas work experience related to your field of study.

This category is for you if

you’re a student registered at a post-secondary institution
you have a job offer for a work placement or internship in Canada
you need to do this work placement or internship to complete your studies
you’ll work for the same employer in the same location during your stay in Canada

Need help with your application to work in Canada?

Simply click the link below to speak to one of our highly qualified consultants for more information about the visa and work permit application process.

Participating Countries & Requirements

If you are from the following countries, you may be eligible to apply under one of the categories.

Country	International Experience Canada Category	Age eligibility	Type of work permit	Maximum validity	Participation frequency in International Experience Canada	Medical Exam needed?
Andorra	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	12 months	One participation	No
Australia	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	24 months	Two participations maximum in IEC. A participation of 24 months in either Working Holiday or Young Professionals; a second participation of 12 months in International Co-op. These two participations can be carried out in the order of the applicant’s choice. Exception: If you participated in IEC one or more times before 2015, you might be eligible for a final participation of up to 24 months in the category of your choice.	No
	Young Professionals (Graduates)	18-35	Employer-specific	24 months		No
	International Co-op	18-35	Employer-specific	24 months (unless it is the applicant’s second participation since 2015, in which case, 12 months)		No
Austria	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	12 months	Applicants are allowed 3 participations in total. No repeat categories are allowed.	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op	18-35	Employer-specific Internship or work placement must be in forestry, agriculture, or tourism	6 months	Must be a resident of Austria and must be registered as a student in forestry, agriculture or tourism or have graduated in 1 of those fields within the past 12 months.	No
Belgium	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	12 months	One participation	No
Chile	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations – Repeat category is permitted	No
	Young Professionals (Supplementary graduate training)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Young worker exchange program)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Costa Rica	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two International Experience Canada participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Croatia	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two International Experience Canada participations. Repeat category is permitted.	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Czech Republic	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Denmark (Danish citizens who reside in Greenland and the Faroe Islands are also eligible)	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	One participation	No
Estonia	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two International Experience Canada participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
France	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	24 months	Maximum of two participations. A participation of 24 months in either Working Holiday or Young Professionals or Young Professionals (VIE); a second participation of 12 months in International Co-op. Applicant can choose the order of these two participations. Exception: French citizens who participated prior to the 2015 quota year are eligible for one final participation in the category of their choosing. An applicant is considered to have participated prior to 2015 if their application(s) was submitted to any quota year prior to the launch of the 2015 quota year which took place on February 21, 2015. Those who have participated in IEC more than once before 2015 are no longer eligible.	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	24 months		No
	Young Professionals – VIE	18-35	Employer-specific	24 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months	Enrolment in a training centre in France is acceptable.	No
Germany	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two times. Repeat category is not permitted.	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Greece	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two International Experience Canada participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Hong Kong	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	12 months	One participation	Yes
Ireland	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	24 months	To avail of two International Experience Canada participations, one must be under the International Co-op (Internship) category.	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	24 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Italy	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	6 months	In future seasons, Italians will be eligible for all three IEC programs and for work permits of 12 months’ duration	No
Japan	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	12 months	One participation	No
Latvia	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	Yes
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		Yes
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		Yes
Lithuania	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	Yes
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		Yes
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		Yes
Luxembourg	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	12 months	Awaiting details.	No
	Young Professionals	18-30	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-30	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Mexico	The youth mobility agreement between Canada and Mexico is currently under review. As a result Invitations to Apply for an International Experience Canada permit are not being sent at this time.					No
Netherlands	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
Netherlands	Young Professionals	18-30	Employer-specific	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
New Zealand	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	23 months	One participation (if you participated in IEC before April 2, 2015, you are no longer eligible to apply)	No
Norway	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Poland	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Portugal	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	24 months	One participation	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	24 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	24 months		No
San Marino	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations	No
Slovakia	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Slovenia	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
South Korea	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	12 months	One participation	Yes
Spain	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Sweden	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	12 months	Two participations. Repeat category is not permitted	No
	Young Professionals	18-30	Employer-specific	12 months		No
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-30	Employer-specific	12 months		No
Switzerland	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	18 months (Total duration of the two permits combined cannot exceed 18 months)	Two participations. Repeat category is permitted if the sum of the two participations is within the 18-month total limit.	No
Switzerland	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific			No
Taiwan	Working Holiday	18-35	Open	12 months	One participation	Yes
	Young Professionals	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		Yes
	International Co-op (Internship)	18-35	Employer-specific	12 months		Yes
Ukraine	The youth mobility agreement between Canada and Ukraine is currently under review. As a result Invitations to Apply for an International Experience Canada permit are not being sent at this time.					Yes
United Kingdom	Working Holiday	18-30	Open	24 months	One participation	No

Need help with your application to work in Canada?

Simply click the link below to speak to one of our highly qualified consultants for more information about the visa and work permit application process.