Step-by-step guide to IEC Canada work permits — International Co-op, Young Professionals and Working Holiday applications

Based on the answers you provided, you will be shown the category/categories you’re eligible for. You’ll be asked if you would like be added to the pool of candidates for the categories available to you. Select “Yes” or “No” from the drop-down menu.

If you are eligible to enter multiple categories, you can answer “Yes” to enter more than one pool of candidates. You can only submit one profile but you can enter multiple pools.

Keep this in mind before answering the question(s) and making a decision:

• The International Co-op and Young Professionals categories are usually less popular than the Working Holiday category and the random selection process doesn’t apply. This means it’s very likely you’ll get an Invitation to Apply during the next “round of invitations” as long as there are still spots available.

• However, in previous years, the work permit quota in the Young Professionals category was reached within six months of the IEC season starting for several European countries. So, although you are likely to receive an invitation, it is never guaranteed if you apply later in the season and the quota has already been reached!

• Invitations to Apply are sent in a specific order—first to the International Co-op Internship category candidates, then to the Young Professionals category candidates, and finally to the Working Holiday category candidates. Therefore, if you apply in both the Young Professionals and Working Holiday categories, you could be sent an Invitation to Apply for the Young Professionals first—in this case, you won’t be sent an Invitation to Apply in the Working Holiday category as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada doesn’t send Invitations to Apply for two categories.

• If you’re mostly interested in a Working Holiday work permit, it’s strategically best to join that pool only.

• If you join the Working Holiday pool and get an offer of employment in the meantime—thus becoming eligible to the Young Professionals and/or the International Co-op categories—you have to delete your profile and start over again to enter more categories.