Work experience in Canada: the Young Professionals work permit

Chapter 1 of 3

Welcome to this introduction to the Canadian Young Professionals permit! If you’ve heard about the Young Professionals permit but you’re not sure how it works or if you are eligible, then this guide is for you.

We will take you through everything you need to know, including what the Young Professionals permit is, the eligibility requirements, what to do when you’re ready to apply, and answers to your Young Professionals FAQs.

What is IEC?

International Experience Canada (IEC) is a program developed by the Government of Canada to encourage youth mobility between Canada and its partner countries. The Young Professionals permit is one of three categories offered by IEC—the other categories are Working Holiday and International Co-op (Internship).

To learn more about IEC, read What is International Experience Canada (IEC)?

What is the Young Professionals permit?

The Young Professionals permit is a closed work permit designed to allow eligible young adults from partner countries to gain Canadian work experience in their field for up to 12 or 24 months.

The Young Professionals permit requires you to have a job offer in Canada before applying. The job offer must meet the eligibility requirements and count toward your professional development (explained further in Chapter 2).

You’ll work for the same employer in the same location during your stay in Canada.

Read more about the Young Professionals permit on the official website.

Who is the Young Professionals permit for?

This category is for you if:

• You want to gain valuable work experience in Canada and you already have an eligible job offer in Canada that counts toward your professional development.
• You have an eligible job offer. Your chances of being selected for a Young Professionals permit are higher than the Working Holiday permit, so you don’t have to worry as much about the lottery system.
• You intend to work for the same employer in the same location during your stay in Canada.
• You are hoping to pursue permanent residency in future. Your work experience in a skilled job could help you meet eligibility requirements for Express Entry (everywhere except Quebec) or the Programme de l’expérience québécoise (to become a permanent resident in Quebec).

Before you apply, be aware that:

• You need to find an eligible job offer in Canada before applying for the Young Professionals permit.
• Your future employer must be willing to pay the CA$230 employer compliance fee.
• The Young Professionals work permit is an employer-specific work permit. This means that you can only work for one employer and you can only change employer in specific circumstances (e.g. being laid off). If you don’t want to be limited to one employer, consider the Working Holiday permit instead.
• The job offer must be directly related to your career or educational studies and be classified as a National Occupational Classification (NOC) Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) category 0, 1, 2 or 3 (certain TEER 4 jobs are also accepted). The job requirements are explained further in Chapter 2.
• The work permit is not renewable. If you want to stay in Canada longer, you will have to apply for another type of work permit or for permanent residence.
• Freelancers and other self-employed professionals are not eligible due to the nature of their employment status.

Eligibility requirements for the Young Professionals permit

More than 30 countries have signed a bilateral IEC agreement with Canada, but only a subset of these countries have an agreement for the Young Professionals permit.

Eligible candidates for the Young Professionals permit are young adults between:

• 18 and 30 years old (inclusive) from the Netherlands, and Sweden.
• 18 and 35 years old (inclusive) from Australia, Austria, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

You must also have an eligible job offer in Canada, to be explained in Chapter 2.

Be sure to check your citizenship’s eligibility on the Government of Canada’s website for the exact requirements.

Are there any other requirements to be aware of?

1. You must hold a valid passport

You must have a valid passport issued by a country that has a Young Professionals agreement with Canada. Your passport must be valid for the duration of your intended stay. Learn more.

2. You can only participate as many times as your citizenship allows you to

Some citizenships only allow you to participate in the Young Professionals category once. Others allow you to participate twice, either under the Young Professionals category or in different categories.

• Australia: As an Australian citizen, you may participate in the Young Professionals category only once. If you meet the eligibility criteria, you may participate in IEC one more time through the International Co-op (Internship) category.
• Germany: As a German citizen, you may participate in IEC twice. You must choose a different category each time.
• Ireland: As an Irish citizen, you may participate in the Young Professionals category only once. If you meet the eligibility criteria, you may participate one more time in IEC through the International Co-op (Internship) category.
• New Zealand: As a citizen of New Zealand, you may participate in IEC only once, and it must be through the Working Holiday category.
• The UK: As a British citizen, you may participate in IEC twice, with a first participation of 24 months under any category and a second participation of 12 months under any category.

For other citizenships, see what you’re eligible for here.

If you have dual citizenship and both countries have signed a bilateral agreement with Canada, you can participate under each citizenship that you hold a valid passport for (as long as your citizenships meet eligible requirements for the Young Professionals permit).

An exception to the number of times you are allowed to participate is the Recognised Organisation (RO). You can use an RO to obtain another participation if you have used the maximum number of Young Professionals participations for your citizenship(s). Learn more about ROs in Getting a second Working Holiday permit to Canada—Loopholes and exceptions.

3. You must not be “inadmissible” under Canada’s immigration law

You cannot participate in IEC if you are deemed “inadmissible” to Canada. A person may be refused entry to Canada for security reasons or on health grounds.

If you have a criminal record, you may need to apply for rehabilitation to be allowed into Canada. Click here for more information on the rehabilitation process.

If you have been convicted of driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs, you will likely be found criminally inadmissible to Canada, even as a tourist.

4. You must be willing to supply the documents requested by IRCC and pay the IEC fees

Finally, you must be willing to provide the supporting documents requested by IRCC as part of the application process and pay all relevant fees.

Your employer must be willing to complete the required forms and pay the compliance fee, as explained in the next chapter.

Read our Step-by-step guide to IEC Canada applications for the full tutorial.

How to apply for a Young Professionals permit

Every year, the Government of Canada sets a quota for each partner country for each IEC category. You will need to join the pool of candidates and hope to be selected. If you are selected from the Young Professionals pool and have an eligible job offer ready, you can proceed with submitting an application.

We detail the entire process in our Step-by-step guide to IEC Canada applications.