The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that the International Experience Class program is open for the year 2022.
IEC is an immigration pathway designed to allow youth the opportunity to work in Canada temporarily. Youth from 30 different countries can get admission into Canada with an open work permit, that allows them to work for any employer of their choice in Canada.
The International Experience Class is meant to help build economic, social and cultural ties between Canada and emerging nations.
Youths of countries with bilateral Youth Mobility Arrangement with Canada, who are between the the age of 18 & 35 are eligible for IEC work permit. Work permit issued under IEC are exempted from the requirement for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)
• Must be a citizen of countries that have entered into bilateral Youth Mobility Arrangement with Canada or be a resident of one of the territories that have a bilateral Youth Mobility Arrangement with Canada.
• Must be within the age of 18 and 30 or 35 at the time of application.
• Should have a valid passport for the duration of their stay in Canada.
• Have monetary fund of $2500 CAD upon arrival to bear the initial expenses.
• Must be able to take out health insurance for the duration of their stay
• Be admissible to Canada.
• Must have a round-trip ticket or financial resources to purchase a departure ticket.
• Must not be accompanied by dependents.
• Pay the appropriate fees.
The following are the step-by-step breakdown of how IEC works:
1. Complete the Come to Canada questionnaire and, if eligible, get your personal reference code.
2. Use the code to create your online account.
3. Complete the remaining steps in the IEC profile builder.
4. Submit your profile and choose the IEC pool you want to be in.
5. After the submission of your profile, you will receive an invitation to apply through your account. You will have 10 days to start your application or to decline the invitation. If you accept the invitation, click on to the “Start Application” button in your account to start the work permit application process.
6. After pressing on the “Start Application” button, you will have 20 days from the that day, regardless of whether you accept on day 1 or 10. To complete, pay and submit the work permit application.
7. Your employer needs to pay $230 for the young professional and International Coop categories as Employer Compliance fees through the Employer portal before 20 days expire. Ask your employer to send you the offer of employment number they will get after they have paid their fees. You need this number to apply for your work permit.
8. Upload all supporting documents, including police and medical exam certificates, if applicable.
9. Pay your participation fee of CAD $153 with a credit card through the online payment system in your account.
10. For Working Holiday Category, applicants pay their open work permit holder fee of CAD $100 at this time as well.
11. At this point, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) begins its temporary work permit application assessment. IRCC may ask you to provide additional documents. This is the last chance to withdraw from IEC and obtain refunds. IRCC typically processes complete applications within eight weeks.
12. If the application is successful, a letter of introduction (LOI) will be sent to your account. The official name of the document is Port of Entry (POE) Introduction Letter.
13. This letter is to be presented upon arrival at a Port of Entry in Canada, whereupon a work permit may be obtained.