Working Holiday Visa- TWA

Working Holiday Visa

Fund your vacation or explore the provinces with temporary work in Canada. The Working Holiday is a part of the International Experience Canada (IEC) work permit program.

Who Is This Category for?

A working holiday is a good option for you if:

You don’t have a job offer yet;
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; or
You are a Canadian or foreign youth aged 18 to 35. For some countries, the age limit is 18 to 29, or 30 years old.

The type of work permit you get for a working holiday is an open work permit. An open work permit allows you to work at most jobs in Canada. However, there are some jobs where you’ll have to get a medical exam first.

A working holiday provides temporary work permits to young people from over 30 countries, so they can legally live and get a job in Canada. The permits are valid for either 12 or 24 months, depending on your country of citizenship.

Candidates must first create a profile through the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada), which notifies Canadian authorities of their desire to receive a working holiday visa in Canada.

Successful candidates will receive an invitation to formally complete their applications for a work permit, however, this success is subject to eligibility and availability.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a Working Holiday Visa in Canada, candidates must:

Be a citizen (passport holder) of 1 of the 35 countries that have a “bilateral youth mobility agreement” with Canada. In other words, one of the International Experience Canada participating countries;
Have a valid passport for the duration of the stay in Canada (the work permit issued must not be longer than the validity of the passport);
Be between the ages of 18 and 30 or 35 (inclusive) at the time of application. The upper age limit depends on the applicant’s country of citizenship, as outlined in the International Experience Canada country list;
Have the equivalent of at least CAD 2,500 on landing to help cover initial expenses;
Be able to take out health insurance for the full duration of their Working Holiday Visa in Canada (participants may have to present evidence of this insurance at the point of entry in Canada;
Be admissible to Canada;

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Have, prior to departure, a round-trip ticket or the financial resources to purchase a departure ticket for the end of their authorized stay in Canada;
Not be accompanied by dependents;
Pay the appropriate fees; and
Citizens of certain countries are also required to be residing in their country of citizenship at the time of applying for their Working Holiday Visa in Canada.

Selection Pool

Draws take place at “regular intervals”, where candidates are selected at random to receive an invitation to apply for a work permit until all places are filled for the year. This means you can create a profile and become a candidate at your leisure, any time after the opening date for your country.

However, your best bet is to become a candidate as early as possible for a working holiday visa in Canada, as this IEC category is particularly popular. This will expose you to a greater number of draws.

You’ll be asked to enter one or more ‘pools’ as determined by country and work permit category.

‘Australia: Working Holiday’ and ‘Ireland: Young Professionals’ are examples of pools.

IRCC has committed to giving at least 5-day notice before each country’s and category’s final rounds of invitations, which will mark the closure of that pool for the season.