International Experience Canada (IEC) – [R205(b) - C21] – Reciprocity – International Mobility Program

About the IEC program

Framework

Canadians and foreign nationals aged 18 to 35 can benefit from the IEC program under the following:

1. Bilateral agreements and arrangements established by the Government of Canada with foreign governments

   There are 3 possible categories of participation through bilateral agreements and arrangements under the IEC program:

   • Working Holiday (travel and work): Participants are eligible to apply for an open work permit to allow them to work for any employer or location in Canada to subsidize their stay as they travel and discover their host country, Canada.
   • Young Professionals (career development): Participants are eligible to apply for an employer-specific work permit to help them gain targeted experience in their profession or field of study.
   • International Co-op (internships for students only): Participants in this internship category are eligible to apply for an employer-specific work permit to help them gain targeted experience in their field of study.

2. Recognized organizations

   A recognized organization is a third-party Canada-based organization that facilitates international travel and work opportunities for foreign national and Canadian youth and whose programs and services are recognized by IEC. As part of their services, recognized organizations may provide support and general advice to foreign nationals applying under all 3 IEC streams throughout the application process, and may assist with their travel arrangements, provide orientation services or arrange their work placements. Recognized organizations provide their services for a fee. Each recognized organization is given an allotted number of candidate nominations in specific categories each year. For more information on recognized organizations, consult IEC recognized organizations for foreign youth.

Work permits issued under IEC are exempt from the requirement for a positive LMIA as per paragraph 205(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), and the LMIA exemption code C21 is used.

Role and responsibilities

The IEC program is governed jointly by IRCC’s Citizenship and Passport and Economic, Family and Social Migration Sectors. The following outlines each sector’s respective roles and responsibilities:

Citizenship Policy Branch, Citizenship and Passport Sector

• negotiate reciprocal agreements and arrangements with foreign governments and implement the IEC program
• negotiate and set annual reciprocal quotas (global level, country/territory level, and recognized organizations level)
• conduct ongoing country/territory assessments to evaluate that agreements and arrangements meet the IEC program’s objectives
• monitor program delivery for Canadians to assess reciprocity
• provide functional guidance on IEC’s participation eligibility requirements
• provide guidance and support to IEC hub missions (Sydney, Australia, Paris, France, Berlin, Germany, Tokyo, Japan, Seoul, South Korea, and Warsaw, Poland).
• support the promotion and awareness of IEC abroad and to foreign youth in collaboration with IRCC’s missions
• implement IEC’s engagement strategy to increase Canadian participation through partnering relationships with the following key sectors:
  • provinces and territories, and academic networks
  • Canadian private sector (including the travel and work sector)
  • other federal government departments and agencies, provincial, territorial and foreign governments
  • youth (including Indigenous youth and IEC alumni)
  • non-governmental organizations serving youth
  • ethno-cultural communities and diaspora communities
• promote IEC to Canadians and foreign nationals through activities, including attending international and domestic conferences, workshops and fairs
• develop promotional products and advertising campaigns for outreach to both foreign nationals and Canadians

Economic, Family and Social Migration Sector, National Headquarters

Temporary Workers Division, Immigration Program Guidance (IPG) Branch

• provide functional guidance on the processing of work permits, including those connected with the IEC program

Electronic Processing and Intake Centre (ePIC), Centralized Network

• act as the primary office to process all IEC e-application
• verify the names, date of birth, country/territory of birth, and passport information, and make any necessary corrections, as per IRCC’s Naming Policy and procedures
• search the electronic databases to avoid duplicate unique client identification numbers and perform data integrity actions where necessary
• assess IEC applicants’ eligibility to apply under IEC and process work permit applications
• collect the IEC program fee, the open work permit holder fee (where applicable), and ensure that the employer compliance fee for an employer-specific work permit application has been paid
• respond to case-specific enquiries from foreign nationals through the IRCC Web form within 5 business days
  • Note that ePIC does not respond to case-specific enquiries from foreign nationals whose work permit applications have been transferred to migration offices (consult the section on IRCC migration offices below).
• issue port of entry (POE) letters of introduction to clients who have been found eligible to the IEC Program and admissible to Canada
• issue refunds to clients whose IEC applications have been refused or withdrawn

IRCC migration offices, International Network, Operations Sector

Border services officers at ports of entry

• review the POE letter of introduction and issue work permits if the foreign national is admissible to Canada
  • As IRCC has already assessed IEC Program requirements and collected all fees associated with the work permit, border services officers should not reassess the client for program eligibility and should not request additional fees (see exception below for US citizens and permanent residents applying at the POE).
• may refuse to issue a work permit if the IEC participant cannot show proof of health insurance that is valid for the entire duration of their expected stay (it should be noted that proof of health insurance is a program requirement under IEC)

IEC applications at ports of entry

Except in the case of US citizens and permanent residents, the IRPR do not allow applicants to submit IEC work permit applications at a POE. Paragraph R198(2)(c) stipulates that a foreign national may not apply for a work permit when entering Canada if the foreign national is a participant in an international youth exchange program, unless they are a national or permanent resident of the US or their e-application for a work permit was approved before their entry into Canada.

Note: Although Canada and the US currently have no formal bilateral arrangement concerning youth mobility, US citizens and permanent residents may apply to IEC through recognized organizations. They may apply for their work permit online (recommended option) or at a POE [R198(2)(c)], as long as they have the following documents:

• a valid invitation to apply letter, which they can obtain only by first submitting their profile to an IEC pool
• a copy of the confirmation letter from their recognized organization
• an online fee payment receipt
  • IEC applicants must pay their IEC fee (and other fees, if applicable) online before arriving at the POE.

If the US citizen or permanent resident is applying for an IEC work permit at the POE, the Canada Border Services Agency must assess the client for both eligibility and admissibility.