This article is specifically about the Working Holiday program available for UK citizens aged 18 to 30. To work in Canada for UK citizens, the Working Holiday program is the most obvious solution. It is a sub-program of the International Experience Canada (IEC) program. There are three programs under IEC but UK citizens are only eligible for Working Holiday.
Background
UK citizens can travel to Canada visa free and stay as a visitor for up to 6 months (before applying for an extension) but if you want to legally work and potentially stay in Canada as a permanent resident and citizen, the best way is to obtain Canadian work experience via a work permit.
Canada has many work permit categories; some are locked to specific employers who sponsor you, while others are “open work permits” that allow you to work for any employer in Canada. The Working Holiday Program provides a 24 month open work permit for eligible applicants.
Each year, IRCC sets a quota for the number of applicants that will be accepted under this program. IRCC will issue more invitations than the quota because it knows many applications will either expire or be rejected. The quota for 2022 is 8000 applicants from the UK. As of June 3rd 2022, 11,641 invitations have been issued but there are still 2,096 spots available.
Many people entered the pool and did not decided to proceed or had their application rejected. This is not surprising as the IEC profile is free to create so some people might create a profile who are not committed to coming to Canada. Unfortunately this does create delays for those who do not make it for the initial draw. In prior years, the UK quota was often filled so if you are interested, you should begin the application process ASAP.
Working Holiday Requirements
For UK citizens to participate, they must meet the following conditions:
- be a UK Citizen
- have a valid UK Passport (ideally valid for the full 24 months)
- aged 18-30
- have a minimum of $2500 CAD
- have valid health insurance for the duration of their time in Canada
- cannot be inadmissible to Canada
- have a round trip ticket or demonstrate financial resources to purchase departure ticket
- cannot be accompanied by dependants
- pay all required fees (IEC application fee, open work permit holder fee, biometrics (if applicable)).
- as of the writing of this article, IEC participants must all be fully vaccinated
If you are interested in participating in the Working Holiday Program, you can create an IEC profile which will put you in a pool with other candidates. IRCC periodically draws from the pool by issuing an Invitation to Apply (ITA).
Once you receive an ITA, you have 10 days to accept the invitation and from the day you accept the invitation, you have 20 days to apply online for a work permit. Note that an ITA does not mean you are eligible for a work permit, being issued an ITA means you can apply for the work permit. This is a very short and strict timeline, if it is not met, the invitation will expire and you will need to submit a new IEC profile and get drawn again and if the quota has been met, you’ll need to wait for next year.
To apply for the work permit you need to provide information and documents that match the information given in your IEC profile. Any discrepancies can result in delays in processing or a rejection of the application. This is why we only represent clients for Working Holiday Program applications when we submit the IEC profile and prepare the work permit application.
The work permit application will require the following documents:
- Fill in online forms about your personal and family information, work and education history.
- Medical exam by a panel physician only if you were in certain countries for 6 months or more or you plan to work in the health field, primary/secondary education, child care, or elderly care.
- Police certificate for countries you’ve spent 6 months or more in a row since the age of 18.
- CV/Resume
- Scanned copy of passport and ID documents
- Digital photo
Work permit application processing time as June 8th is 6 weeks but you can check the most recent estimate by IRCC here. If you have not submitted biometrics to IRCC before for a different application, you will need to do so. You will receive a request letter during the work permit application process to go to a Visa Application Centre (VAC) to provide biometrics.
Once your application is approved, you will receive a Port of Entry Letter which outlines the next steps for entering Canada. This is not your work permit, you will receive your work permit at the border when you enter Canada.
Documents to bring when entering Canada.
- Passport (obviously)
- POE Letter
- Proof of financial support showing at least $2,500 CAD (ie bank account statement issued no more than 1 week before arrival to Canada)
- Proof of health insurance covering medical care, hospitalization, repatriation for the entire length of the work permit duration.
- Proof of return flight ticket or additional funds that can be used for a return flight.
- Due to COVID restrictions, you need to upload proof of vaccination in the ArriveCAN app and it does not hurt to bring a paper copy of your vaccination record as well.
- We also recommend you at least for electronic copies of all the documents you submitted as part of the work permit application incase the CBSA officer has additional questions.
If the CBSA officer is satisfied with your documents, they will issue you a work permit with a validity period of two years from the date of entry.
If immigrating to Canada as a permanent resident is in your plan, you should look carefully at the requirements for permanent resident programs. The most popular program for Working Holiday Program participants from the UK is probably the Canadian Experience Class through Express Entry. Just note that one of the main requirements to be eligible is skilled work experience in NOC 0, A, or B occupations. So if you want to get Canadian permanent residence you should plan to get a job that meets this skill level requirement.
What if I am not aged 18-30?
To work in Canada for UK citizens who are not 18-30, other work permit options are available under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program or International Mobility Program. Some work permit streams require employers to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) while others do not but it heavily depends on your occupation.
FAQ and Tips
UK citizens can only participate in the Working Holiday Program once. Note that for some countries, Canada has an agreement where a citizens of a certain country can participate in the Working Holiday Program or IEC more than once. Unfortunately, Canada and the UK do not have such an agreement therefore UK citizens can only participate in the Working Holiday Program once.
You can apply for the Working Holiday Program work permit while in Canada but you will need to go to a Port of Entry to activate the work permit. You can also apply from another country that is not the UK.
You must receive an ITA before you turn 31. Once approved your work permit will still be valid for 24 months.
You have one year from the date of the POE letter to come to Canada to activate the Work Holiday Program work permit.