Canada and the UK Upgrade IEC Arrangements
Posted on 16/07/2023
Canada and the UK have recently announced upgrades to the International Experience Canada (IEC) & the UK’s Youth Mobility Scheme. Canadian and UK youth will now have more options for work and travel as follows:
- The eligibility age will be increased from 18 – 30 years old up to 18 – 35 years of age.
- Eligible youth from Canada and the UK will now have 2 additional streams available to choose from:
- International Co-op stream (Internship stream) that uses employer-specific work permits for jobs in their area of expertise
- Young Professionals stream that gives young working professionals employer-specific work permits for targeted jobs that’s within their field of study or work experience.
- The Working Holiday stream is already available to UK and Canadian youth.
- The total time participants can work in the other country has been raised to 3 years from 2 years.
Please note that these 2 new streams have always been available through IEC, but the available streams depend on the specific arrangements between Canada and each of the other 37 countries. In other words, with this announcement, Canada and the UK have now upgraded their arrangement to include all the available options.
International Experience Canada (IEC) is an exchange program first launched in September 2008 which provides opportunities for young people (18 – 30 or 35 depending on the country) to temporarily work and live for up to 3 years in another country. Canada currently has arrangements with 37 countries. We give you all the details here at our page at MaxCan Visa’s website.
In addition, you should note that:
- In 2023, close to 90,000 youth from participating countries will have an opportunity to enroll in IEC and work and travel to Canada.
- Nearly a quarter million young Canadians have used IEC since it was launched in 2008, so the benefits are clearly mutual.
- You can use what are called Recognized Organizations (RO) which you can think of almost as work-and-travel agencies that help you during the application and placement process. However, you are not required to use an RO; you can apply on your own.
Finally, it is somewhat surprising that 2 countries with ties as deep as Canada and the UK hadn’t already made all 3 streams available to eligible youth from both countries. However, better late than never, and clearly this announcement will be welcomed by British and Canadian youth.
Posted in News Tips and tagged IEC, International Co-op, International Experience Canada, Working holiday stream, Young professionals
