IRCC Extends Permits for International Experience Canada Participants

International Experience Canada (IEC) participants can now receive subsequent work permits while remaining in Canada, thanks to a recently extended policy. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has ensured that eligible IEC applicants can have their work permits mailed directly to their Canadian addresses.

To qualify under this new IRCC policy, applicants must be in Canada, possess a current IEC work permit , and have received a letter of introduction (LOI) for their new IEC work permit application. They are required to submit a request via IRCC's web form before their LOI expires, including certain mandatory texts as outlined by IRCC.

The first mandatory text states: "A112025: I am requesting an A11 examination and the issuance of my work permit from within Canada. My application number is [W#########]. I submitted my IEC application on [date]. I have received my IEC POE letter of introduction, which is valid until [date]. My current contact information in Canada is: Telephone: [phone number], Mailing address: [address], Residential address: [address]."

In addition, applicants need to include a second text based on their specific circumstances:

- For Young Professionals and International co-op participants: "Employer-specific work permit: My employer, [name], located at [address], may be contacted at [contact telephone or email] to confirm my continued employment offer. I intend to start working for this employer once my work permit is received."

- For Working Holiday participants: "Open work permit: I attest that my situation remains unchanged and that I still meet the criteria of the open work permit program for which I was approved."

Previously, IEC participants had to exit Canada—often by traveling back to their home country—to obtain their new work permits. Since the flagpoling ban imposed on December 23, 2024, applicants could no longer reactivate their work permits by re-entering Canada from the U.S. or St Pierre and Miquelon.

This policy, initially implemented in the spring of 2024 and set to expire on December 1, 2025, was recently extended on February 10, 2026, and will remain effective until further notice. Under the International Experience Canada program, work permits are offered to youth from 36 countries that have bilateral youth mobility agreements with Canada.

To be eligible, candidates must be citizens of a participating country and fall within the age range of 18-35 or 18-30 depending on their nationality, in addition to fulfilling other program guidelines and meeting general admissibility requirements in Canada. Some countries permit only a single lifetime participation in the IEC, while others allow two or three participations.

Due to the high demand from foreign nationals, IRCC regulates IEC work permit applications through a lottery system, issuing invitations randomly to eligible profiles within the IEC pool. Citizens of participating nations can check their success probabilities based on the current state of their country's pool on the government website. Typically, the IEC pool opens every December for the following year, with invitations starting in January.

Currently, the countries participating in the IEC program include: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea (Rep.), Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

For further assistance, consider scheduling a Free IEC Work Permit Consultation with Cohen Immigration Law or visit the Government of Canada site for detailed immigration guidelines. Learn more about the process at [Government of Canada](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship.html) and check out [CIC News](https://www.cicnews.com) for updates on immigration-related news.