International Experience Canada starts 2026 season as work permit pools open

International Experience Canada (IEC) pools have officially reopened, allowing eligible foreign youth to submit a candidate profile for the 2026 season.

Under the program, citizens from 36 select countries (aged 18–30 or 18–35) can live and work in Canada for up to two years with an IEC-specific work permit.

Throughout the year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) conducts rounds of invitations inviting candidates in at least one IEC pool to apply for a work permit.

Schedule a Free IEC Work Permit Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm

Those who had a profile in 2025 but didn’t get drawn will need to create a new profile to be considered for the 2026 season.

This article will cover:

Who is eligible to participate under the IEC;
The kinds of work permits available to applicants;
How to apply for an IEC work permit; and
How to find out your chances of receiving a work permit through the program.

Who is eligible to participate in the IEC?

Citizens of countries that have a bilateral Youth Mobility Agreement (bYMA) with Canada may qualify for an IEC work permit, subject to meeting age requirements and other eligibility criteria.

The table below provides a list of eligible nationalities, the maximum eligible age for each country, and how many times someone from that country can participate in the IEC program.

Country	Upper-age limit	Maximum lifetime participations*
Andorra	30	1
Australia	35	3
Austria	35	3
Belgium	30	1
Chile	35	2
Costa Rica	35	2
Croatia	35	2
Czech Republic	35	2
Denmark	35	1
Estonia	35	2
Finland	35	3
France	35	3
Germany	35	2
Greece	35	2
Hong Kong	30	1
Iceland	30	1
Ireland	35	3
Italy	35	2
Japan	30	2
Korea, Rep.	35	2
Latvia	35	2
Lithuania	35	2
Luxembourg	35	1
Netherlands	30	2
New Zealand	35	1
Norway	35	2
Poland	35	2
Portugal	35	1
San Marino	35	2
Slovakia	35	2
Slovenia	35	2
Spain	35	2
Sweden	30	2
Switzerland	35	2
Taiwan	35	1
United Kingdom	35	2

* Each country has its own IEC rules and participation limits, which may include restrictions such as applying only once per category.

Beyond holding citizenship from a participating country and meeting country-dependent age requirements, all candidates must also meet the eligibility requirements below:

Be at least 18 years of age;
Have valid private health insurance for the full duration of their stay;
Have a valid passport for the full duration of their stay;
Have at least $2,500 in available funds to cover expenses while in Canada; and
Have a round-trip ticket, or enough funds to purchase a ticket to leave Canada at the end of their stay.

Certain candidates will also be required to show proof of a job offer.

All candidates must meet general admissibility requirements for entry into Canada and not be accompanied by any dependents.

What work permits are available under the IEC?

Canada’s IEC program offers special work permits to eligible young foreign nationals from select countries, under three distinct categories:

These permits are available under reciprocal agreements between Canada and participating countries, promoting youth mobility by allowing eligible participants to live and work in Canada for a limited period.

Note that eligibility for work permits is based on each country’s agreement with Canada—some candidates may not be eligible for all the IEC’s work permit streams.

IEC work permits are exempt from the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process.

Each work permit differs in eligibility, accessibility and work authorizations.

Work permit category	Closed or open work permit?	Job offer required?	How competitive	Category-specific requirements
Working Holiday	Open	No	Very competitive	N/A
Young Professionals	Closed	Yes	Not very competitive	- Job offer must fall under TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3, and count toward one's professional development.* -Cannot be self-employed.
International Co-op (Internship)	Closed	Yes	The least competitive	-Must be currently enrolled at a post-secondary institution (outside Canada). -Job offer must be for Canada-based work placement or internship and be required for completion of studies. -Internships may need to be paid (dependent on the province or territory's labour code).

*TEER 4 job offers may count if they are in a candidate’s field of study.

Schedule a Free IEC Work Permit Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm

How to be considered for the IEC work permit

The first step toward an IEC work permit is submitting a candidate profile and entering one or more IEC candidate pools.

IRCC will tell you which pool(s) you’re eligible for based on what you include in your profile.

After you’ve entered the pool(s), you may be selected in an upcoming invitation round and issued an Invitation to Apply (ITA).

If you’re invited, you’ll have 10 days to accept the ITA, and then 20 days to apply for the work permit. Note that deadlines will be provided in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

The following must be done to submit an IEC work permit application:

Complete the online application form through your IRCC secure account;
Upload all required documents listed in the personalized document checklist generated by IRCC;
Pay the applicable fees
- All participants need to pay a $184.75 work permit processing fee.
- Working Holiday participants need to pay an additional $100 open work permit fee.
- Young Professional and International Co-op (Internship) participants need their employer to pay a $230 employer compliance fee.
- A $85 biometrics fee is required for those who haven’t given biometrics in a previous application.
Submit the complete work permit application.
If biometrics were not previously given, IRCC will send you a biometric instruction letter, and you will have 30 days to provide your biometrics.

If your work permit application is approved, IRCC will send you a Port of Entry (POE) letter to your online account. This letter will be valid for one year.

IRCC notes that having a POE letter does not guarantee entry into Canada or receipt of a work permit.

IEC applicants who are already in Canada may be eligible to have their work permit mailed to them. You can read more about this here.

What are my chances of selection?

Selection for an IEC work permit operates on a lottery system due to high demand.

Each participating country has a per-category quota, and selection rounds take place until there are no more spots available—or until the 2026 season closes.

Rounds typically occur on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, depending on factors such as the number of candidates in the pool(s) and a country’s quota. The number of candidates invited in each round varies.

Of note is that IRCC only publishes specific selection dates for the first and *final round of invitations, but candidates can be invited at any time in between.

On IRCC’s IEC webpage, candidates can gain a sense of their chances of receiving an ITA for a work permit under a specific work permit category “in the next round.”

To see their chances of getting an invitation, candidates need to select their country or territory of citizenship and the category they are interested in.

IRCC breaks down the likelihood of a candidate receiving an ITA in the next selection round as follows, for each country and category:

Excellent (80%–90%).
Very good (60%–70%).
Fair (40%–50%).
Low (20%–39%).
Very low (1% to 19%).

These ratings are affected by factors such as how many candidates accept or decline their invitations, fail to respond to their invitation or let it expire, or withdraw their profiles—as well as each country’s quota for work permits under their agreement with Canada.

The Young Professionals category is generally prioritized in IEC invitation rounds, so candidates are often more likely to receive an invitation through that category versus Working Holiday.

*IRCC notes that it may hold small selection rounds even after their stated final round of invitations to meet the season quota if a significant number of candidates decline or let their ITAs expire, or due to work permit application refusals.

Schedule a Free IEC Work Permit Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm