Americans can’t just move to Europe and get a job, but Canadians can – and you might already be Canadian

If you're a 25-year-old American who wants to spend a year working in London, you have a problem. The UK doesn't offer working holiday visas to US citizens. You'd typically need an employer willing to sponsor a skilled worker visa — a process that is time consuming, costs thousands, and requires a specialized job lined up before you arrive. The same is true for France, Spain, Italy, and most of Europe.

Now imagine you're Canadian. You apply to the UK's Youth Mobility Scheme and within weeks you have an open work permit to live and work anywhere in the UK for up to three years. No employer sponsor. No specialized skills required. You can bartend in Shoreditch, work at a design studio in Edinburgh, or join a tech startup in Manchester while you figure out your next move.

Same person. Same skills. Completely different options — because of the passport.

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The gap is bigger than most Americans realize

With a US passport, you're eligible for working holiday visas in exactly six countries: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Korea.

With a Canadian passport, that number jumps to 36 — including 28 European countries. The UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, and more.

Canadians also get preferential terms: three years in the UK (a full year longer than most nationalities), extended age limits of 35 in Australia, and two-year permits in Ireland where Americans only get one.

For young Americans who've looked into living abroad, this gap is a familiar frustration. These agreements are reciprocal — both countries have to offer the same deal — and the US simply hasn't negotiated them with most of the world. Canada has.

Here's where citizenship by descent changes everything

Under Canada's updated citizenship law, which took effect in December 2025, Americans with Canadian ancestry may already be Canadian citizens. If you can trace an unbroken line of descent to a Canadian ancestor — a grandparent, great-grandparent, or further back — you're eligible for proof of citizenship and a Canadian passport. No test, no residency requirement, no oath.

Once you have that passport, every youth mobility agreement Canada has negotiated is available to you. The program is called International Experience Canada (IEC). It lets Canadian citizens between 18 and 35 apply for work permits in 36 partner countries across three categories: Working Holiday (an open permit — work for anyone, anywhere), Young Professionals (tied to your career field), and International Co-op (student internships).

As a dual citizen, you can apply from the US, Canada, or abroad. Your American citizenship isn't affected.

What this looks like in practice

A 24-year-old in Boston whose great-grandmother came from Quebec discovers she's eligible for Canadian citizenship by descent. She gets her citizenship certificate, obtains a Canadian passport, and applies to the UK's Youth Mobility Scheme. She moves to London, lands a job at a marketing firm, and spends weekends traveling across Europe. Her American friends, equally qualified, generally couldn't do this without a corporate sponsor.

A 27-year-old American whose girlfriend is British. They've spent two years trying to figure out how to live in the same country — his US passport doesn't give him the right to work in the UK. Then he discovers his grandfather was born in New Brunswick. A Canadian passport gives him a three-year open work permit in the UK. No sponsor, no lottery, no extended waiting period. The document that lets them build a life together traces back to an ancestor he barely knew about.

A recent grad from Vermont uses her Canadian passport to work her way across Australia, New Zealand, and Japan on back-to-back working holidays — three countries that offer Canadians generous terms that American passport holders either can't access or can only access with significant restrictions.

None of these options would be readily available to them as Americans. All of it is available because a grandparent or great-grandparent happened to be born in Canada.

How to get started

Before you can access the IEC program, you need a Canadian passport. Before you can get a passport, you need proof of citizenship. That's the first step.

If you have Canadian ancestry, you can check whether you may qualify using CanadaVisa's citizenship by descent calculator. Processing times for citizenship certificates are currently around 10 months — the sooner you start, the sooner 36 countries are within reach.

Check your eligibility at CanadaVisa's citizenship by descent calculator.

IEC-participating countries for Canadian passport holders

The following countries have youth mobility agreements with Canada. Age limits, permit duration, and participation rules vary by country.

Participating European Countries	Upper age limit	Maximum lifetime participations
Andorra	30	1
Austria	35	3
Belgium	30	1
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
Iceland	30	1
Ireland	35	3
Italy	35	2
Latvia	35	2
Lithuania	35	2
Luxembourg	35	1
Netherlands	30	2
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
United Kingdom	35	2

Asia-Pacific & Americas (8 countries): Australia (35, 2) · Chile (35, 2) · Costa Rica (35, 2) · Hong Kong (30, 1) · Japan (30, 2) · New Zealand (35, 1) · Republic of Korea (35, 2) · Taiwan (35, 2)

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