Canada Working Holiday Visa: IEC Application Timeline & Guide

Updated: 10th September 2026

This post is my full breakdown of my Canada Working Holiday Visa (International Canada Experience) IEC application timeline! It covers all the documents I had to submit and processes I had to follow to apply for my Work Permit, including how I applied for certain documents like Police Certificates and long it took to receive them.

My whole IEC application process took from December 2022 to October 2023. Yep, that’s 10-months from start to finish!

I was 32 when I started this process, I was 33 once my Port of Entry Letter was issued, and I was 34 by the time I arrived in Canada and activated my Work Permit!

My case is perhaps a bit unusual because I have lived in multiple countries so I had to get many Police Certificates. It wouldn’t take everyone so long to submit their application and receive their Port of Entry Letter.

I used a Recognised Organisation to apply for my IEC visa as I was over the age limit for my citizenship at the time of my application. So, if you’re needing to use an RO and are wondering on the process, this article shares my experience using an RO for IEC.

The IEC application process can be long and tedious. There are many documents to gather and processes you need to follow. There are also several steps required to apply for the visa.

The first step is to submit your profile to the Pool and wait for an Invitation to Apply (ITA). I don’t cover this step in too much detail in this blog post, because I applied via an RO and was guaranteed an ITA via that. But, if you are applying directly to IRCC, you need to first wait for the pools to open (generally January each year) and submit a profile on IRCC. Then, it is a waiting game based on quotas for your citizenship to see if you are lucky to get an invitation to apply. You can check the pools here on the IRCC website.

This article covers the steps after you get an Invitation to Apply for IEC and are applying for and submitting documents to IRCC for the IEC Work Permit.

• Related Reading: Read all my Canada blog posts
• One Year In Canada Review: My Honest International Experience Canada (IEC) Life Update
• IEC Arrival Experience – Moving To Canada From UK (Work Permit Guide & Checklist!)

Glossary

There are a lot of terms in this article that you may not be familiar with, so I will provide a short glossary.

IEC – International Experience Canada. Canada’s Working Holiday Visa program.

IRCC – Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. The Canadian Government’s department for immigration and where you will apply for your IEC visa!

ITA – Invitation To Apply. You will need an invitation to apply to be able to apply for Canada’s Working Holiday Visa program (IEC). To get an ITA, you need to submit a profile to the IRCC website once the pools open (usually January each year). Then, you need to wait for an ITA. This is done in several rounds over the course of the year. Your chance of getting an invitation depends on your citizenship and the quota for your country. For example, the quota for UK citizens is approx 9,000. That means only 9,000 people can get the IEC visa in one calendar year.

RO – Recognised Organisation. An RO is only needed if you are applying for certain visas in certain situations. The most common scenario is if you are over the age of 30 it allows you to get an IEC visa up to the age of 35 if you are a citizen of certain countries. An RO can also assist you with obtaining a second or third IEC visa, depending on your citizenship, as some countries only allow one participation in IEC, whereas other countries allow multiple participations.

POE – Port Of Entry Letter. This document is received after your IEC application is approved. It is required to entry Canada and receive your Work Permit. Once you have been issued a POE, you will have 12-months to enter Canada and activate your visa / receive your Work Permit.

Work Permit. This is your physical visa received after you arrive in Canada to activate your visa using your POE Letter. The Work Permit is issued by an Immigration Officer after reviewing all your application documents and showing them your POE Letter. It is very important and will prove you can legally work and live in Canada!

IEC Application Process

From the moment I began my International Experience Canada application process, my life became what felt like a never-ending process of form filling, researching online requirements to make sure I did everything correctly, and gathering documents, making appointments, and other bureaucracy and tediousness. There is so much to do when applying for International Experience Canada!

The Canadians are certainly thorough and expect a lot of information before handing out a work permit! It is definitely a lot, especially compared to places like Australia and New Zealand that hand out an approved digital Working Holiday Visa within 1-minute of submitting your application (as was my case!).

How Long Does The Whole Process Take?

My application for IEC took a particularly long time to put together because I needed to collect so many police certificates from all of the places I lived (that was 4 different countries at the time – UK, Australia, New Zealand and Japan).

At the same time, I was relocating from New Zealand back to the UK during the application process so I had to juggle getting these documents together alongside moving across the planet!

My whole IEC application process took from December 2022 to October 2023. I was 32 when I started my IEC application timeline, I was 33 once my Port of Entry Letter was issued, and I was 34 by the time I arrived in Canada and activated my Work Permit!

For many of you, the application process could be a lot quicker and simpler, particularly if you have only lived in one country before. If you are prepared with all of the documents and can submit your biometrics quickly, you could submit your application and receive your POE letter within 1 month. For most people, the timeline takes longer (approx 3-months). For me, it took 10-months!

IEC Application Deadlines

At each step of the IEC application process, IRCC will issue deadlines to complete the tasks.

• Once you get an invitation to apply, you have 10 days to start your visa application.

• Once started, you then have 20 days to submit your application.

• After submitting your application, you have 30 days to provide Biometrics.

Of course, sometimes it is not possible to meet the deadlines because you might be waiting for documents like Police Certificates to arrive. In that case, you can ask IRCC for an extension to the deadline.

Requesting Extensions From IRCC

A lot of time during my IEC application timeline was spent waiting for documents, and I had to ask for several extensions from IRCC, which thankfully was very easy and always approved!

To request an extension, you need to simply write an explanation of the document you are waiting for with a description of when you applied for it, why it is taking so long and when you estimate to receive it by. Submit this to IRCC as a ‘Client Information Letter’.

IRCC will review your request and issue a new deadline to upload the document. If you still don’t have the document by the deadline, you simply need to request another extension and provide an update on what is happening.

I did drag out my application a little bit because I waited until the deadline was approaching to submit/action anything. I did this so that I could use as much of the time as was allowed to gather the documents.

Documents Required To Apply For International Experience Canada

• Family Form (IMM 5707). This form provides information on your parents and spouse or common-law partner to the Canadian government. You need to include their names, date of birth, address and occupation. You can download this form from the IRCC website.

• Chronological CV since age 18. The Canadian Government wants to know where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing every year of your adult life. It needs to include all your education, travel, volunteering, and work experiences, including unemployment.

• Passport photo page. Plus scans of every passport page that has a stamp.

• Passport-style photo of yourself.

• Police Certificates. In most cases, you need to get a police certificate for any country you have lived in for longer than 6 consecutive months since the age of 18. There are different rules for different countries, so make sure to read the requirements on the IRCC website.

• Medical Exam. Not everyone will require a medical exam as it is only required if you have recently lived or travelled in certain countries or plan to work in a specific field such as health care, child care, or education.

• Proof of Residency. Only certain citizens are required to provide proof of residency, so check the requirements on IRCC.

• RO Letter. If that applies to you.

You can check the requirements for International Experience Canada here on the IRCC website.

Documents You Need To Enter Canada

You don’t need these documents to apply for an International Experience Canada Work Permit, but you need to make sure you have them for your arrival in Canada.

• Port Of Entry Letter. This is the approval document for your IEC visa and needs to be exchanged for the Work Permit once you enter Canada and speak with an Immigration Officer.

• Bank Statement / Proof of Funds. This must be issued no more than 1 week before your departure for Canada, showing you have at least $2,500 CAD, but you should ideally have a LOT more than that saved up before moving to Canada. You can take a screenshot of your bank account or download a statement.

• Travel/Health Insurance. Your insurance must cover the entire duration you plan to be in Canada on IEC. So, if you are eligible for a 2-year visa, you need to purchase a 2-year policy. If the health insurance doesn’t last the entire length of stay, you’ll be given a work permit that expires on the same day as your insurance. If this happens, you won’t be able to apply to change it at a later date. So make sure to get it before you go! I got mine from Big Cat.

It’s a good idea to print off physical copies of all the documents you submitted to apply for your IEC visa and take them with you in a binder/folder to have ready to show the Immigration Officer when you arrive in Canada!

Related Read: IEC Arrival Experience – Moving To Canada From UK (Work Permit Guide & Checklist!)

IEC Application Cost

As far as Working Holiday Visa costs go, the Canadian International Experience Canada program is one of the cheapest. At just $369.75 CAD (approx £197 GBP / $268 USD) for the application fees, it is far better value than other Working Holiday Visas such as Australia or New Zealand.

2026 Fees:

• IEC Participation Fee for 2026 is $184.75 CAD, Open Work Permit Holder Fee $100, and the Biometrics Fee $85.
• 2026 Total IEC Application Cost Fee: $369.75 CAD / approx £197 GBP / $268 USD.

There are no fees to submit a profile to the Pools.

Fees I paid (2023):

• IRCC Fees – IEC Participation Fee $161, Open Work Permit Holder Fee $100, and the Biometrics Fee $85 – Total $346 CAD (approx £185 GBP)
• RO Letter £859.

• My Total IEC Application Cost Fee: $1,948 CAD / £1,044 GBP / $1415 USD.

My fees were significantly higher because I used an RO. If you don’t use an RO, you will only need to pay the IRCC fees.

My IEC Application Timeline

In this section, I break down my IEC application timeline for the RO, Police Certificates, Biometrics, and the timeline for uploading and submitting documents to IRCC and approval of my IEC visa.

Submitting IEC Application To IRCC & Document Upload Timeline (March – October)

Applications for IEC are done on the IRCC Government of Canada website. By this point, you will have created an IRCC account, entered the pool, and received an Invitation to Apply.

I had to submit and upload my documents to IRCC in several batches as I didn’t have them all ready at the same time. With each submission, if I was waiting for another document, I would include a ‘Client Information Letter’ with an explanation and request an extension.

This section of timeline is after being successfully selected for an RO place in the BUNAC ballot (December 2022 – March 2023) – my experience with the RO process is documented in the next section.

30 March 2023 – Received an Invitation To Apply for the International Experience Canada work permit program from IRCC. (deadline to start application 9 April).

Once you get an Invitation To Apply you have 10 days to start your visa application. So, I started on the 9th day.

8 April 2023 – Started IEC Application. Once started, you then have 20 days to submit your application (deadline 28 April). I’d recommend doing it a bit sooner than me and not leaving it to the last day! But you could do it on the 8th or 9th day.

28 April 2023 – Submitted all the documents I had gathered so far to the IRCC Portal.

This included:

• Passport photo page and scans of every page in the passport that has a stamp

• Passport-style photo of myself

• Family Form (IMM 5707) – this form provides information on your parents and spouse or common-law partner to the Canadian government. You need to include their names, date of birth, address and occupation.

• Chronological CV since age 18 – the Canadian Government wants to know where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing every year of your adult life. It needs to include all your education, travel, volunteering, and work experiences, including unemployment.

• SWAP Working Holidays RO Letter (received 31 March)

• Police Certificates I had received so far (New Zealand received 12 April and Australia received 18 April)

• I included a Client Information Letter to IRCC to request an extension as I was waiting for Police Certificates. The UK Police Certificate actually arrived the following day (29 April) but the Japan Police Certificate would take a loooottt longer!

To submit my application, I also had to pay the IEC Participation Fee $161, Open Work Permit Holder Fee $100, and the Biometrics Fee $85 – Total $346.

I received a confirmation of Online Application Transmission from IRCC.

28 April 2023 – Received the Biometric Instruction Letter. You have 30 days from the date of the letter to submit Biometrics (deadline 29 May). Completed Biometrics on 26 May.

7 June 2023 – Received a ‘Request For Documents’ letter from IRCC requesting a complete driver history report from the state I previously lived in Australia, and Police Certificates from the UK and Japan. They set a 1-month deadline to provide these documents (deadline 7 July).

6 July 2023 – Submitted Australian driving record (received 2 May), UK Police Certificate (received 29 April) and another extension request to IRCC portal as waiting for Japan Police Certificate.

23 August 2023 – Requested another extension by uploading another Client Information Letter, as I was still waiting for the Japan Police Certificate (finally received it on 1 October!)

3 October 2023 – Submitted final IEC application document to IRCC! Waiting for outcome…

12 October 2023 – Port of Entry Letter issued! My application to work in Canada was initially approved by IRCC!

The POE letter is required to be issued a Work Permit. The final decision to issue you a work permit and allow you to enter Canada is made after examination by an Immigration Officer in Canada. Once you arrive in Canada, you take the Port of Entry Letter along with copies of all the documents you used to submit your IRCC application to the immigration office to exchange it for your Work Permit!

Recognised Organisation (RO) Application & Timeline (December – April)

My IEC application journey started in December 2022. I knew I wanted to apply for the International Experience Canada visa but as I was over the age of 30, as a UK Citizen my only option at the time was to use a Recognised Organisation. Using a Recognised Organisation allowed UK Citizens to apply for IEC up to the age of 35 inclusive.

Now, UK Citizens can apply for IEC directly to the Government of Canada up to the age of 35 inclusive. So, if you’re a UK citizen and over the age of 30, you no longer need to worry about using a Recognised Organisation for your IEC application because the age limit has been extended to 35!

This change occurred partway through my IEC application timeline, so unfortunately, I had already started the process and paid a whopping £859 to BUNAC to go through the RO route for my IEC visa. An expensive and, in hindsight, unnecessary expense. Of course, I didn’t know they were going to change the rules as I didn’t have my future-seeing goggles on.

If you are over 30 and want to do IEC, check your country’s eligibility here (IRCC).

Note: BUNAC is now called JENZA.

Is Using A Recognised Organisation Worth It?

If you can avoid using an RO or any other organisation which claims to assist you with a Working Holiday Visa for Canada, I would recommend NOT using them.

In my opinion, this RO loophole is a bit of a scam, because applying through an RO literally just gives you a bit of paper to allow you to apply for the visa, and companies will charge hundreds or thousands for that bit of paper for those desperate enough.

Once you have paid for that RO Letter, the IEC application process needs to be followed exactly the same as anyone else applying for the IEC visa, via IRCC.

BUNAC and their partner SWAP Working Holidays did not provide me with any support with my IEC application and they did not provide me with any guidance or assistance once I arrived in Canada on my IEC visa.

I understand in certain situations using an RO is the only option, such as if you are over the age limit set by your citizenship country or if you are looking to do a 2nd or 3rd participation in the IEC program.

I contacted and researched many organisations before deciding to go with BUNAC and their partner in Canada SWAP Working Holidays. The reason I went with BUNAC is because they are a reputable company, the price was the most affordable (even though it did cost a small fortune for the RO letter!) and the process was the most straightforward at the time for me as a UK citizen.

There are many companies that are Recognised Organisations, so do your research and cost comparison to make the best decision for yourself and your budget.

RO Ballot

To be offered a place with a Recognised Organsisation, you have to enter a ballot which like a lottery to get a place. All ROs have a limited number of spots and they are very competitive.

RO ballots usually open in December for the following year’s IEC Pools.

I entered the ballot with BUNAC to get an RO place in December. In less than a month, by mid-January, I’d be miraculously offered a place in the RO program so I could begin applying for my IEC visa!

RO Timeline (December – April)

20 December 2022 – Signed up to Work Canada RO ballot with BUNAC – I entered my details into the lottery to be selected for the RO program

6 January 2023 – Attended an RO Info Session via Skype with BUNAC

9 January 2023 – Canada Working Holiday Visa Pools Opened

16 January 2023 – Selected for the Work Canada RO Program – I received an email saying “Congratulations! You entered an application into BUNAC’s Work Canada RO nomination ballot and have been allocated a place on the program. You have 7 days to log in to your BUNAC online account and pay your program balance in full. Once you have paid, be sure to submit your application so you gain access to the next step instructions. Once you have paid, you must upload your required application documents and submit your application to us through your account before March 31st 2023 or your application may be cancelled.” 

22 January 2023 – Paid RO fees to BUNAC – £859

23 January – 23 March 2023 – Followed the instructions to submit documents to BUNAC and also to IRCC for the International Experience Canada program. I received a confirmation email from BUNAC on 23 March to say that they had received all my documents and they would work with SWAP Working Holidays to process my Recognised Organisation letter. They advised it would take 2-3 weeks.

30 March 2023 – Received an Invitation to apply for the International Experience Canada work permit program from IRCC. From when you receive the invitation, you need to begin your application within 10 days. This means I had to start my application before 9 April.

31 March 2023 – RO Letter Issued – the RO letter was updated to my BUNAC online account. They provided instructions on the next steps and how to complete the IEC visa application with the letter.

14 April 2023 – Welcome email from SWAP (BUNAC’s RO Partner).

RO Summary & Thoughts

Basically, this was the end of BUNAC’s involvement in my application process. Once I completed the rest of the IRCC process and received my POE Letter, I let them know via the online account, and they sent me a couple of documents via email introducing me to SWAP and a pre-departure/packing guide for Canada.

Since arriving in Canada, I have had zero contact with BUNAC or SWAP. SWAP did send me a couple of newsletters every few months, which had some helpful information. But as they only have offices in Toronto and Vancouver, and I am not based in either of these locations, I was not able to get any actual support from them. I did not need it either.

So I paid £859 for a piece of paper to enable me to get an IEC visa!

Canada Biometrics Timeline (May)

After submitting my application on 28 April, I received the Biometric Instruction Letter. All applicants are required to attend a physical biometric collection service centre to have fingerprints scanned and photographs taken.

The deadline to complete this task was 30 days from the date of the letter. So, I had until 29 May 2023 to provide the biometrics.

To book the biometrics, you have to go to https://visa.vfsglobal.com/aus/en/can/ and schedule an appointment online. You can only do this once you receive the Biometrics Letter. There are Canadian Biometric centres all around the world, usually in a country’s major cities. So, you will need to travel to the closest Biometric centre to you.

The Biometrics fee is $85 CAD and is paid when you submit your application to IRCC, so you don’t need to pay anything extra when you go for your appointment.

8 May 2023 – Made an appointment for the Biometrics in Melbourne, Australia.

26 May 2023 – Biometrics appointment at Visa Application Centre. Providing Biometrics was very straightforward and took around 30-minutes. I had to provide fingerprints via a digital scanner and had several digital photographs of my face taken from different angles. After submitting biometrics, you receive a receipt with a reference number on it. Biometrics given to the Canadian Government are valid for 10-years.

New Zealand Police Certificate Application & Timeline (April)

Applying for the NZ Police Certificate was very easy. It involved completing an online application form via the Ministry of Justice for a criminal conviction history check, and a few days later the Police Certificate was sent to my email address.

NZ Police checks are FREE!

5 April 2023 – Submitted online application form for NZ Police Certificate.

12 April 2023 – Email received saying the request was processed for the conviction history check and the Police Certificate was attached as a PDF document. 

UK Police Certificate Application & Timeline (April)

Applying for the UK Police Certificate is relatively straightforward and did not take too long. There were strikes within the UK Royal Mail at the time, so ACRO informed me that the delivery may be delayed.

ACRO sends physical certificates, so you do need to account for snail mail.

A UK Police Certificate is expensive compared to other Police Certificates – the cost is £70.

Applications are made via the ACRO Website.

I also requested a Subject Access Request (SAR) via the ACRO website to cover all my bases. This gives you access to information held about you on the Police National Computer (PNC). A SAR is free and is received digitally by email.

11 April 2023 – Submitted application for UK Police Certificate to ACRO – sent by email and payment made via bank transfer. Received confirmation by email that my application for a UK Police Certificate was received by ACRO.

21 April 2023 – Submitted application for Subject Access Request to ACRO.

26 April 2023 – Received receipt by email that the Subject Access Request was received by ACRO.

27 April 2023 – Subject Access Request document was received by email from ACRO.

28 April 2023 – Received an email saying that the UK police certificate was dispatched by ACRO to my mailing address.

29 April 2023 – Police Certificate was received, sent by post via Royal Mail.

Australian Police Certificate Application & Timeline (April)

Applying for an Australian Police Certificate is easy and can be completed online at the Australian Federal Police website.

It costs $56 AUD.

Certificates are issued digitally by email, and you can also request a hard copy of the certificate, which they will post internationally.

17 April 2023 – Applied for a National Police Check with the Australian Federal Police.

18 April 2023 – Australian Federal Police Check was completed and a Digital Certificate was issued online for me to download.

Australian Drivers License Check Application & Timeline (April – May)

If you’ve lived in Australia, you also need to provide a complete driver history report or evidence issued by the driving authority that you have never held a driver’s licence in that state where you lived.

I didn’t drive while living in Australia, so I just needed to get a letter from the driving authority to say that I never held a licence there.

To my knowledge, this is a quirk of Australia and is not required for any of the other countries I lived in, including the UK, so double-check if you need to provide this or not.

Obtaining one was easy as all I had to do was email the driving authority with basic personal information, and they emailed me back with a letter that I could use for my IEC application. There was zero cost for this document.

26 April 2023 – Sent an enquiry on how to get this document to the driving authority and received a response from their customer service department explaining what information they require and the process for the verification.

28 April 2023 – Applied for a statement that I never held a licence following their processes.

2 May 2023 – Received a PDF letter from the driving authority to my email which I could upload to the IRCC portal. This was also received after I had already submitted my application so I had to include it in a later upload.

Japan Police Certificate Application & Timeline (May – October)

The Japan Police Certificate was FREE, but the process is inefficient and slow. I was instructed it would take several months to complete the process. It did complicate things a little that I was moving from New Zealand to the UK at the same time.

In the end, it took just under 5-months to get my Japan Police Certificate. Japanese bureaucracy at its finest!

To figure out the process, I contacted the Consulate and let them know what I needed to do. Then they instructed me on how to make an appointment and what the appointment would involve.

I did the ink fingerprints in Melbourne, the physical fingerprints were sent to Tokyo, then from Tokyo the police record check had to be sent to the Japanese Consulate in Australia. From there, the Consulate forwarded the document to my UK address.

Mid-May 2023 – Had an appointment with the Japanese Consulate in Melbourne to get my fingerprints taken for my Japan Police Certificate. I had to do this with actual black ink on paper. If I messed up, I had to start all over again. Luckily, I did it all correctly the first time!

16 August 2023 – Received an email that the Japan police certificate had arrived in the UK. I gave a self-addressed international registered post envelope to the Consulate when I applied for the police certificate, so that the certificate could be forwarded to the UK.

1 October 2023 – Japan Police Certificate arrived in the UK.

Further Resources For IEC Application Support

I was very grateful to the Facebook group ‘O Canada! IEC Working Holiday Discussion & Support’ for all the helpful advice I received throughout my application journey. The group is an amazing resource for people applying for their IEC visa, so I highly recommend joining!

You can also, of course, contact me with any questions, and I’d be glad to help as best I can!

Canada Working Holiday Visa: My IEC Application Timeline – Thanks For Reading!

The Canada Working Holiday Visa (International Canada Experience) application process can be long and tedious. There are many documents to gather and processes to follow to submit your application.

I hope this article sharing my experience of the whole process to apply for my Work Permit can provide guidance to you if you are applying for your IEC!

My advice is to keep yourself organised, make sure to set reminders for the deadlines so you can submit your documents on time, and don’t make any plans to travel to Canada until you successfully have your application approved and receive your POE!

Wishing you all the best! – Lauren x

Where to next?: Read my article detailing my arrival experience in Canada and all the essential tasks for your new life in Canada, including travel to Canada, immigration (how to exchange your Port of Entry Letter for your Work Permit), accommodation, opening a bank account, getting a phone number and more! IEC Arrival Experience – Moving To Canada From UK (Work Permit Guide & Checklist!)

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