Should I pay an agency to help me with my Working Holiday?
Questions like “When is the best time to go on a Working Holiday in Canada?”
Doubtful thoughts like “Can I do it all by myself?” – “Am I too old?” – “Can I find a job in Canada?”
These thoughts are perfectly normal when you move to a distant country so far away from home. It really can put you in a dilemma and you think about taking the help of an agency to ease your mind… Here is what I can personally say about using the help of an agency. Many will explain why it is worth paying an agency. Primarily, it serves to give the worried parents a bit of security that their son or daughter is not lost in distant Canada.
Do you only need help with the Working Holiday application?
No need to waste money on something you can do for free!
There are a ton of free step-by-step instructions for the Working Holiday application all over the Internet. Even this info blog has a detailed 8 step application guide with many tips not to mess up. The extensive FAQ section on this website has answers to almost all of the questions that have ever been asked in the Working Holiday IEC support groups.
Keep in mind, the IEC process (including the Working Holiday) is a lottery and absolutely nobody, not an agency, not even paying more money to an immigration lawyer can guarantee a work permit.
Stay away from agencies that guarantee you a Working Holiday if you pay for their package. The IEC process is the same with the same chances, no matter if you do it on your own or pay a crapload of money for agencies to do it for you. They need to fill out exactly the same information and upload the same documents as you would do…
Do you need help with finding a job?
Then expect to pay even more money for them to arrange job interviews in Canada. The “package prices” you can choose will double or triple… Sure, no doubt, an agency can help by giving you links where to apply. But those links are the same that you would find on the Internet by investing some time to search.
From experience of hundreds of other work and travellers, your Canada plans will change during your first days in Canada. You will meet new friends at the hostel, and want to travel first, or you don’t like the location where you have the job or don’t like the job at all… pah, time to quit! Then the money for the agency really seems wasted.
If you intend to come to Canada for a summer or winter season and work in the hospitality industry, you will not have any problems finding a job. Many employers in Canada are desperate for work and travellers like you.
While in Canada you are actually on your own.
When you pay an agency a ton of money, you should expect some level of support. But believe me, once you enter Canada, you’re on your own. You will have a local contact person with the agency where you can cry yourself out if there are problems, but none of the employees at the agency will take you by the hand and show you around…
You have to take care of the SIN (tax number) yourself, open the bank account, look for a place to stay and a car, the car insurance, a job, etc. An agency can certainly tell you where to get all the paperwork done, when you arrive, but don’t we have free Google to search “Service Canada Vancouver location” where to get the SIN?
“Good support” is really a personal matter of opinion and what you expect from an agency. The majority of the work and travellers who used an agency regret it afterwards and felt the money was “wasted“. That’s the word they use when being asked about it.
The only time you need to use and pay an organization
If you want to participate in the IEC process for the first time, you can see above, why you do not have to pay an agency.
But if you already used up your regular participation for your country through the regular IEC process, and you would like to stay and work in Canada longer, then it is possible to use a Recognized Organization (RO) chosen and vetted by the Canadian government.
With the help of a Canadian-based Recognized Organization (RO) you can participate in the IEC program two more times. Yes, it means you can have two more Working Holidays. More info on this topic > here <
You can do it!
You will become very independent if you take everything into your own hands. And the money you would spend on the agency, can be very useful here in Canada.
If you use the 8 step application guide but are still lost, or have very specific questions, there are groups such as our IEC support group >here<, where you can get many tips and where you will be helped. The knowledge of the collective community in this group is so strong, even an agency cannot keep up. An agency where the employees sit in their office and have never taken part in a Working Holiday in Canada. Let alone been to Canada.
So don’t worry, the doubts will be gone the moment you land in Canada and the inner voice is screaming with no regrets:
