Can I have another Working Holiday work permit?
Option 1:
A second participation with the same citizenship
Second Working Holiday with the same passport
Very few of the IEC countries allow a second Working Holiday. Enter your country >> here << to read the requirements. Italy, United Kingdom, Croatia and Chile are among those few countries.
Another IEC category with the same passport
Some countries offer other IEC categories, like the Young Professional work permit, which is a closed work permit in a skilled job in TEER 0-3. It means that you are tied to that employer and cannot switch jobs. Please enter the country >>here<< to find out if your country offers another IEC category.
>>> As an overview here is the list of all IEC countries and their categories. <<<
Be aware that some countries also must have a break between the expiry date of the first IEC work permit and the submission date of the second IEC work permit application. This waiting period applies to citizens of the following countries:
- Croatia (3 months)
- Latvia (1 year)
- Lithuania (3 months)
- Poland (6 months)
- Slovakia (3 months)
- Spain (3 months)
The waiting period starts after your first IEC work permit expires. If you apply before the waiting period ends, your application will be refused.
Option 2:
A second citizenship
If you have a valid passport from another citizenship, you can apply for the Working Holiday again with the other passport. The requirement is that the other country participates in the IEC program. The requirements of the second country apply. Please enter the country >>here<< to find out the requirements of the country you have the second citizenship for.
What is the process for the application with another citizenship?
- Apply to the pool of the second citizenship as usual. For example, if you used the first participation under the UK passport and now would like to use a French passport, you will need to apply into the French pool. This happens automatically when you enter the passport data in the profile.
- Once you have received an invitation, you have to upload the documents as usual, but you have to keep two important points in mind:
Answer the question of whether you have ever participated in the IEC with “No“. Because with this passport you apply for the first time.
Answer the question of whether you have ever applied for a visa/work permit with “Yes“. A field opens where you can enter additional information. Mention here,
- that you are a dual citizen (name both countries)
- that you have already participated once under the xxxx citizenship and now want to participate with xxxx citizenship.
Option 3:
Participation through a Recognized Organization (RO)
A Canadian-based Recognized Organization (RO) that was selected and vetted by the Canadian government offers the opportunity to participate in the Working Holiday Program two more times. And this is in addition to the normal IEC process. The RO are very expensive and the places are very limited, so they are taken within days (some within minutes). Prices on the RO vary between $1,500 – $5,000. A lot more information in an extra blog post > here <.
There is only a small amount of approved RO that offer this possibility. You can find the list and more information >> here under this link<<
The typical RO process in a nutshell:
- You contact the RO if they still have places, then apply there first.
- You pay the fees to the RO.
- You get an RO support letter (acceptance letter).
- Then you apply to the Working Holiday Pool as normal and wait for an invitation
- When you create the profile into the IEC pool, answer the question about the letter from an RO with “yes”.
- Choose the name of the RO from the dropdown list
Does this really mean I can get multiple years of Working Holiday in Canada?
Definitely. You can even have two more Working Holiday work permits with the RO option. You have to be fast, though, so it is best to put your name on the newsletter of all RO you would like to use, then as soon as they open the application process, you can apply.
Let’s use the UK as an example. As a British citizen, you can participate in IEC twice (new UK rule here):
- a first participation of 24 months under any category
- a second participation of 12 months under any category