What is flagpoling?

This blog post on ‘flagpoling’ only focuses on the International Experience Program (IEC), which includes the Working Holiday. 

Due to recent changes starting December 24, 2024 flagpoling for all other new work permits and study permits has been ended. 

What is flagpoling?

The Government of Canada defines here:

Flagpoling is “when temporary residents of Canada exit to the United States and re-enter Canada within 24 hours to access prescribed immigration services such as the processing of work permits, study permits”… 

In short, flagpoling literally means ‘going around the flagpole’ of the US flag that is raised beside the border office’s building. You will be asked to turn around without entering the US. 

International Experience Canada (IEC) applications are special work permits. They are always considered applications from outside Canada, no matter if you are in Canada or not. Therefore, to activate an IEC work permit (that includes the Working Holiday) you must cross an international border. 

Usually, work and travellers from outside of Canada activate an IEC work permit by flying from their home country to Canada and go into the immigration office at the airport. 

However, work and travellers already in Canada as visitors or on another work permit or study permit and who received the POE (approval) for an IEC work permit, the only options are:  

  • flagpoling at the USA land border. 
  • fly out of Canada and return, for example when returning from a vacation. 

The border officers absolutely don’t like it when people flagpole at the US land border; the government has already ended the majority of flagpoling options for new work permits and study permits with the change in rules starting December 24, 2024.

However, an IEC work permit (that includes the Working Holiday) is not a new work permit, it is an already pre-approved work permit. That’s why you have to tell the border officers you would like to ‘activate a pre-approved work permit’ and show them the POE (see example below). They will only need to check your documents, and print the nice and shiny work permit. Again, activating an approved IEC work permit is not considered a new application. And if you would like to activate a second Working Holiday, it is not considered an “extension” either. Avoid mentioning this term at the border. 

How flagpoling works:

  • Travel to the USA border.
  • Tell the border officer that you are flagpoling to ‘activate a pre-approved work permit’.
    • Don’t use the expression ‘apply for a work permit’, that is something different. You are already approved for one. 
  • They will tell you to go inside the US immigration office
  • In the office, you will receive a Refusal form. They will then send you back to the Canadian side.
  • To activate your new work permit in the CBSA office, you will need to have all your documents prepared and ready to show.
  • Border officers don’t like it when you have to fiddle on your phone in front of them. That’s why you have to make sure you print all paperwork on paper.

What if I am unsuccessful at the US land border?

As of January 2025 there have been reports of unsuccessful flagpoling attempts at the USA land border because border officers don’t understand that the IEC is not a new application, but a pre-approved work permit. Unfortunately, they put all work permits into one pot, apply the rules to all, and are not budging. 

If you are unsuccessful at the land border, those are your options to activate an IEC from inside Canada:

1. If your current work permit and/or POE are expiring only a few weeks from now, wait out the mess until both governments give clarification about the rules. If the rules don’t change until about February/March, see option 2. 

2. If your work permit is expiring very soon (within 5-7 days) you have two options:

  • Leave to a country outside of the USA for at least 24 hours, and re-enter via plane
    • For example fly home or for a short trip to Mexico
  • Apply for the visitor record to maintain visitor status (you can’t work) until you find a solution to leave Canada and re enter.

Update January 14, 2025:

IRCC is working on a solution for the activation of an IEC work permit. They advise NOT to attempt going to the USA and re-entering. 

Does the refusal from the USA have impact on my future applications?

In immigration terms, a refusal for flagpoling purposes doesn’t count as being ‘refused entry’. It is only a formality refusal which will not impact any future Canadian applications or travel to the USA.

In all future applications you can answer the question “Have you ever been refused entry…?” with ‘no’. 

What paperwork do I need?

To activate an IEC work permit at the border via flagpoling, you need the same documents as if you travel to Canada from outside. It doesn’t matter if you activate a second Working Holiday or a third one that you got when going through a Recognized Organization. You must present all of those: 

  • your passport
  • your Port of Entry (POE) Letter
  • proof of funds
    • Proof must include your name and account balance and must not be older than 7 days
    • Cash is also considered proof (Cash over $10,000 must be declared to customs)
    • At least $2,500 if you have a return flight
    • More money if you don’t have a return flight (Extra $1,000 should suffice as additional proof)
  • proof of health insurance
    • Insurance must be valid for the entire duration of the intended stay
    • > Here < you can find more information about the requirements of the health insurance
  • a ticket for your departure from Canada or sufficient funds to purchase such a ticket and
  • copies of the documents you provided in your work permit application
    • for example the family information form and police certificate 
    • You don’t need a current police certificate. The old one is fine.

The list of required documents can be found >here< on the official site.

IEC Health Insurance for Working Holiday participants from Europe and UK

How long does the health insurance have to be valid for?

For the International Experience Canada (which includes the Working Holiday) you must have health insurance for the entire duration of your stay in Canada. Your IEC health insurance must cover:

  • medical care
  • hospitalization and
  • repatriation (returning you to your country in the event of severe illness, injury or death)

If you need a new health insurance policy:

If you are not in your home country, and have to sign up for a new health insurance policy, you need an 'already travelling' policy.

If you have provincial health care, it is not sufficient for the new IEC work permit. Repatriation is not covered by provincial health insurance.

If your insurance policy is valid for less than your expected stay, you will be issued a work permit that expires at the same time as your insurance.

If this happens, you will not be able to extend your work permit at a later date. For example, if you only have a health insurance for 3 months, you will get a work permit for 3 months. A later extension of the work permit is not possible.

Check out the insurance options

The best IEC health insurance for European and UK citizens

recommended by other IEC participants who used them

They offer an 'already travelling' policy

Why can I not activate the work permit at an airport?

You cannot activate an IEC work permit at an airport from within Canada because you will not have access to an immigration office from within Canada. You can only activate at an airport if you are flying into the airport from an international destination.

Do I need an ESTA to flagpole?

An ESTA is not required for flagpoling because you’re not really entering the USA. However, because an ESTA is now mandatory for land crossings to enter the USA, some border officers generalize the rule and request to see one.

It always depends on the border officer you get. Therefore, it is recommendable to invest into an ESTA to avoid more questions or get the border officer into a bad mood. There will be no point in arguing about the technicality of the ESTA rule. 

Can I flagpole at any US border?

Did you know that the Canada-United States border has over 100 land crossings? 

Some very small borders are not open 24/7, they are closed at night. Therefore it is best if you flagpole at a bigger border. The risk you have at a smaller border is that the border officers there don’t know the IEC program and they might send you away with the excuse “it is not possible to activate at a border, you must apply online”. This is incorrect. Or even worse, they issue a work permit with mistakes in the expiry date.  

Can I take a trip to the US and then activate the work permit when I return?

Yes, that is absolutely fine. But then you are officially entering the US and it is not considered ‘flagpoling’ anymore. For this, an ESTA is mandatory. If you are admitted into the USA, you will receive an i-94 that allows you to stay in the USA for 90 days. 

Depending on where you live, you can either make a day trip to Seattle or New York, or visit Niagara Falls, or just go for a shopping day and fill up the gas on the way back if it is cheaper in the USA. 

Or go on a longer road trip through the USA. When you return, at the Canadian border you tell the border officers that you would like to activate a pre-approved work permit. Then they will instruct you to go into the immigration office.

Review your work permit

No matter how fast you want to leave that stressful immigration office, it is very important that you check all the details on the work permit before you leave the immigration desk! Have it corrected immediately by the border agent if something is wrong. Getting it corrected after you left is a major pain and must be done via paper application.

  • Make sure your name is spelled correctly.
  • Check the expiry date shown under the “Valid until” box.
  • If you did a medical exam, you should not have medical restrictions on your work permit.

  • Your Working Holiday work permit should show: 

    • “open” employer

    • “open” location

Something else I have to think about?

The only thing that needs to be done after you activated the work permit, is

  • apply for the SIN at a Service Canada location if it is your first Canadian work permit
  • extend your existing SIN if you activate another work permit (The SIN always expires with a work permit)
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