Step 8: Activate
- After you received the POE (approval), you have 12 months to travel to Canada to activate the work permit.
- The date until you can do this the latest, will be printed on the POE letter.
- With this POE letter you must activate the work permit at the border/immigration with the required documents.
- If you are already in Canada, you can only activate the work permit
- at the US land border via “flagpoling“.
- or at an international airport after you fly out of Canada and return from an international destination.
You will need the following documents for activation:
- 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 one that you uploaded in the application 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
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.
Your health insurance policy must be in English or French.
The border officers can't speak any other languages and they have to be able to read and understand the coverages of the insurance policy. The insurance company should be able to provide you with an English policy, please contact them before you travel to Canada.
It is strongly recommended to print all required documents on paper.
The immigration officers do not like it when you come unprepared and have to fiddle on your phone or iPad in front of them. Also, there are instances where they are so busy, that they collect your passport and all documents and ask you to sit down and wait. They will not accept your phone as proof of documents.
Do I need an eTA?
Yes, to fly to Canada, you need an eTA. However, the eTA is automatically issued with the POE. The eTA number and expiry date can be found on page 1 of the POE.
I have received the POE, but cannot travel to Canada. Do I get a refund?
As soon as the POE is issued, there will be no refund. But you can wait until the POE expires, and then apply again, if you still meet the age requirement for your country.
If you withdraw your work permit application before the POE is issued, your fees will be refunded.
How can I show proof of funds?
Official wording from the Canadian government:
“You must present a statement of your bank account issued no more than 1 week before your departure for Canada.”
So you should print a bank statement from your bank, that shows your name, the bank and the balance in the account. There are experiences, where travellers showed a paper printed screenshot of the online banking app showing the required information.
