IRCC Extends IEC Policy For In-Canada Permit Renewals

IRCC extends IEC policy for In-Canada permit renewals, i.e., foreign nationals working in Canada under the International Experience Canada (IEC) program will continue to apply for new IEC work permits from inside Canada, following a recent policy extension by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

IRCC has confirmed that eligible IEC participants can still have their new work permits mailed to Canadian addresses, instead of needing to leave the country.

To qualify under this policy, an applicant must be physically present in Canada, must hold a valid IEC work permit, and must have received a letter of introduction (LOI) for their next IEC application.

Applicants must also request examination and document issuance using IRCC’s web form before their LOI expires. They must include the required text provided by IRCC.

Text 1 – Mandatory For All Applicants

“A112025: I am requesting an A11 examination and the issuance of my work permit from within Canada. My application number is [W#########]. I submitted my IEC application on [date]. I have received my IEC POE letter of introduction, which is valid until [date].

My current contact information in Canada is:

Telephone: [phone number]

Mailing address: [address]

Residential address: [address]”

Applicants must also include Text 2, based on their IEC category.

Young Professionals And International Co-op Participants:

“Employer-specific work permit: My employer, [name], located at [address], may be contacted at [contact telephone or email] to confirm my continued employment offer. I intend to begin work for this employer as soon as my work permit is received.”

Working Holiday Participants:

“Open work permit: I attest that my circumstances remain the same and I still meet the requirements of the open work permit program I was approved for.”

Before this policy, IEC participants already in Canada had to leave the country to receive their new work permits. Many had to travel back to their home countries or exit and re-enter Canada.

Since December 23, 2024, IEC applicants inside Canada have also been unable to activate new work permits by crossing the U.S. border or traveling to St. Pierre and Miquelon. This change made the extended policy even more important.

IRCC extended this policy on February 10, 2026. It will remain in effect until further notice.

Under the International Experience Canada program, youth from 36 countries with youth mobility agreements with Canada can apply for work permits.

To qualify, a foreign national must be a citizen of a participating country and must meet the age limit, which is either 18–30 or 18–35 depending on the country. Applicants must also meet other program rules and Canada’s general entry requirements.

Some countries allow only one lifetime IEC participation, while others allow two or even three.

In many countries, demand is higher than the number of spots available. For this reason, IRCC uses a lottery system. Eligible applicants enter a pool, and invitations are sent out through random draws.

Citizens of participating countries can check their chances of receiving an invitation by reviewing pool data on the government’s website.

Each year’s IEC pool usually opens in December of the year before and starts issuing invitations in January.

As of the time of writing, the following countries are participating in IEC:

Country	Upper-Age Limit	Maximum Lifetime Participations
Andorra	30	1
Australia	35	3
Austria	35	3
Belgium	30	1
Chile	35	2
Costa Rica	35	2
Croatia	35	2
Czech Republic	35	2
Denmark	35	1
Estonia	35	2
Finland	35	3
France	35	3
Germany	35	2
Greece	35	2
Hong Kong	30	1
Iceland	30	1
Ireland	35	3
Italy	35	2
Japan	30	2
Korea, Rep.	35	2
Latvia	35	2
Lithuania	35	2
Luxembourg	35	1
Netherlands	30	2
New Zealand	35	1
Norway	35	2
Poland	35	2
Portugal	35	1
San Marino	35	2
Slovakia	35	2
Slovenia	35	2
Spain	35	2
Sweden	30	2
Switzerland	35	2
Taiwan	35	1
United Kingdom	35	2

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