Canada working holiday visa 2013???

LisaIE

Hey everyone, new to this hoping for some wise words or encouragement even! I have been looking very closely at the Canada threads on this for awhile now and i am really considering applying for the IEC program when it opens(January 2013 i think) I am currently at a loose end, and need to do something! I have no interest in going to Australia,i would prefer Canada. I know alot of people on the threads are looking at long term immigration and skilled work but if i was granted a visa i would only be looking to go over for 3-4 months and trying for some seasonal work(if i was to look at going for a whole year i think i would get homesick before i even leave) I am 21 and with nothing holding me back from doing this, but i am not going to tell anyone my plans until i am granted a visa so i would be going on my own which i dont mind as i will be looking at it as some life experience, gaining confidence, getting out of my comfort zone ect and hoping to do and see some great new things so i can arrive back in Ireland with a fresh new look at things. I have never done anything like this before so i would be throwing myself in at the deep end, like the saying goes You only regret what you didnt do and all. so my question is has anyone done what i want to do and if so what was your experience? Thanks and sorry my post is so long

LisaDee

Hi Lisa
I am going to Canada myself in April as I am applying for my visa in January also. I Travelled around Oz, New Zealand and Asia last year with a friend and we met lots of people travelling on their own who seemed to get on just fine and they didnt have any complaints as they ended up meeting other travellers in the same boat as themselves.
I think if your a fairly out going and a confident person you will get on fine. This will be my first time travelling on my own aswell so when I get over there I am going to stay in a hostel for the first week as that is where you will meet up with other travellers.
We met so many new friends when we were travelling it was the best experience ever. Hope this helped!

LisaIE

Hey Lisa thanks for your reply it has helped alot. Sounds like you and your friend had a great time travelling and its good to know there were people doing it solo, makes me feel a bit more confident that i can do the same, and i'm looking forward to finding out just how out going and confident i can be when i have too. Thanks for the tip about the hostels, sounds like the right way to go about things. Its exciting! Now to just get my hands on that visa goodluck in getting yours too, and thanks again

Andrew McCabe

Hello my name is Andrew and I will be 25 at the end of this month and I recently just realized in my boring office job one day that I had no real life experiences so i will also be applying for the Canadian work visa in Dec - Jan with the view of finding a job that I can work my way up in and maybe stay in Canada permanently if I like it. As for being homesick I was always a home bird myself but i have been on long trips away from time to time and I found that if you make friends as quick as possible the homesickness tends to go pretty quick and you start enjoying yourself. Iv done some extensive research on Canada but to get you started you should take a look at this website: http://irishalien.com/2012/06/26/moving-to-canada-some-useful-links/ it has some very useful information and makes this daunting trip across the water less stressful. I hope this helps and who knows maybe I will see you on the plane lol!

LisaIE

Andrew McCabe wrote: »

Hello my name is Andrew and I will be 25 at the end of this month and I recently just realized in my boring office job one day that I had no real life experiences so i will also be applying for the Canadian work visa in Dec - Jan with the view of finding a job that I can work my way up in and maybe stay in Canada permanently if I like it. As for being homesick I was always a home bird myself but i have been on long trips away from time to time and I found that if you make friends as quick as possible the homesickness tends to go pretty quick and you start enjoying yourself. Iv done some extensive research on Canada but to get you started you should take a look at this website: http://irishalien.com/2012/06/26/moving-to-canada-some-useful-links/ it has some very useful information and makes this daunting trip across the water less stressful. I hope this helps and who knows maybe I will see you on the plane lol!

Hello Andrew thanks for your reply, sounds like you have a pretty good plan in place. I'm with you on the being bored and wanting some life experience part thats why i want to do this too, and i really am such a home bird but thats another reason i want to do this, i need to shake things up a bit! And great tips thanks they have helped alot. Thank you for the link too i will check it out now And yes hopefully you will see me on the plane, i'l be the one looking terrified best of luck with your plans, thanks again.

tishd1980

I have a few friends that have emigrated, two to Canada one to New Zealand and they all seem to love it. One of my friends that went to Canada went on her own for a year long work visa and is so far loving it. I'm in kinda the same predicament as you. I want to go visit my friend in NZ next year but can't decide on how long to go for, I'm a homebird and the thoughts of being away from home for to long terrifies me. But you are right if you don't at least give it a go you'll regret it when you're older. My only advice would be just make sure you have enough money saved to make sure if you wanna come home you can. And good luck

louisewalsh23

Hi there,

Just a quick question,

If I go to Canada on an employer sponsored visa (an LMO visa), can I still apply for IEC when it opens for 2013?

I just want to cover myself for the event that my job doesn't work out, so that I still have sufficient visa cover. In the event
I leave my job then can I have the IEC approval ready to fall back on and just go to the border to activate it in the event
it's necessary?

Thank you so much for any help or advice you may be able to offer!

lennyzez

I want to take part in IEC 2013. Am i still eligible. Here is my story below.

I had an open canadian work permit from october 26th 2010 to october 25th 2011. Now i am sponsered in canada with an LMO from december 20th 2011 to 20th december 2012. May i still be eligable for a second open work permit. All this time i have resided in canada.

lennyzez

louis i have a friend in the same position. You can participate in 2013 IEC but you must cancel your LMO and then apply for 2013 IEC.

louisewalsh23

lennyzez wrote: »

louis i have a friend in the same position. You can participate in 2013 IEC but you must cancel your LMO and then apply for 2013 IEC.

So I can't hold an LMO and keep the IEC but not activate it, just in case my job goes ti*s up?
I just don't want to be in a scenario where I leave the job for some reason and don't have an LMO either!

bstar

lennyzez wrote: »

louis i have a friend in the same position. You can participate in 2013 IEC but you must cancel your LMO and then apply for 2013 IEC.

This is incorrect. you can apply for both and use the IEC after the LMO. I know alot of people who have done this with no issues.

If you have an LMO temporary work permit and then went to activate the IEC your previous workpermit is changed is this what you are confusing this with? You can apply for both at the same time and use them 1 after the other without issue.

lennyzez

bstar, maybe your right. so you can activate your 2013 IEC after your LMO runs out. But if you want to use your 2013 IEC (open work permit) before your LMO (not open) runs you must cancel your LMO first.?

bstar

well you don't have to do anything the person at the border will do it for you. Its just changing the conditions on the visa very easy to do.

lennyzez

Bstar, can you shed some light on my situation. I want to take part in IEC 2013. Am i still eligible. Here is my story below.

I had an open canadian work permit from october 26th 2010 to october 25th 2011. Now i am sponsered in canada with an LMO from december 20th 2011 to 20th december 2012. May i still be eligable for a second open work permit. All this time i have resided in canada.

bstar

you probably wont qualify due to the residency requirement I know I've been here since Sept 2010 and I wouldn't qualify for it. Have you looked into any PR processes to see what you qualify for?

lennyzez

damn it. but that doesnt make sense if i have been here employed for the past 2 years in canada and have only paticipated in one IEC ...Its dumb... anyway. i am waiting for the guys at high commision in UK to get back to me also. but they replied to last time saying IEC policies will change in late november. maybe they are being lazy and fobbin me off.. so i emailed them again.

bstar

The full progamme details are will be released then, they are changing the process for all the visas, and they won't have the answer until then.

What are you doing for work? Have you looked into pnp for the province you are in? Will your company redo your LMO and get you a new visa?

The IEC is a holiday visa and isn't meant for immigration even if you get it you will be in this position next year, so you might be better to go through your options now.

lennyzez

bstar. whats pnp? i am on holidays in ireland at the moment but i mite stay in ireland until i can get an open work permit. The company dont have any LMOs left for my job. Its a stupid job anyways. hard manual work. i was sick of it.I want to get a better job in calgary. its booming there so an open work permit would be great. I want a job in electronics. I have a degree in electronics.

bstar

provincial nominee program for alberta its the http://www.albertacanada.com/ainp/

The only open work permit is IEC or a spouses work permit. The rest are generally tied to jobs until you become PR.

You need to go through the CIC and PNP websites and see if you qualify for any of them. If you haven't been working in your degree field you probably wont qualify for experience class as you have to have been working in a skilled role in canada for it.