PVT Canada - Working Holiday Permit: 10 key steps
The WHP - Working Holiday Permit is part of the IEC - International Experience Canada Program. This program allows all young French people (18 to 35 years old), Belgians and Luxembourgers (18 to 30 years old), to go and live in Canada and work thanks to a temporary work visa. The duration of the visa depends on the country of origin of the immigrant. For a French person, the visa is valid for 2 years, while for Belgians and Luxembourgers, it is only valid for 1 year.
This permit is very successful because it is very advantageous. With this permit, it is possible to work on the Canadian territory, but also to grant you vacations to discover the richness of the country.
In order to obtain a WHP, you must meet certain conditions and pass a few administrative steps. Here are the 10 mandatory steps to obtain your WHP:
IMPORTANT: Only the Canadian government can issue you a visa to come to Canada. All your steps must be done on the official website of the Canadian government by yourself. You do not have to pay any organization to come to Canada.
1. Create your CGC key and account on the Canadian immigration website
You must first go to the official website of the Canadian authorities and create your CGK if you do not have one.
The CGK will be your only means of identifying yourself to Canadian authorities when applying for a license. Authentication is simple: username, password and security question. Your account will be set up after this step.
(one and only access)
2. Apply for the WHP in the applicant pool
You must start a new application by selecting "EIC-Experience International Canada".
You will have to answer several questions about your personal situation, and then you will be informed whether or not you are eligible for the Working Holiday Permit.
After that, you will be redirected to a new online form where you will have to provide this information:
- Your personal details (marital status, marital status, passport, immigration history in Canada);
- Your contact information (preferred language for communicating with Canadian authorities, e-mail address) ;
- Your work and studies;
- The details of your request (the choice of the Working Holiday category).
Once you have completed this step, you will receive a message within a few minutes indicating that you are part of one or more candidate pools.
At this stage, you do not have to pay anything. Registration in the applicant pool is completely free. Except for your passport, you do not need any other documents at this stage.
3. Wait to receive an invitation to apply
Invitations are sent out at the beginning of each week on Monday night (French time) by the Canadian authorities. You should check the status of your application at least once a week. You may have received an invitation, but you may not have received an email notification. It would be a shame to miss such an opportunity!
IMPORTANT: When you receive an invitation, you have 10 days to accept it, otherwise your invitation is cancelled and you have to start the process again.
4. Fill in a new form
At this stage, you will have received your invitation to apply for the WHP. After accepting, you will have to answer a new series of questions, this time more specific on the 4 themes below:
- Your personal details (potential spouse, former and current country of residence, previous Canadian immigration history);
- Your contact information (phone, address) ;
- Details of your application (health, immigration and criminal history);
- Your employment and education history (information about your education and employment over the past 10 years)
Regarding your level of education. The titles presented are those of Canada, to find your level of French education here is what you need to know:
- The "baccalauréat" level corresponds to the Licence level in France;
- The level "master" corresponds to the Master level in France;
- The "non-university diploma" level defines all technical training such as a DUT or a BTS, for the French;
- The "doctorate" level corresponds to the awarding of a doctorate in France;
- The "Trades" level corresponds to training courses and apprenticeships for a particular trade, such as carpentry or baking, for example;
- The "secondary" level corresponds to the awarding of a baccalaureate (general or professional) in France.
For this part, we advise you to have at least one hour before you.
5. Send the mandatory documents
After completing all the steps of the form, you will need to submit all the documents required for a WHP application. The documents are uploaded directly via the online interface. You can do this step in several times.
- Your passport: identity page and your various stamps if any;
- A passport size photograph;
- A valid police certificate;
- A complete and up-to-date CV;
- A Family Information Form(IMM5707).
It is possible that the Canadian government, when studying your file, will ask you for additional documents, such as
- Answers to additional questions (professional activities over a specified period, criminal record, proof, etc.).
6. Send your application and pay the application fee
Once you have completed step 5 and validated your application, you will be asked to pay the application fee. This step is necessary to finalize the submission of your application. This fee covers the processing of your application as well as the collection of biometric data. The current fee for 2023 is $346 CAD.
7. Make an appointment at a collection point to provide your biometric data
After submitting your application and paying the participation fee, within 24 hours you will receive a letter with instructions on how to provide your biometric data.
At this stage, you will need to make an appointment at the Visa Application Centre of Canada (VAC) nearest to you (it does not have to be in your country of citizenship). It is impossible to make an appointment before you have received your letter of instruction for the collection of biometric data issued by the Canadian authorities.
Following receipt of your instruction letter, you will have 30 days after receipt of this letter to make an appointment to take your biometric fingerprints (your data must be sent by the 30th day).
There are two official biometric data collection centers in France: in Paris and in Lyon. The appointment only takes a few minutes, but you should allow a maximum of 1 hour for your visit.
At the end of your appointment, you don't have to do anything, everything is sent to the Canadian immigration service by the CRDV.
IMPORTANT: You must come to your appointment with your passport (physical), your biometric invitation (paper) and your appointment receipt provided by the VAC (paper).
8. Wait for a response from the Canadian government
And yes! Even if you have paid your application fee and had your biometric data collected, you still have to wait to find out if your application is accepted.
It will take 3 to 12 weeks after you collect your data to receive a response from the Canadian authorities. During this waiting period, they will review the documents you provided in step 5.
Please note that processing times may vary. To find out the current processing time, consult the Canadian immigration authorities' website.
When you receive an answer, still on the government interface, you will then have your letter of introduction a.k.a your document to obtain your visa at the Canadian customs.
9. Celebrate your departure for Canada (milestone)
It's time to celebrate your new life (in moderation, of course)!
10. Coming to Canada and validating your WHP
You can now book your flight to the city you have chosen. With your new status of PVTist, we advise you to take advantage of the exclusive offers proposed by the organization Pvtistes.net with two airline companies (Air Canada and Air Transat).
You have one year to come to Canada.
Also, when you arrive on Canadian soil, you will have to present a certain number of documents to the immigration officer to obtain your WHP:
- Passport valid for the duration of your license;
- Letter of introduction;
- Proof of funds: A certificate from your bank account issued no later than one week before your departure to Canada (minimum of $2500 CDN or approximately $1800);
- Insurance valid for the duration of your stay (Globe PVT, Chapka, etc.);
- Your ArriveCAN receipt (electronic or paper).
If all of your documents are in order, you will have up to 24 months of work authorization throughout Canada from the date of your arrival in Canada.
>> Discover also the experience of Geoffrey, automation programmer in Montreal, who came with a PVT.
