manpz85

Hi,

Has anyone from the UK moved to Canada with their International Experience Canada Program visa?

If so then where have you moved to and what was your immigration experience like? Were they helpful and did they stamp a 1 year work permit or were they difficult?

I'm moving to Canada in September hence the reason for these questions.

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Thank you

Manpreet

snofairy

Hi Manpreet,

There is a massive thread on IEC visas in the Immigration Section and a few people on there will be able to answer your questions http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=700551 . When I landed on my first Working Holiday Visa there were no problems.

manpz85

Hiya,

That's great thank you for the thread link.

Former Lancastrian

The IEC work permit is always issued for 12 months on the day you arrive and CBSA issue the work permit. The only reason it would not be issued for 12 months is if the passport expired before the 12 month period.
Thousands are issued every year however there are occasions when they are not issued with a work permit because the applicant is not complying with the IEC requirements of showing CBSA when asked their medical insurance coverage or the proof of $2500 Canadian funds.

On your arrival in Canada, you must have a statement from your bank account that must have been issued no more than one (1) week before your departure for Canada. It must clearly demonstrate you have sufficient funds in your account to support yourself financially for the first three months of your stay in Canada (C$2,500).

What type of insurance must I subscribe to before leaving for Canada?

You must have and maintain insurance for the entire duration of your stay in Canada. Your insurance policy must cover you for:
•Health care, hospitalization and repatriation;
•The Canadian territory (the policy should specify North America, Canada/USA or worldwide);
•The entire duration of your stay in Canada

You must be able to provide proof of this insurance to the Immigration Officer upon your entry to Canada. To learn more about different insurance options, please consult. Please note that the High Commission of Canada to the UK does not have the mandate of providing a list of insurers.

Then there are the times when further checks are made and it is found out that the applicant has not disclosed a criminal conviction.
Just produce the LOI and insurance and proof of funds and its simple.

manpz85

Hey thank you for that!

I was just phoning around for medical insurance quotes and your reply has been very useful. I got some quotes that don't cover North America or USA so I guess I'll need to be re-quoted.

Do you know of any good medical insurance brokers?

Thanks again.

cherryj

Hi - my husband and I moved from London to Canada on the IEC back in June. We flew into Toronto & it was a very smooth, quick process.

We showed our Letters of Introduction to the guy at immigration and he referred us through to the immigration office.
We only had to wait around 2 minutes.

The officer who dealt with us was very friendly and basically took our passports & letters, copied them and then issued the visa for 12 months.

No problem at all.

cherryj

Oh, and by the way we were not asked for proof of funds, nor proof of insurance.

We did however have both of these things ready, as there is every chance that they would be requested.

We had copies of bank statements, and our insurance documents.

We took out travel insurance for the year rather than medical insurance as it seemed the better option. We went with ACE UK as they were one of the only ones providing the full year cover.