Understanding IEC and possible express entry
 

Hey there I'm from England. I've just gotten a degree in Banking and Finance and was thinking the IEC route (Working holiday as I believe that is the only one I'm eligible for) might be the best way to get to Canada (Winnipeg, Manitoba) specifically, for me. I've just seen that the 2019 season is closed. Anyone know when the 2020 season starts? Given that it says the first round of invitations was Dec 27th 2018 and the final round was Oct 4th 2019. Is it safe to assume that the 2020 season would start in December 2019?

To get a work permit it says I need to provide additional information on work history. I'm mid 20's and I don't actually have all that much work experience, (7 months in retail and that was 2 years + ago), will that lack of work experience, make it more difficult/impossible to get accepted? I believe that it's possible to get a permit for 2 years, how is the length of the permit determined? I'm potentially looking at living with my girlfriend for 12 months during that, to become common law, which means she could then sponsor me for permanent residency.

My questions concerning that is, in terms of living with her, is it fine if it's at her parents? and what would she have to do as a sponser? From what I understand, getting the work permit and working there for a year or 2 and living with her in for a year in that time would mean that I have a higher chance via the express entry route for Permanent Residency. I'm assuming I could do the express entry application a year into the 2 year work permit so I wouldn't have to leave Canada and possibly get Permanent Residency.

Re: Understanding IEC and possible express entry
 

No, you can't assume that. It has opened as early as October in the past, and as late as March. It could be anytime between now and spring, so just keep an eye on the website.

Nope. There is no requirement for work experience at all for an IEC, you could apply without ever having worked a day in your life and it wouldn't be an issue.

All IEC's for UK citizens are for 2 years. The only time you'd be given less would be if you didn't have insurance to cover you for the whole 2 years, or if your passport wasn't valid for the whole time. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...ext-steps.html

It can work, although not ideal tbh. For her to sponsor you, you need to show that you are essentially living as husband and wife and have 'combined your affairs'. Normally this would be via things like joint bank account, utility bills in both names, joint rental agreement etc, but if you won't be paying the bills you'll have less proof to choose from. So just make sure you get plenty of other paperwork i.e. wills naming each other as beneficiaries, car insurance, and as many shared bills as possible.

You'll need to show you're living as if married, and not just housemates, so start thinking about gathering proof as soon as you can.

To clarify, living with her makes no difference to an EE application. You don't get extra points for having a Canadian common-law spouse. But yes, you'll get extra points for work experience,

So hopefully at the end of your first year, you can either choose to apply for PR with her sponsoring you as her spouse, or via EE, depending on which route you choose.

HTH, good luck.

Re: Understanding IEC and possible express entry
 

Thanks a lot!!! christmasoompa Is it safe to assume though that I would most likely be bypassed if I don't have an offer/contract from an employer in Canada or a letter proving an organization will help you plan your trip or find work in Canada. (These things came up in the questionnaire to determine whether I met the criteria for IEC pools). With the fact it's working holiday, am I right in thinking that it would be one of the categories that runs out of spots before the season closes? So it would be better to apply as soon as possible. I know the 2019 pool is closed and the 2020 one hasn't been announced yet. If I do a profile now will that count towards the 2020 pool or no? Seems to me getting the profile done as early as possible would mean a greater chance at being chosen, due to the idea that some categories run out of spots before the season closes.

It also mentioned how British citizens may participate in IEC once. I just wanted to clarify that the process would be completing and setting up the profile. Then getting an invitation to apply, at which point you submit the work permit application and pay your fees and then you're in? My uncertainty is being allowed to only participate once. I take it that means you're only allowed to go to Canada via IEC once, once you're there you can't go there again via IEC. Or could a situation where I don't get the invitation to apply, mean no IEC attempt again? Similarly if I decline an invitation to apply, does that mean no IEC attempt again?

So the length of insurance would essentially determine how long the IEC is for? So if I paid for 9 months insurance, they wouldn't let me stay a day after that. That would also be the 1 participation in IEC?

I was wondering whether I should wait to be asked for stuff like biometrics and police background and medical exam certificates in the application, or is it fine to have it done before the application pools open for 2020, would it count if I had it done before being asked to?

Could I ask for more detail on the two options after a year, the PR with her sponsoring me and EE, such as what they they would entail and I guess which would be more likely to work and length of process.

Re: Understanding IEC and possible express entry
 

No, neither are required for IEC. It's a 2 year open work permit.

Yes, once you've actually got the visa, then that's it, that's your one participation. But just applying doesn't count, you actually have to have the visa granted.

Yes. 2 years insurance is required for IEC, if you don't have that when you arrive in Canada then you won't be granted the full two years.

Bit of a piece of string question tbh! At the moment EE would be quicker, but processing times change all the time so no idea what it'll be in 18 months. Most likely to work will depend on various factors. Probably the best thing to do is have a read up on both routes on the CIC website when the time comes and see which you think may be better.

HTH.

Re: Understanding IEC and possible express entry
 

I assume you are asking about Inland Spousal Sponsorship (common law).

If you go this route eventually, you and your sponsor should remain in Canada for the duration of the process (other than perhaps short trips overseas). You can apply for an Open Work Permit at the same time as applying for spousal sponsorship (but this only applies to Inland only, not Outland). The OWP should take 3 - 4 months to be approved. Spousal Sponsorship will normally take around 12 months to be approved.

Re: Understanding IEC and possible express entry
 

Thank you both so much!! christmasoompa "I was wondering whether I should wait to be asked for stuff like biometrics and police background and medical exam certificates in the application, or is it fine to have it done before the application pools open for 2020, would it count if I had it done before being asked to?" Got any idea on that?

Re: Understanding IEC and possible express entry
 

You don't need a medical for IEC, unless you'll be working in certain occupations like healthcare or with children.

You can get your police cert now if you wish, although it only takes 2 weeks max to get anyway (you can pay extra to get it within a few days), not sure I'd bother personally.

You'll get a request to have your biometrics done and have 30 days to do so, so don't do those yet either.

Put simply, just wait until you actually apply and are asked for stuff, you have plenty of time to send it in so there's no advantage in having it done now and if you get things done later you may even be able to reuse them for your PR app.