Canada
Working Holiday Visa

To apply for a working holiday visa for Canada you must be aged 18-30 years inclusive and your application must be stamped as received by the Canadian High Commission prior to your 31st birthday or on or after your 18th birthday. If you are only 17 or 32 years old you do not meet the criteria for the Canada working holiday programme and should not lodge an application.

Your passport will need to be valid for the entire length of your stay in Canada. The Canada work permit cannot be issued for longer than the validity of your passport. If your passport has less than 36 months validity left then you will need to state on your application that you intend to leave Canada before the expiry of your passport and that you have no objection to receiving a work permit for less than the full allowance duration. You need to write and sign this statement on the photocopy of your passport photo page that you submit with your application.

No, you do not need a job in Canada arranged before you apply. Please be advised that the working holiday programme at the Canadian Consulate General in Sydney cannot help you locate prospective employers.

No. Your Letter of Introduction is valid for presentation at a Canadian Port of Entry for one year from the date of issue and is not affected if you turn 31 within its validity period.

Visa First is the only company with an online visa status engine through which you can check the status of your Canada Work Visa application 24/7. Check your visa status here.

Your application for a visa to Canada will be rejected if:

• It is unsigned or not signed in the same way as on your passport;
• There is not an original ink signature on the application (ie: it cannot be signed by you, then faxed to Australia to be submitted);
• It is incomplete;
• Your passport page photocopy is unclear;
• The fee is incorrect or in an unacceptable form.

Depending on the circumstances under which you were previously refused, you could be ineligible for the Canada Working Holiday Programme. Please include with your WHP Canada application a detailed written explanation why, where and when you were previously refused a visa for Canada.

On arrival in Canada you should present your valid Australian passport with your Letter of Introduction. The Port of Entry Immigration Officer may ask you for evidence of your AU$4000 in available funds, in the form of your current bank statement, your credit card statement, travellers cheques or cash. You must carry this evidence with you or you may forfeit your chance to be issued your Canada work permit for the maximum period of 12 months. Evidence of your funds will help to satisfy the officer that you will be able to support yourself initially in Canada while you seek employment.

No. While your Canadian Visa will allow you multiple entries in and out of Canada, the time on your visa continues to elapse.  Any time spent outside of Canada while your visa is valid in included in your 12 months total.

Yes. Holders of a Letter of Introduction issued under the Working Holiday Canada Programme must be able to provide evidence of return or onward travel. If you don’t have one, you will need to provide evidence of enough funds to pay for a ticket to leave Canada at the end of your stay.

If your Canada WHP Visa application is successful, you will be issued with a Letter of Introduction, which is valid for one year (this is not your actual working holiday visa). You have 12 months from this date of issue to enter Canada with your Letter of Introduction. The 12 months of your Canadian Work Permit starts from your date of arrival in Canada.  

For example, if you are issued with a Letter of Introduction on March 1, 2007, you would have to enter Canada before March 1, 2008. Once you enter Canada and present this letter, the Port of Entry Officer has the discretion to grant you up to 12 months on your working holiday work permit. NOTE: Canada work permits cannot be issued to exceed the validity of your passport so make sure that your passport is valid beyond the period of time you wish to work in Canada.

For Australian Residents we charge AU$285 for Canadian Visa processing (including all embassy fees).

On arriving in Canada you will be interviewed by a Customs Officer and may be referred to Immigration for further assessment on whether you meet entry requirements under Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. If you choose to knowingly enter Canada without declaring your convictions, you will be liable to be reported under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and could face deportation as well as be denied any future entries into Canada.

Not admitting to a conviction will also mean any future applications for permanent residence will likely be refused.

It is an offence under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to make a false declaration or to misrepresent a material fact on your Canada Visa application. If this misrepresentation is discovered it will prevent you from making an application to go to Canada for two years and may have serious consequences on this, or future attempts to enter Canada.

No, Canada Work Visa applications are processed in order of date received.

Yes, but it must be an original application form with your ink signature. Scanned or faxed copies will not be accepted.

Yes, but they will all be the same and can only be presented once to the Canada Port of Entry.

No. Letters of Introduction will only be sent electronically to your designated email account provided on your application form.

Setting up a bank account before you leave home will mean you can start working and getting paid as soon as you arrive in Canada. Visa First is partnered with Traveltowork and they can set up your account so when you arrive in Canada all you need to do is collect your new bank card from any HSBC branch nationwide. Apply for your Canadian bank account today.

Thousands of customers every year choose Visa First to organise their working holiday visas because:

• We make getting the visa you need fast and hassle-free.
• We are the only company with an online visa status engine which allows you to check the status of your visa 24/7. Check your visa status now.
• We’re visa experts and have organised over 130,000 visas for people like you.
• Our visa guarantee means no visa – no fee!*