Town of Banff

International Visitors

So you’ve made your decision… you're coming to work in Canada! You’ve been saving your pennies and you’re wondering what to do next!

If you intend to work, you will need to:

• Get a Canadian work visa
• Get health insurance
• Book your ticket
• Pack your bags
• GO!

Australia / New Zealand

How to get a Canadian Working Holiday Visa?

1. You need a valid passport, as you will have to send the passport by mail to the Canadian Consulate. A copy of your passport is not acceptable. Ensure your passport has not expired, if it has then your first step will be attaining a NEW passport!
2. You must be aged between 18-31 years inclusive at the time you apply. Your application must be stamped by the Canadian Consulate General in Sydney on or after your 18th birthday or on or prior to your 31st birthday. You must also enter Canada to activate your visa before your 31st birthday.
3. You must qualify for admission to Canada under the Canadian Immigration Act and Regulations.
4. You must not have previously been issued a Letter of Introduction for the WHP Canada, whether it has been used or not.

The best thing for you to do now, if you have all the above requirements, is to check out the two places you can get more information on Canadian work visas:
Canadian Working Holiday Program: www.whpcanada.org.au
STA Travel Australia (for their SWAP visas): www.statravel.com.au 

UNITED KINGDOM:

London administers student work programs for citizens of the following countries: United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden and Finland.

There is no working holiday program available for those who are not full-time students or recent graduates, except UK, Swedish and Irish citizens. Please note there is no student working holiday program for Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Greenland or the Faeroes.

UNITED KINGDOM - Three programs are available:
Program "A" - Student Working Holiday Program (British Universities North American Club - BUNAC)
Applicants must:
1) be citizens of and resident in the United Kingdom
2) be aged between 18 and 35 (inclusive)
3) be full-time students at a UK university.

Program "B" - General Working Holiday Program (BUNAC)
The criteria are similar to Program "A" above, except that it is open to non-students.
All enquiries concerning these two programs ("A" and "B")  should be directed to:

BUNAC
16 Bowling Green Lane
London
EC1R OBD
Tel: 020 7251 3472
Web: http://www.bunac.org.uk/uk/workcanada

Program "C" - Student General Working Holiday Program - Employer specific.
Applicants must:
1) be citizens of and resident in the United Kingdom
2) be aged between 18 and 35 (inclusive)
3) be full-time students at a UK university. Applicants must provide an unconditional letter of acceptance, a letter confirming their return to studies or proof that they have completed their studies within the previous 12 months. Students completing A levels, HND or BTEC courses are not eligible to participate unless they have been unconditionally accepted to continue studies in a university program. This means the document must allow you entrance into University.   However, please refer to the information on Program "B" above.
4) provide a written job offer from a Canadian employer on letterhead paper. The job offer must state the salary, period of employment, job title, explanation of duties and that the employment is full-time. If doing an unpaid traineeship, applicants must provide proof of sufficient funds to cover the work placement.

IRELAND:

Two programs are available.  Both have to be submitted through USIT (please see below)
Program "A" - Student Working Holiday Program.
Applicants must:
1) be citizens of and resident in Ireland
2) be aged between 18 and 35 (inclusive)
3) be full-time students at an Irish university.
The maximum validity of a work permit issued under this program is 12 months.

Program "B" - General Working Holiday Program.
The criteria are the same as Program "A" above, except that it is open to non-students.
All inquiries concerning these programs should be directed to:

U.S.I.T.
9 Aston Quay
O`Connell Bridge
Dublin 2
Tel: 00 353 1 677 8117

FINLAND & SWEDEN

Both countries also have Working Holiday Programs which are administered by partner organizations. Please contact these organizations directly for more information and to apply.

Finland
C.I.M.O.
PO Box 343
Hakaniemenkatu 2
SF-00531, Helsinki
Tel:  358 9 7747 7033
Fax: 358 9 7747 7064
Website: www.cimo.fi

Sweden

International Employment Office (IEO)
Kristinegatan 21
SE-791 60 Falun
Sweden
Tel:  46 23 93700
Fax: 46 23 93796

For more information or to access an application form to apply for your Canadian Working Holiday Visa go to:
http://www.canada.org.uk/visa-info/worker/e_stuwor.htm