Is the Canada 2023 WHP in your objectives? New measures are regularly announced to have access to it: quotas, restrictions / easing of measures, etc. ?
We update this article regularly to bring you the latest information about the WHP in Canada.👇
What is the PVT?
The Working Holiday Permit (WH P) is probably the most well-known work permit for young expatriates. It is part of the International Experience Canada (IEC) immigration program.
If this is the first time you have heard of the IEC program, you should know that it includes other work permits. Among them, we can mention the Young Professionals. This permit may be suitable for you if you already have a job offer or if you want to move with your family.
If you want to know more about the PVT, we invite you to take a look at the file dedicated to the PVT!
You can follow our PVT registration tutorial and follow the steps step by step.
WHP Canada 2023 : What's new
Already a PVT candidate for the 2022 season?
If you were already enrolled in the 2022 WHP pool, you will need to re-enroll for the 2023 season. This is because the pool is refreshed from year to year.
An EIC season usually opens in early January and runs through the last quarter of the year. It usually ends in October/November.
For the 2023 season, the first selections began on January 9.
Did you receive your letter of introduction?
If you have already received your Letter of Introduction (LOI) for the port of entry, you have 12 months to leave for Canada and activate your WHP.
👉 New action as of January 2023: Ifyou hold a Letter of Introduction for one of the CIS program categories and did not have time to travel to Canada before it expired, you will be able to apply for the CIS program again in the future.
The Letter of Introduction will have to be expired, after which you will be able to re-register in the EIC pool of the work permit of your choice.
Are you accompanied?
If you have not yet consulted our article The WHP in Canada, everything you need to know, you should know that the WHP is for one person only. In other words, if you go with someone else, you will be the only person holding a work permit. The Young Professional Permit (YPP) is more suitable for people who want to go abroad as a couple or as a family.
If your choice is exclusively for the WHP, several options are available to you. One of them is for your spouse to obtain an open work permit (PTO), under certain conditions. 👇
The conditions you must meet:
- You are married or common-lawpartners and you can prove this status (marriage certificate, invoices, certificates...);
- You have proof of this employment (employment contract, letter of employment);
- Your employment has already started and you can justifyat least three pay slips.
ℹ️ Since the end of 2022, Canada announced a relaxation of the conditions for access to the Open Work Permit (OWP) for the spouses of temporary foreign workers. It is no longer necessary to have a skilled jobIt is no longer necessary to have a skilled job, i.e. a category 0, 1, 2 or 3 job, to apply for a PTO.
This flexibility is a real advantage for all working PVTers who wish to attach their spouse to their PVT.
WHP Canada 2023: Invitation rounds to date
The WHP is obtained by lottery! After registering in the pools, you have a chance to be selected almost every week during the invitation rounds.
At the beginning of the season, immigration establishes a quota for each category of the EIC program. This quota may change throughout the season.
At the beginning of 2023, immigration had announced a quota of 7,000 seats before increasing it to over 10,000 seats. It was then readjusted to 7,000 places in early February.
This first increase follows, among other things, statements by the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship who recently announced a 20% increase in quotas from 2022 to 2023.
Therefore, if quotas are reached during the season, don't panic! You may still have a chance to be selected. Immigration may decide to re-evaluate the quota and increase the number of spots available.
You can consult the evolution of the draws directly from the immigration website.
WHP Canada 2023: processing times
After receiving your biometric data, it will usually take 2 to 3 weeks for immigration to process your application and send you your Letter of Introduction.
To learn more about the current processing times, we invite you to consult the page dedicated by the Canadian immigration. This page is updated in real time by immigration.
If you find that your application is taking longer than the official deadline, you can contact immigration via the online web form.
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