Canadian working holiday visas gone in 12 minutes

The first round of this year’s quota of popular Canadian working holiday permits were snapped up in 12 minutes on Tuesday night.

They were expected to go fast — last year’s first round lasted only seven.

At 7pm, 3,850 International Experience Canada (IEC) working holiday permits were available online to Irish citizens between the ages of 18 and 35 hoping to live and work in Canada for up to two years.

A total of 7,700 permits are up for grabs in 2015, the same number as last year. The second round opens on Thursday, and the exact time will be announced on the Wednesday. Last year’s second round was gone in half an hour.

The permit allows people to work anywhere in Canada and in almost any job. Applicants do not need pre-arranged job offers and are able to bring their spouses and children with them.

The permits are open to people of any occupation, qualification or level of experience.

“The IEC programme in Ireland has proven to be extremely popular,” a spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada said.

Cathy Murphy, of the Irish Canadian Immigration Centre, said the permits were popular because they were for two years, which allowed people time to travel and get get experience, and find a suitable job in Canada.

“Also, the open work permit is attractive to many, allowing for flexibility,” she said.

“Most Irish new arrivals go to Toronto or Alberta’s two big cities: Edmonton and Calgary. Many families were going to Saskatchewan and Fort McMurray, but there have been significant layoffs, so we are seeing a slight shift there. Vancouver is popular for its lifestyle.”

The IEC programme started in 2003. There are 32 participating countries that have bilateral youth mobility arrangements with Canada.

While the working holiday permits are hugely popular, there is a much slower uptake rate for other types of IEC permits available to Irish people.

There are 2,500 permits for young professionals this year, and less than 100 of them have been allocated since the process opened last month, according to the Canadian government’s website.

The only difference between those and the working holiday permits is that young professional applicants must have a pre-arranged job offer in their field.

Almost all of the 500 international co-op permits, which allow third level students to do a work placement or internship in Canada for one year as part of their studies, are still available.

Wednesday’s applicants are advised to have their documents ready and to have a Kompass account set up.

Those who secure a place will have 14 days to submit the required documentation, including Garda clearance.

Last year applicants had three months to do the same.

Applicants must have a valid passport for the duration of the permit, a round-trip plane ticket before departure and the equivalent of $2,500 Canadian (€1,877) upon landing.