Canada and Italy expand their Youth Mobility Agreement

The Immigration Minister of Canada, Marco Mendicino, has signed a bilateral agreement with the foreign minister of Italy, Luigi Di Maio. On 11th December, both the ministers agreed to expand their Youth Mobility Agreement. Through this agreement, more people from both Canada and Italy will be able to get longer working holidays. The Youth Mobility Agreement allows residents of Canada and Italy between ages 18 and 35 to travel and work in each other’s countries for a period of twelve months. Also, they can extend their stay in each other’s country for up to 24 months. Individuals can also secure some professional work experience through the Young Professionals and International Co-op programs. Canada offers an International Experience Canada program for young people that allows them to get some international work experience. As of now, only immigrants with job offers are allowed to travel to Canada under the IEC program due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Now, this agreement with Italy will open up several professional opportunities for the youth of both countries. Since 2006, Canada and Italy have been partners in the Youth Mobility program. Over 1 million people living in Canada have come from Italy. After Italy, it is in Canada that we can see a large number of Italian communities. Also, more than 200,000 young people from Canada have already participated in the International Experience Canada since 2008. Mendocino believes that this mobility agreement with Italy is very beneficial for the youth as it will provide them more opportunities to travel, work, and live in each other’s countries.

What is the IEC program?

International Experience Canada is designed to enable young people from participating countries to work in Canada for a certain time period. It provides an excellent opportunity for the youth to travel to Canada to live and work there temporarily. Canada enjoys bilateral youth agreements with a total of 36 countries in the world. For people who are interested in becoming a resident of Canada, this can be a first step towards attaining a PR in Canada. One of the best features of this program is that there is no requirement for a Labor Market Impact Assessment.

Candidates are selected through three separate IEC programs:

Working Holiday – Immigrants can get open work permits through which they can work for any employer and anywhere in Canada.
Young Professionals – an employer-specific work permit is granted

International Co-op – students get an employer-specific work permit in their field of study.