International Experience Canada (IEC) applicants , times

[alt10]

we finally got it !!!

That's my timeline:

IEC Submitted: Feb 28th
IEC Proof of Payment received: March 8th
IEC Conditional Acceptance Letter received: March 11th
CIC Application Submitted: March 22th
CIC Submission Confirmation: March 22th
CIC LOI received: April 12th ;D ;D ;D

 

[beholder69]

Cool, wish you all the best! Will be waiting for mine now, submitted it on April 2nd :-D

 

[iam_toby]

grats dude! all the best.

 

[canadiara]

congratulations! now another task is to find a job.

 

[KayaR]

Cool, wish you all the best! Will be waiting for mine now, submitted it on April 2nd :-D

I also submitted mine on 02 April.

Does anyone know if it is possible to enter Canada on a tourist visa and travel for a while before you receive your LOI?

 

[canadiara]

you can enter canada on a tourist visa, yes; however, if you already have an application pending you might have an issue at border control. you see, the iec program is supposed to be "done" from outside canada, upon entrance they give you your work permit. when they swipe your passport in the borders they can automatically see what applications you have pending with the canadian government. they will ask you what your purpose for travelling to canada is. and that is where the issue is, what are you going to answer? visiting as tourist? no you're not, since you already have a work permit application pending. work? no, since you don't have the approval yet. i suggest remaining home till you get your approval to avoid problems.
what i did was enter canada as a tourist, applied online within canada and after i got the approval, i flagpoled (this is a valid term, mind you) and got my work permit.
if you're wondering what flagpoling is, it's when you exit the canadian borders, you don't enter the us borders, you just tell the border officer in usa that you need to re-enter canada to get your work permit, they give you a paper with handwritten the word across it "flagpole" and then you enter canada again where they process your work permit or pr.

 

[Line.a]

I had an IEC application in progress when I travelled to canada. It is possible just be honest about it. I did get pulled into a room to talk with an officer but that was because I visited too much and left canada and came back 3 weeks later.

 

[beholder69]

Hmmm... Haven't received the answer yet, it's been 21 days, obviously still within the given time frame, just hoped it would be as fast as the previous posters, if only for peace of mind

KayaR, out of interest, did you receive yours?

 

[KayaR]

Hmmm... Haven't received the answer yet, it's been 21 days, obviously still within the given time frame, just hoped it would be as fast as the previous posters, if only for peace of mind

KayaR, out of interest, did you receive yours?

Not yet. I am flying out on 26 April as I plan on travelling for a while before I start to look for work. Hoping I have no issues at the border entering as a tourist while my application is still pending.

 

[beholder69]

Ah, thanks! Hope we do both get it anyway any day now. As above though, you shouldn't have any problems if you are honest about it and you come from a visa exempt country

 

[KayaR]

Ah, thanks! Hope we do both get it anyway any day now. As above though, you shouldn't have any problems if you are honest about it and you come from a visa exempt country

I arrived this morning, I was honest from the start about travelling while I waited for my visa, they pulled me aside to question me some more and when the customs officer checked the computer my visa had been approved..however, there was nothing in my CIC account before I left Australia and just checked and there is nothing there now. Weird! So relieved that it all went well and they didn't turn me around back to Australia!!

I hope your visa arrives soon!

 

[beholder69]

Ah great, glad everything went ok! ;D

I'll now keep waiting...and waiting...and waiting

 

[Dimitris]

Hi everyone. I'm here to Canada with the IEC working holiday visa and just get my second year as a young professionals but my question is..... do I need a new police certificate or can I sent it the same one.? Because for the first year when I get my letter after 3 months I came to canada.so.......?

 

[Line.a]

Hi everyone. I'm here to Canada with the IEC working holiday visa and just get my second year as a young professionals but my question is..... do I need a new police certificate or can I sent it the same one.? Because for the first year when I get my letter after 3 months I came to canada.so.......?

You should be ok, it's tough to tell whether the person who process your application thinks it's necessary, but knowing you have been in Canada since then you should be ok. Just my thought!