Trip to Canada *solely* to Collect Work Permit?

[Canucky]

Hi all,

I have a question about collecting my work permit for my second working holiday program visa, as an Australian citizen.

• I have an approved letter of introduction - expiring January 2017
• I am now 32 years old - when my letter expires I cannot reapply
• My approved permit is valid for up to 24 months
• Due to some unforeseen family circumstances, I need to delay my planned working holiday in Canada by 6 months

... My question is, is it allowed (or perhaps, advisable) to travel to Canada before January 2017, solely for the purposes of collecting my work permit prior to the expiry of my letter of introduction?

I would perhaps stay in Canada for a couple of days (I live in Europe at the moment, so fairly easy to do a quick trip) before leaving, with the intention of returning later and starting my working holiday.

*Obviously* the permit would start from my date of arrival in Canada, but I just wanted to find out if this is something which is likely to cause concern for the immigration officer?

Any advice that people on this forum can offer would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Bs65]

Plenty of people do this when they are not quite ready to stay in the country on their IEC and even more do this to initiate their PR without staying immediately. The only downside is that you need to show the travel insurance for the full IEC term when you make this trip.

You just need to present the POE letter, insurance and proof of funds , no need to say you are doing a quick turnaround unless asked. Thats always the advice with CBSA only answer questions asked as opposed to volunteering information, although honesty of course still applies.

There are no restrictions on an IEC participant entering and leaving the country other than usual CBSA entry requirements and helps anyway being on a visa exempt passport as well as having the permit to hand when coming back in so doing a quick turnaround should be no issue at all.

Add to this that this is last opportunity age wise then is a no brainer to activate the permit by January

 

[Canucky]

The only downside is that you need to show the travel insurance for the full IEC term when you make this trip.

Yep - this was going to be a follow-up question of mine

Firstly, I cannot find any travel insurance that will issue a policy for 2 years - the most I've managed to find is 18 months with World Nomads.

Given that, I would imagine that most people either just show a 1 year policy, or perhaps take out multiple consecutive policies ? e.g. 1/1/17 - 31/12/17 & 1/1/18 - 31/12/18?

Trying not to raise too many eyebrows when I arrive, but obviously the cost of 2 years of insurance is substantial, so it would be beneficial if I could avoid having to pay this...

 

[Canucky]

When I went for my first working holiday I only had 6 months travel insurance - but to be honest I'm not sure what the rules were then.

In any event, I wasn't asked to show it...