What the ratings and numbers mean – International Experience Canada

Once the season opens, we provide weekly updates for each category on the Rounds of Invitations page. We share this information to give you an idea of how likely you are to receive an Invitation to Apply.

Understand the ratings

We give each category one of five possible ratings. They are based on your chances of getting an invitation in the next round:

• Excellent = 80% - 99% chance
• Very good = 60% - 79% chance
• Fair = 40% - 59% chance
• Low = 20% - 39% chance
• Very low  = 1% - 19% chance

The rating is affected by many factors, including the number of candidates who have:

• accepted their invitations,
• declined their invitations,
• not yet responded to their invitations,
• let their invitations expire, or
• withdrawn their profiles.

Young Professionals and International Co-op Internship candidates

There are usually more spots than candidates in the Young Professionals and International Co-op (Internship) categories. You will usually receive an invitation.

Working Holiday candidates

The Working Holiday category is very popular. This means there are usually more candidates than spots available.

We will randomly select Working Holiday candidates from the pool and invite them to apply. All candidates in the pool have an equal chance of being invited.

There is also a possibility that you will not receive an invitation before the end of the season.

Understand the numbers

Quota

This is the number of work permits that we can issue through the International Experience Canada (IEC) program this season. There is a quota for each country and category.

Each year, we negotiate the quota with the countries that Canada has agreements with. We can’t share this number until we complete negotiations. We will announce the quota before your country’s first round of invitations takes place.

Invitations issued

This is the total number of Invitations to Apply sent to candidates.

This number may be higher than the quota, because some candidates:

• decline invitations,
• withdraw their work permit applications, or
• submit a work permit application that is refused.

Candidates in the pool

This is the number of eligible candidates in the pool as of the date shown on the Rounds of Invitations page.

It excludes candidates who have:

• not yet responded to an Invitation to Apply,
• started their work permit applications, or
• had their work permit applications approved.

Spots available

When an officer approves a work permit application, we issue a Port of Entry (POE) Letter of introduction to the applicant. Spots available refers to the number of Letters of Introduction we can issue before we meet the quota.

To get this number, we consider several factors, including:

• the number of Letters of Introduction we’ve already issued,
• the number of applications we expect to receive following each round of Invitations to Apply, and
• how many of those applications will be approved.

If you have received or accepted an Invitation to Apply, there is a spot available for you.

At the beginning of the IEC season, it may take time for this number to change. This is because it takes time to process applications. Learn more about processing times.