Canada Working Holiday Application: 3 Common Mistakes to Avoid

Among the inquiries we receive from people who find themselves in trouble, the following three issues are especially common:

1. A Working Holiday work permit valid for one year was not issued
2. A condition prohibiting certain occupations was included, so you can’t take the job you wanted
3. You can’t get the SIN you need to be hired

① A Working Holiday work permit valid for one year was not issued

There are several possible reasons why a permit may be issued for less than one year, but the main ones are as follows:

• Your passport did not have at least one year of validity remaining

• The permit expires one year from the issue date of your Working Holiday approval letter

• You did not have travel insurance for a full year

Your passport did not have at least one year of validity remaining

If your passport is the reason, you can renew your passport after receiving your Working Holiday approval letter and before traveling to Canada, then present both your old and new passports when you enter Canada, and a one-year Working Holiday work permit will be issued. Alternatively, after arriving in Canada, you can renew your passport at a Japanese consulate in Canada and then apply to extend your permit. If you apply for an extension, you will need to pay the application fee again.

We recommend renewing your passport before creating your profile, or after receiving your result (your approval letter) and before traveling. If you renew your passport while your application is being processed, IRCC may not be able to link it to your application properly, and once you are in Canada you will have to pay an application fee again.

The permit expires one year from the issue date of your Working Holiday approval letter

If the permit you were issued is valid for one year from the issue date of your Working Holiday approval letter, you can apply for an extension. However, the way to fix it at no cost is to have it corrected at the immigration office at the airport or border where the permit was issued. Once you leave the office, they may not correct it, so when you receive your permit, don’t leave right away—be sure to check the details.

You did not have travel insurance for a full year

The most troublesome case is when the reason is that your travel insurance coverage is too short. To give you the conclusion first: if the reason is insufficient or no travel insurance coverage, you cannot extend your permit, and in some cases you may not be able to obtain the permit at all.

Do you remember the eligibility requirements for the Working Holiday program?

The requirement is as shown above. Therefore, if you are asked at the airport or border to present proof of insurance covering one year from your date of entry and you cannot do so, your Working Holiday work permit will only be valid for the period covered by your insurance. If you cannot present proof of insurance, a Working Holiday work permit will not be issued. Be sure to purchase insurance covering one year from your date of entry before traveling to Canada.

② A condition prohibiting certain occupations was included, so you can’t take the job you wanted

Many people want to work in fields such as childcare, caregiving, healthcare, shiatsu or reflexology during their Working Holiday. To work in these jobs, you must first have a medical exam at an IRCC-designated clinic. If you apply for your Working Holiday without having the exam, you will be issued a permit with a condition stating that you may not work in these jobs.

If you decide you want to work in these jobs after applying, you can have a medical exam at a designated clinic (it can be done in Japan or in Canada) and apply for a condition change after entering Canada. However, there is an application fee, so it is best to have the medical exam at the time you apply.

③ You can’t get the Social Insurance Number (SIN) you need to be hired

A SIN is similar to Japan’s My Number. You must give your SIN to your employer when you work, but many people are unable to get a SIN issued because of the details on their permit.

The most common reason is that the surname and given name are reversed. It seems that many people make this mistake when creating their Working Holiday profile.
In addition, the officer at the airport or border who issues the Working Holiday permit may make mistakes in your name, passport number, country and so on. When you receive your permit, carefully check that the details are correct before leaving the immigration office.

If you forget to check, or the office cannot correct it, you can apply for an amendment, but there is an application fee.

If you are thinking of coming to Canada on a Working Holiday, you probably have all kinds of plans—”I want to do this kind of job,” “I want to spend my time in a way that leads to permanent residence,” “I want to take it easy for a year,” and so on. To spend your time meaningfully and the way you want, the very beginning is crucial. Keep these points in mind as you create your profile and prepare your application.

If you feel uneasy about applying on your own, we offer Working Holiday application support, in which one of our Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants acts as your representative. Please consider using this service.

The biggest advantage of our Working Holiday support is that once you provide the necessary information and documents, an immigration consultant handles everything from preparing the application, creating your profile and submitting the application to communicating with the government, so you can wait for the result without worry. We receive many inquiries about applications people submitted themselves, but after an application has been submitted, our immigration consultants are not the representative, so in most cases we are unable to advise.

With our Working Holiday support, we will answer your questions and concerns about the Working Holiday permit with no limit on time or number of consultations.

In particular, if you are thinking of staying in Canada after your Working Holiday, using our services may give you peace of mind, because we can advise you on your future, such as your next visa or PR application, and we will already know the history and details of this application for your next one.