Canada and the UK declared the signing of a new work permit agreement, i.e., Youth Mobility Arrangement.

This work permit agreement will be in effect next year & includes several improvements to the existing youth mobility agreement between the two countries. The improvements include: 

  • An expansion of the eligibility age, i.e., 18-35
  • Increase in the visa period 
  • Two additional streams for UK nationals moving to the nation

 

The present agreement is available to individuals between 18-30 years of age, along with a visa period of two years. 

Moreover, primarily launched in 2008, the youth mobility agreement aims to promote reciprocal work opportunities in every country. 

The work permit agreement work under the government’s IEC program that offers three categories: 

  • Working holiday participants can receive open work permits that allow them to work for any Canadian employer.
  • Young professional participants are able to acquire an employer-specific work permit to gain targeted work experience which is relevant to their career path/ studies. 
  • International/ foreign Co-op participants can obtain an employer-specific work permit that helps students gain relevant study experience. 

 

In addition, Canada has youth mobility agreements with 37 other nations. 

This year, Canada is offering IEC to over 90,000 youth worldwide. Moreover, the government plans to alleviate the nation’s labor shortages via IEC. 

Also, over 240,000 Canadians have taken part in IEC since 2008. 

The youth in the UK is well-positioned to transition to Canadian PR after moving to Canada. 

Well, Canada is currently seeking to admit over 500,000 immigrants/ newcomers annually in 2025. Last year, the nation welcomed almost 437,000 immigrants/ newcomers. This rationale for the country’s high immigration rates is to support fiscal and economic health because over 9 million people will be entering their retirement age over the next decade. 

The majority of Canada’s immigrants/ newcomers are welcomed under the economic class. 

Canada immigration falls under shared federal-provincial jurisdiction. Both levels of the government incentivise individuals with relevant work experience to transition from temporary to permanent residence. Well, this is significant because of the research of the Canadian government. The research demonstrated that domestic work experience supports strong labor market results upon transitioning to permanent residence. 

Provincial & Federal economic class programs assess applicants based on their human capital criteria, like age, language proficiency, education, etc., along with other requirements, like having relevant Canadian study or work experience, having close family members in the nation, etc. 

Thus, youth from the UK who arrive in Canada via IEC are well-positioned to transition to permanent residence because of factors like young age, English fluency, Canadian work experience, etc.