International co-op is a branch of International Experience Canada (IEC). This work permit enables international students to live and work in Canada. Although international students are permitted only to work part-time while studying. But there are study programs that may need the students to work full-time as an essential part of your education and enrol you in a co-op program. In general terms, co-op is also known as an internship.
If you are an international student seeking to get some work experience in Canada within your stream of education, then a co-op work permit is the right fit for you.
However, an IEC International co-op candidate is supposed to have a valid job offer in Canada before he/she arrives here. Also, the candidate is required to work for the same employer at the same location during their period of stay in Canada.
Who can apply for a co-op work permit?
To be eligible to apply for a co-op work permit, one should:
- Hold a valid study permit for Canada
- Pursue a study course that requires him/her to work to complete the course
- Have his/her co-op placement accounting for half or less of the complete study program.
- Have a letter from the Canadian institute that confirms all students in the selected program are required to complete work placements to get their degree
Ensure that you do not enrol in the following courses if you are looking for a co-op program:
- General interest courses
- Pathway programs for any other study program
- English or French as second languages
What is the process of applying for a co-op work permit?
To begin with, the interested candidates are required to complete the ‘Come to Canada’ questionnaire given on the official website of IRCC. This enables one to understand their eligibility for an IEC international co-op work permit program.
Then, one may create a profile, and select to be a participant in the IEC Co-op pool for their own country.
Next, the IRCC randomly picks the candidates from the pool and sends them an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for the sought work permit.
Once the candidate received the ITA, he/she is required to upload all the supporting documents such as:
- Letter from the present school of education demonstrating that the applicant is currently enrolled with them
- A letter of internship bearing signatures of the applicant, employer and the training centre.
- The internship agreement should bear:
- The title of the position offered
- Jobs and duties to be performed by the applicant
- Complete address of the site of internship
- Employer’s contact information
Here, the applicant will have to pay a certain listed amount of IEC participation fee online. Not only the applicant but the employers too are supposed to pay an Employer Compliance fee of $230 through an online Employer Portal of IRCC. Once the payment is received, the employer gets an Offer of Employment number that the applicant is required to provide to IRCC along with their application.
What is the processing time for a co-op work permit application?
The processing time for a co-op work permit application varies based upon the way the application has been submitted and the place where it is being processed. Generally, it takes approximately eight weeks for IRCC to process the co-op work permit application from the date of its submission. But it may vary with the request of additional documents during the process.