Advice About Visas & Immigration - internship &
work exchange
I want to take part in an internship or work exchange
program in Canada...
In Canada a work term, practicum or internship is considered
employment, even if it is only for a short period of
time and/or unpaid. A work permit is therefore required.
The Government of Canada has signed bilateral agreements concerning student
work term exchanges. Below you will find information on the existing bilateral
programs in Germany and the Netherlands.
Under these programs a certain number of work permits
is issued every year. Some of these programs are “open”,
i.e. no job offer is required when applying for the
work permit, some require an offer of employment. For
the latter programs you should obtain from your prospective
employer in Canada a letter/job offer, clearly outlining
the dates, duration, title, salary and benefits such
as accommodation or meals, etc.
As a rule, the programs are open only to citizens of
the signatory countries. Temporary residents of those
countries cannot participate except for the bilateral
work term agreements between universities, which are
open to students enrolled in participating universities.
Please contact the student office of your university
to see if such an agreement exists. Citizens of other
countries can consult the web site of the Canadian
Embassy responsible for their country of origin,
or our general information on work
permits.
• For further information on any of the programs listed below you should
contact the organization responsible directly.
• The Immigration Section does not have lists of job offers or employers
and we cannot help you in your job search.
• Please note that quotas exist for these programs, only a limited number
of applications can be approved under each program each year. You must decide on a certain program, i.e. you cannot apply for several programs at the same time.
• Persons intending to work in a primary/secondary education field or a
health field are required to undertake a medical examination.
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