CIC Clarifies Work Permit Categories under the Canada-Germany Youth Mobility Program

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has recently updated its Foreign Worker Manual to provide further clarification on the Canada-Germany Youth Mobility Program. Previously, the Foreign Worker Program indicated that qualifying individuals between the ages of 18-35 were eligible for a one-year open work permit, authorizing them to work for any employer, pursuant to the Young Worker Mobility Program between Canada and Germany.

In its most recent update in May 2009, however, CIC has specified that only those coming to Canada to both work and travel are now eligible for an open work permit under this Program. German citizens applying to enter Canada under the Youth Mobility Program for the sole purpose of working in Canada must now have an employer sponsor their application and obtain an employer-specific work permit. Similarly, Students coming from Germany to complete a practicum in Canada may now only receive an employer-specific work permit through the Youth Mobility Program.

Notably absent from the updated Foreign Worker Manual is the previous restriction that the work permit may only be renewed once, along with the requirement that all Youth Mobility applicants submit their applications to the Canadian Embassy in Berlin.