Canada allows extension for some working holiday visa holders

Due to the global pandemic, there are a lot of Working Visa Holders whose travels got interrupted. Now, Canadian immigration is giving them another chance to enter and travel to Canada as their visas may be eligible to be extended for 12 months.  As a general rule, all Working Holiday Visa is only a once and never again deal offered to people who wanted to come to Canada. However, this time, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) are giving an exemption due to the global pandemic that we are facing.

However, this exemption is only available for all Working Holiday Visa, whose first Letter of Intent (LOI) was issued between January 1, 2019 – April 30, 2020. Regardless if you did receive an extension, given that your current LOI has an expiry date before December 21, 2020, you are qualified to apply if your LOI is already expired. This temporary approach of the IRCC is up and running as of July 30, 2021. Using the web form that the IRCC provides, Working Holiday Visa holders must request their extension until before December 31, 2021 to make use of this extension.

With regards to the medical examination that was required for the application, it will only be needed if the applicant lives in a designated country. An immigration officer will reach out to an applicant to let them know that they will have to redo their medical exam and ask if they are willing to undergo a new one. Given that the applicant agreed, their case will be reopened, having the purpose of submitting a request for a new medical exam. Once your medical exam result is submitted and received by the immigration officer, you may now be granted the extension of your LOI.

In some cases, an LOI may be granted with no new required medical examination if an applicant:

• Has already lived in a select country for more than 6 months prior to the year of the LOI extension request
• Does not intend to renew their medical examination
• Possesses an IME for a job offer from a valid designated occupation

However, if you are a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) holder, to process your application and re-issue your stub, your request will be forwarded to the International Network (IN). Keep in mind that at present, all Working Holiday visa participants must provide a confirmation that they have a valid job offer for them to be able to enter Canada. Instead of a new LOI, a standardized letter response will be issued to the applicant. With that, IRCC advises all participants to bring the said letter upon their travel to Canada as this may be asked to them prior to their entry.

Take note that all Letter of Intent (LOI) submitted will be granted depending on the case of the applicant at the circumspection of the designated immigration officer. If the candidate luckily got approved, the validity of the said LOI will be for a good 12 month period starting from the date of the application processing or the expiration date of the current LOI.