Canada Working Holiday Program for youth

The Italy-Canada Working Holiday Program


The youth exchange “Working Holiday” program allows young Canadians between the ages of 18 and 35 to spend up to twelve months in Italy, where they may seek and obtain paid temporary employment.

The Working Holiday visa allows Canadians to work in Italy for a total period of six months, with a maximum of three months with the same employer, from their date of entry into Italy.  The visa is not renewable and participation in the program is allowed once only.

1,000 Working Holiday visas are available to Canadian citizens wishing to participate in this exciting program.


Who can participate?

Canadian citizens living in Canada who are between 18 and 35 years of age.

Where and how to apply:

Applications must be made prior to leaving Canada,  no more than 90 days before the applicant’s departure date for Italy, and  submitted in person to the Embassy of Italy in Ottawa or the Consulates General of Italy in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, depending on the applicant’s place of residence.

(Consular jurisdictions are as follows:
Embassy in Ottawa:  National Capital Region and the Outaouais,  Counties of Carleton, Dundas, Glengarry, Grenville, Prescott, Russell and Stormont.
Consulate General in Montreal:  provinces of Québec (except Outaouais),  Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island  and Nunavut.
Consulate General in Toronto:  provinces of Ontario (except areas covered by the Embassy, see above,) Manitoba, Northwest Territories.
Consulate General in Vancouver:  provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Yukon Territory.)


Applicants must meet the following requirements:

• be between 18 and 35 years of age on the date of application 
• be a Canadian citizen, resident in Canada, and be in possession of a valid Canadian passport 
• have sufficient financial resources, a minimum of 200 Euro for each of the twelve months (for a total of 2,400 Euro); necessary funds to purchase a return ticket and to cover any initial living expenses. The availability of funds must be confirmed by: 

     o bank statements for the previous 3 months (including the month of application) 
     o personal travellers’ cheques 
     o a credit card in the applicant’s name with sufficient available funds to cover costs 
     o health insurance to cover medical costs, including hospitalization and repatriation, for the entire length of stay.


In the application form, the applicant must: 

• agree to purchase, once in Italy, liability insurance and/or extra work insurance, if requested by the employer; 
• state that the reason for the stay is an extended vacation, with the opportunity of securing temporary paid employment; 
• state that he/she has no pending criminal investigations/charges or criminal record.


The application form must be signed in front of the visa officer and accompanied by a curriculum vitae and the applicant’s passport.

Processing time for the visa is 15 days from the date of submission of the application (information regarding the status of individual applications will not be provided).

Once all requirements are met, a visa will be issued indicating the length of stay and the recipient will be given a Letter of Introduction.

The cost of the visa is $154.75 Canadian dollars;  payment is due in cash at the time the visa is picked up by the applicant.


Once you are in Italy:

Within eight days of arriving, the holder of the Working Holiday visa must present him/herself, with his/her passport, a photocopy of the passport, 4 passport-size photos and one tax stamp of 14.62 Euro, to the Questura (Provincial Police Headquarters) of the Province where the applicant intends to live, and request the required temporary residence authorization (Permesso di Soggiorno), by filling out the attached request form. The addresses and contact information of the 103 Questure at the following website:http://questure.poliziadistato.it/dovesiamo.htm .

After having received the Permesso di Soggiorno, the holder of the Working Holiday visa must also obtain a work permit* issued by the Sportello Unico per l’Immigrazione at the Prefettura – Uffici Territoriali del Governo (UTG) with jurisdiction for the area where they will be employed. The addresses and contact information of the 103 Sportelli Unici per l’Immigrazione are available in attached file.


*The work permit is requested directly by the employer, using the attached Application Form and will allow the holder a Working Holiday visa to work for a maximum of six months. Following the presentation of the aforesaid application, which must be accompanied by a tax stamp of 14.62 Euro, the Sportello Unico will summon the employer and the worker for the presentation of the authorization and the signature of the employment contract. At this time, both the employer and the employee must each present a valid identity document and a tax stamp of 14.62 Euro.