For young Canadians, the program provides a significant opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the Italian language,  culture and lifestyle.  The Working Holiday visa allows Canadians to work in Italy for a maximum period of six months from their date of entry into Italy.  The visa is not renewable and participation in the program is allowed once only. 

Who can participate?

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

Where and how to apply:

Applications to the Working Holiday Program by Canadian citizens must be submitted to the Embassy of Italy in Ottawa and the Consulates General of Italy  in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. The number of Working Holiday visas for Canadian citizens is limited to 600.

N.B.  Italian citizens who wish to apply to this program must contact the Canadian Embassy in Rome.

Canadians wishing to participate in this bilateral program must apply prior to leaving Canada.   Application cannot be made following their arrival in Italy.   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 six months (for a total of 1,200 Euro); necessary funds to purchase a return ticket and to cover any initial living expenses.  The availability of funds must be confirmed by:
  • bank statements for the previous 3 months (including the month of application)
  • personal  travellers’ cheques
  • a credit card in the applicant’s name with sufficient available funds to cover costs
  • health insurance to cover medical costs, including hospitalization and repatriation, for the entire length of stay.

Canadian citizens who wish to participate in the Working Holiday Program must complete the attached application(see link below) and present it in person to the Embassy of Italy or to one of the Consulates General of Italy in Canada (see “Where and how to apply,” here preceding).

The application form must be signed in original and accompanied by a curriculum vitae.

In the application form, the applicants must:

• declare their intention to purchase, once in the host country, a liability insurance and/or  extra work insurance, if requested by the employer;
• declare that the reason for the stay is to spend a long period of vacation as a single traveller, with the opportunity of securing temporary paid employment in order to increase personal financial resources, while paying all required taxes;
• declare that they have no pending criminal investigations/charges and that they have no past criminal record.

A PASSPORT must be attached and included with the application form. Please note:  the Application cost is 121.50 Canadian dollars.

Processing  time for the visa is 15 days from the date of submission of the application.
During this time, information regarding the status of individual applications will not be available.

Once all requirements are met, a visa will be issuted on the applicant’s passport indicating the length of stay. A letter of introduction will also be issued to the applicant.

In Italy:
Within eight days of arriving in Italy, the holder of the Working Holiday visa must present him/herself, with their 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 attachedrequest 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.