IEC 2026 Recognized Organization (RO) Season – Everything You Need To Know

For IEC 2026, all interested applicants will be placed on our waiting list. At Stepwest, spots are not assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Instead, we carefully review each application and only reach out to qualified applicants we believe we can support through our RO program and matches our requirements. Please note:

• Emailing our team about the RO IEC 2026 Waiting List in the past, does not place you on the Waiting List. You must apply yourself once the Waiting List officially opens, not before.
• If you joined our RO Waiting List for the IEC 2025 season, your spot will not carry over. You must submit a new application to be considered for the IEC 2026 Season.

Joining our RO IEC 2026 Waiting List is free of charge. An invitation to a consultation meeting with our team does not create any obligation for you to register, nor does it obligate Stepwest to accept you into the program. Acceptance will only be granted if we determine that we can support you. Payment will only be required after you have completed a video call with our team and have been formally accepted into the program for the upcoming IEC season. A confirmation email of acceptance will be sent to you at that time.

See below the steps on how the process will look like so you know what to expect:

1. Submit our Application Form here

Do not apply before the waiting list opens, as your application will not be considered. Once you apply, you will receive a confirmation email, then it’s time to wait. Please note that we may contact selected applicants at any point before or during the IEC season.

Make sure to select your program of preference:

• RO Working Holiday 2026: Open work permit
• RO Young Professional 2026: Employer-specific work permit under specific TEER

Do NOT submit multiple applications, as by doing so, you will be moving your application down on the list of applicants.

If you apply for a different program from our selection list, you will not be placed on the RO IEC 2026 Waiting List. In this case, you must reapply under the correct program. Please do not email us to request changes, as we are unable to make them.

Please remember that if you are in Canada, do not select your nationality as “Canada”, if you do so, our system will disregard your application automatically, so you will not be considered. Nationality is your country of Citizenship, not where you are located today.

Please submit your application with your most up-to-date resume. Your resume should include your current location, email, contact number, work experience, and education. Please list the countries where you completed each period of study or work since your 18th birthday. Our team will use your resume to review your background, and if there is an error in your application form, we can still find your correct details from your resume. Please note: if you submit an outdated resume with insufficient information, we will not be able to contact you.

2. Confirmation Email – You are now on the Waiting List!

You will receive an email confirming that you have been added to our Waiting List (please allow a few minutes for the email to arrive) Please note that we receive way more applications than spots available, so we can not guarantee we will be able to help every applicant who submits an application.

Once you are on our waiting list, we might contact you by email and/or phone to arrange a free meeting, review the RO program details, and determine if we can work together. Please note that our team may contact you at any time during the IEC season, as circumstances may change. Unfortunately, we cannot provide an exact timeline.

Please check your spam folder, especially if you are using a Hotmail, Outlook, or iCloud email account. If you are currently in Canada, be sure to provide a valid contact phone number, as we may need to call you if your email bounce back.

Once contacted, you will have 72 hours from the time the email is sent to confirm your meeting date and time with us. If we do not receive your booking confirmation within this timeframe, your application will be removed from the RO IEC 2026 Waiting List, and no further booking emails will be sent.

If removed, you may rejoin the Waiting List; however, you will need to start again from the beginning, and your previous position will not be retained.

3. If selected, we will contact you for a free meeting

We want to meet you! This free meeting with our team is designed to provide you with all the information you need about our RO program so you can decide if it’s the right fit for you, and for us to confirm that we can support you. In some specific cases, we may not be able to help. Please note: If you are in Canada, you must maintain valid legal status throughout the entire RO process in order to participate in our RO IEC program. Please note that Stepwest is not a licensed immigration consultant and, as such, cannot provide immigration advice.

We want to make sure we’re aligned before asking you to pay the program fee. If you are accepted after the meeting, you will receive a confirmation email from us with instructions to register and move forward. Please remember that Stepwest will never request payment unless you have been officially accepted into our program and have received a confirmation email directly from us.

4. RO IEC 2026 Season

Once you are officially accepted into our RO program, we will send you registration instructions. At that point, you’ll be able to complete your program payment and will then be ready to start working with our team to prepare for the opening of IEC 2026 Season.

⚠️ Important: Registered participants will not be able to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) until the IEC 2026 season officially opens. Please note that ITAs are issued exclusively by International Experience Canada (IEC), and Stepwest has no control over the opening dates.

In the meantime, we are committed to keeping close communication with our participants and providing guidance so they can prepare their documents in advance.