2 Canadians and an Australian, in Rome, beside our bikes.
Oh hello there young, reckless Canadian. Thinking of spending a year abroad in Italy? You're in luck because Canada and Italy share a very special relationship that permits the exchange of it's citizens at their most attractive, impressionable, and dare I say, "adventurous" stage in their lives. By this, I mean this particular visa is available only if you fall between the ages of 18-35. If this is you, come join me in Italy! The working holiday visa will let you live in Italy for up to a year (without it you can visit as a tourist for 90 consecutive days maximum) and you can also work for 6 months out of that year.
What you'll need:
- an application form (available online or from an embassy or consulate of Italy)
- application fee of $160-ish
- copies of bank statements from the past three months to show you are not particularly poor (meaning you must have at least around $1500-$2000 Canadian in the bank, they say you must budget 200 Euros/month. Not entirely sure how they expect someone to live on 200 Euros/month unless you are supposed to exchange your body for rent)
- a flight reservation (you can get a travel agent to book one and cancel it if you can't commit right away, but make sure it's a return ticket)
- medical insurance for the amount of time you want to stay in Italy (mine costed about $700 for 12 months)
- a copy of your CV
- a passport, obviously
Being based in Edmonton at the time of application, where there is not an official Embassy or Consulate, I went to the Sportello Consulare ad Edmonton which is like a branch of the Consulate in Vancouver. We met to review my application materials, basically a process to ensure they will grant your visa. Evidently this whole process is very easy and headache-free for most Canadians and in fact, after sending my application off to Vancouver, I had my passport back with the visa in less than ten business days! Stay tuned of course to see how it all pans out once I get to the country renowned for it's red tape and bureaucracy. Can't wait to have to disclose each of my tattoos...I have been warned by former alum of this working holiday visa, Miss. Bridget, who is currently satisfying her wanderlust in Australia. Check out her blog, Bridging the Gap.
What you'll need:
- an application form (available online or from an embassy or consulate of Italy)
- application fee of $160-ish
- copies of bank statements from the past three months to show you are not particularly poor (meaning you must have at least around $1500-$2000 Canadian in the bank, they say you must budget 200 Euros/month. Not entirely sure how they expect someone to live on 200 Euros/month unless you are supposed to exchange your body for rent)
- a flight reservation (you can get a travel agent to book one and cancel it if you can't commit right away, but make sure it's a return ticket)
- medical insurance for the amount of time you want to stay in Italy (mine costed about $700 for 12 months)
- a copy of your CV
- a passport, obviously
Being based in Edmonton at the time of application, where there is not an official Embassy or Consulate, I went to the Sportello Consulare ad Edmonton which is like a branch of the Consulate in Vancouver. We met to review my application materials, basically a process to ensure they will grant your visa. Evidently this whole process is very easy and headache-free for most Canadians and in fact, after sending my application off to Vancouver, I had my passport back with the visa in less than ten business days! Stay tuned of course to see how it all pans out once I get to the country renowned for it's red tape and bureaucracy. Can't wait to have to disclose each of my tattoos...I have been warned by former alum of this working holiday visa, Miss. Bridget, who is currently satisfying her wanderlust in Australia. Check out her blog, Bridging the Gap.
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