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Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the French Republic concerning Youth Exchanges [2004] CATSer 1 (1 March 2004)

E104979

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC CONCERNING YOUTH EXCHANGES

THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, hereinafter referred to as the “Parties”,

ANXIOUS to promote close co-operation between their countries,

WISHING to encourage exchanges, co-operation and partnership between the two countries and to enhance the excellence and competitiveness of educational institutions and businesses, especially small businesses, in the two countries,

WISHING to increase opportunities for their young nationals to acquire university training or work or hands-on experience and to improve their knowledge of the other country’s language, culture and society, and thus to promote mutual understanding between the two countries,

CONVINCED of the value of facilitating such youth exchanges, and

RECALLING the Agreement on the Admission of Trainees entered into by the Government of Canada and the Government of the French Republic in Ottawa on October 4, 1956, as amended, and the Agreement Concerning the Working Holiday Program entered into in Paris on February 6, 2001,

HAVE AGREED on the following provisions:

ARTICLE 1

The two Parties agree to simplify the administrative procedures applicable when their young nationals wish to enter and stay in the other country to acquire university training or work or hands-on experience and to improve their knowledge of the other country’s language, culture and society.

ARTICLE 2

The following persons may benefit from this agreement:

(a) young professionals who wish to obtain further training under a contract of employment and to increase their knowledge of the other country’s language, society and culture;

(b) students who wish to complete part of their university curriculum in an institution in the other country in the context of an inter-university agreement;

(c) young people who wish to do a work placement in a business in the other country as part of their studies or training;

(d) students who wish to engage in an occupational activity during their university vacation;

(e) young people who wish to stay in the other country for touristic and cultural discovery purposes while being authorized to work to supplement their financial resources.

ARTICLE 3

1. To be eligible to benefit from this agreement, young people who fall under one of the categories referred to in Article 2 shall apply to the other state’s diplomatic or consular representation located in the state of which they are nationals.

They must meet the following conditions:

(a) being between the ages of 18 and 35 on the date the application is made;

(b) holding a valid Canadian or French passport and being in possession of a return ticket;

(c) being resident in Canada or France;

(d) having the financial resources necessary to provide for their needs at the beginning of their stay;

(e) having taken out valid civil liability insurance for the duration of their stay and, where they cannot qualify for the social welfare system of the host country, proving that they have insurance for health care, including hospitalization and repatriation, for the duration of their stay;

(f) as applicable:

- proving preregistration or registration at an educational institution;

- having obtained either a job under a contract of employment or a work placement under a work placement agreement if the placement is in a business;

- having confirmed, in the case of a stay for touristic and cultural discovery, their intention to stay in the other country individually to vacation there with the possibility of obtaining paid employment to supplement their financial resources.

2. Candidates may be allowed to benefit from this agreement twice under two different categories. The stays shall be discontinuous. The duration of each stay shall not exceed one year. For beneficiaries under Article 2(a), that duration may be up to 18 months.

ARTICLE 4

1. Subject to public policy considerations, each Party shall issue to the other state’s nationals a document granting access to its territory. The document shall be valid for a maximum of one year and shall specify the reason for the stay. It shall consist of, in the case of Canada, a letter of introduction and, in the case of France, a multiple entry visa referring to this agreement.

2. The access documents defined in the preceding paragraph shall be issued by the other state’s diplomatic or consular representation located in the state of which they are nationals.

ARTICLE 5

1. Work permits issued by the Government of Canada in the form of a letter of introduction shall be valid throughout Canada; visas referring to this agreement issued by the Government of France shall be valid in all departments of the French Republic and in the community of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.

2. Each Party shall authorize the other state’s nationals, through a valid document referred to in Article 4.1, to stay for a maximum of one year and to hold employment, if applicable. Canadian nationals, except the category referred to in Article 2(e), shall receive a residence permit when the expected duration of their stay is more than six months.

ARTICLE 6

1. Canadian nationals holding an access document issued by the French authorities for the purpose of working in France shall receive, without reference to the labour market situation, a temporary authorization to work for the specified period of employment. That authorization shall be renewable upon the same terms and conditions within the period of their authorized stay.

2. Nationals of the French Republic who are issued a letter of introduction shall receive, upon their arrival in Canada and without reference to the labour market situation, a work permit valid for the duration of their authorized stay.

ARTICLE 7

1. Nationals of each of the two states staying in the other state under this agreement shall be required to obey the laws in force in the host state, particularly as regards the practice of regulated professions.

2. In the case of social welfare, unemployment benefits and social assistance, the applicable system shall be that of the host state.

3. Beneficiaries under this agreement shall be given the same treatment as nationals as regards working conditions and wages.

ARTICLE 8

The Parties shall encourage the organizations concerned in their respective countries to lend their support to the application of this agreement, particularly by giving the appropriate advice to nationals of the other state so that they can obtain information and look for work placements or employment.

ARTICLE 9

1. For the purposes of this agreement, an overall annual quota of beneficiaries shall be set through an exchange of diplomatic notes. Within that overall quota, special quotas may be determined for certain types of exchanges using the same procedure.

2. The minimum amount of resources required under paragraph 1(d) of Article 3 shall be determined by mutual agreement of the Parties.

ARTICLE 10

A joint committee made up of authorities having jurisdiction to apply this agreement shall meet as needed, at the request of either Party, in each country in turn.

It shall be responsible for:

- overseeing the application of this agreement, including by setting the quotas referred to in Article 9 and assessing their operation;

- resolving any disputes that may arise about the interpretation or application of this agreement.

ARTICLE 11

1. Each of the Parties shall notify the other, through diplomatic channels, of the completion of the internal procedures required for this agreement to come into force.

2. This agreement shall come into force on the first day of the second month following the date of receipt of the last of the notifications referred to in the preceding paragraph.

3. Each Party may terminate this agreement by giving the other Party three months’ notice through diplomatic channels. Termination of this agreement shall not affect the right to stay of persons already admitted under the terms of this agreement.

4. The Agreement on the Admission of Trainees between the Government of Canada and the Government of the French Republic of October 4, 1956, as amended, and the Agreement Concerning the Working Holiday Program of February 6, 2001 shall be revoked on the date this agreement comes into force.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, duly authorized for this purpose by their respective governments, have signed this agreement.

DONE in duplicate in Paris, this third day of October, two thousand and three, in the English and French languages, each version being equally authentic.

William Graham

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA

Pierre-André Wiltzer

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC