The Canadian Experience Class is designed for skilled workers who have Canadian work experience and wish to become permanent residents.
The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program is right for candidates who have recent Canadian work experience and are seeking permanent immigration to Canada.
CEC is additionally one amongst the fast pathways to Canadian permanent residence, taking as little as three to four months to process!
What’s the Canadian Experience Class Program?
CEC is managed under the Express Entry system and uses the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) to rank interested candidates. Applicants who have competitive CRS scores will send an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence.
Minimum Requirement for Canadian Experience Class Program?
You must:
- meet the requirements for language levels needed for your job for each language ability
- writing
- reading
- listening
- speaking
- have a minimum of 1 year of skilled work experience in Canada, in the last three years before you apply—you can meet this in a few different ways:
- full-time at a single job: 30 hours/week for 12 months = 1 year full-time (1,560 hours)
- equivalent amount in part-time work: for instance, 15 hours/week for 24 months = 1-year full time (1,560 hours)
- You can work numerous part-time jobs as you need to meet this requirement.
- full-time work at more than a single job: 30 hours/week for 12 months at more than a single job = 1-year full time (1,560 hours)
- have acquired your work experience by working in Canada while under short-term resident status with authorization to work
How The Work Experience for the Applicant is Calculated
Your skilled work experience must be a paid work with paid wages or earned commission. Volunteer work or unpaid internships are invalid and are therefore not counted.
For part-time work, you can choose to work more or less than 15 hours/week as far as it adds up to 1,560 hours. You can work more than 1 part-time job to get the needed hours required for you to apply.
Extra hours you work above 30 hours/week are also not counted.
You’re ineligible for the Canadian Experience Class if:
- you’re a refugee claimant in Canada
- you’re working without authorization
- your work experience was gained with permanent resident status in Canada
As maintained by the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC), skilled work experience means:
- managerial jobs (skill level 0)
- professional jobs (skill type A)
- technical jobs as well as skilled trades (skill type B)
Your work experience can be in 1 or more NOC 0, A, or B jobs.
You must prove and show that you carried out the duties laid out in the lead statement of the occupational description in the NOC. This incorporates all the essential duties and most of the main duties listed.
Education
There are no requisites for education for the Canadian Experience Class.
If you want to enhance your rank in the Express Entry pool for immigration purposes, there are 2 ways you can do this.
- If you schooled in Canada, you can get extra points for a certificate, diploma, or degree from a Canadian:
- secondary institution (high school) or
- post-secondary institution
or
- If you have foreign education, you can get points for:
- a completed foreign credential, and
- an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report for immigration reasons from a designated organization showing that your education is equal to a completed certificate, diploma or degree from a Canadian:
secondary institution (high school) or
post-secondary institution
Language Ability
You must:
- meet the minimum language level of:
- Canadian Language Benchmark 7 for NOC 0 or A jobs or
- Canadian Language Benchmark 5 for NOC B jobs
- take approved language tests for:
- writing
- reading
- listening
- speaking
- insert the results of the test in your Express Entry profile
Your language tests are valid for only a limited period of two years after the date of the test result and must be valid on the day you apply for permanent residence.
Admissibility
You must be admissible to Canada.
Am I Able to Apply to the Canadian Experience Class Program from Outside of Canada?
Yes. As long as you meet the essential eligibility requirements for CEC as mentioned above, you’ll apply from anywhere within the world.
Is Proof of Funds a Requirement for Canadian Experience Class?
Proof of funds isn’t a requirement of the CEC program. you’ll not be required to supply any documentation regarding your finances.
Does my Internship Experience in Canada Count Towards my Canadian Experience Class application?
It depends. If your paid internship isn’t a part of your education, then you’ll count it towards the Express Entry work experience requirement.
