Canadian Experience Class

Temporary foreign workers or foreign students who have graduated from a Canadian university are often able to make the successful transition to permanent residence through express entry’s Canadian Experience Class program.

What is Canadian Experience Class? 

Canada’s CEC program is for applicants who have at least one year of Canadian work experience—developed for the purpose of supporting temporary foreign workers and foreign graduates in their pursuit of permanent residence in Canada.

 

To be eligible for Canadian Experience Class:

  • Have at least one year of full-time or equal amount part-time and paid, skilled work experience in Canada in the last three years before you apply. 

  • Skilled work means your experience falls under TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 job categories. You must have performed the actions described in the lead statement and a substantial number of the primary duties, including all essential duties listed in the NOC

  • This work experience does not have to be continuous or in the same NOC

  • The length of your experience is assessed based on hours. To meet the requirement, you must have worked at least 1,560 hours over a minimum of 12 months. Full-time is considered 30 hours per week. Any hours worked over 30 in one week are not counted towards meeting your 1,560 hours.

  • Your work experience must have been gained legally with valid work authorization 

  • Work experience while attending full-time studies will not count. This includes co-ops and internship as part of your study program  

  • Your work experience cannot be self-employed work 

  • You must have a language ability of CLB 7 for TEER 0 or TEER 1 jobs, OR CLB 5 for TEER 2 or TEER 3 jobs, as evidenced by an approved language test

  • There is no education requirement, but including education will improve your overall CRS score

  • You must be admissible to Canada; this includes maintaining valid status if you reside in Canada 

  • You must plan to live outside of the province of Quebec. Applicants who are in Quebec or work in Quebec can still apply through express entry but must prove their intention to reside outside of the province once approved.

 

In Canada and need to extend your status too?

If you are already in Canada and your work permit is expiring, you can apply to extend your worker status through the Bridging Open Work Permit category for economic class applicants. In order to be eligible, you must have an application for permanent residence in place through the federal skilled worker program, Canadian experience class, federal skilled trades program or the Provincial Nominee Class (for applicants with no employer restrictions).

 

Common Mistakes and Grounds For Refusals

 

1. Misrepresentation

In some cases, misrepresentation occurs from an applicant misreading or misunderstanding a question on the form. In other cases, applicants purposely omit information. The consequences of misrepresentation are severe and not only lead to a refused application, but an applicant may be banned from reapplying for five years. Have you received a procedural fairness letter for misrepresentation? We can help contact us.

2. Missing Documents

There are many documents you need to upload in order to submit a complete permanent residence application. Often times applicant’s miss mandatory documents such as police clearances, translations with a foreign-language document, ECA report or a bank letter proving funds. While missing documents won’t lead to a refusal, it can lead to an incomplete application, loss of an ITA and express entry profile.

3. Police Clearance

While missing a police clearance for a country can happen all together, other police clearance errors include not uploading a colour scan of the document, expired clearances or the wrong type of clearance. For example, if you lived in Australia, you are required to upload the Traffic History if you were a resident of Queensland or the Full Licenses History Search if you were a resident of Victoria.

4. Wrong NOC Code

Your work experience, whether Canadian or foreign, is one of the fundamental eligibility criteria of the economic classes. Selecting the right NOC code can be the difference between receiving your permanent residence or receiving a refusal. While the title can be different, your Employment Reference Letter must be similar to the lead statement and duties listed in the NOC

Received an ITA under the Canadian Experience Class Program? 

NextGen has helped thousands of applicants just like you obtain their permanent residence through express entry’s Canadian Experience Class program. Applying for permanent residence does not have to be complicated, time-consuming or stressful.