Canadian Experience Class

As of January 1st, 2015 all Canadian permanent residence applications under the  Canadian Experience Class are managed by the Express Entry (EE) system.

Canadian Experience Class Eligibility

The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program is for individuals who already have skilled work experience in Canada and want to immigrate to Canada  permanently.

Self-employment and work experience gained while you were a full-time student (for example, on a co-op work term) does not count under Canadian Experience Class  (CEC) program.

Requirements

You need to meet these requirements to apply under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC):

  • Plan to live outside the province of Quebec,
  • Have at least 12 months of full-time (or an equal amount in part-time) skilled work experience in Canada in the three years before you apply,
  • Have gained your experience in Canada with the proper authorization,
  • Meet the minimum language requirements needed for your job for each language ability (speaking, reading, writing, and listening),

Skilled Work Experience

To be considered for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) you need to have Canadian skilled work experience within three years of applying.

According to the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC), skilled work experience means:

  • Managerial jobs (NOC skill type 0)
  • Professional jobs (NOC skill type A)
  • Technical jobs and skilled trades (NOC skill type B)

You must have at least 12 months of full-time, or an equal amount in part-time (1560 hours/year), skilled work experience. Full-time work means at least 30 hours of paid work per week.

To find out which group your job falls under, see the list of jobs and their NOC groups. Follow the steps to find the NOC group that matches your job. You must show that you did the duties set out in the lead statement of the occupational description in the NOC, including all the essential duties and most of the main duties listed.

If the details and list of main duties for a job under NOC skill types 0, A or B match what you did while you worked in Canada, your job is likely in that group. If it does not, look at the list to see if another job matches your experience.

If your existing work permit is about to expire you may be eligible for a bringing open work permit. Bridging open work permits allow qualified applicants to keep working while they await a final decision on their permanent residence application.

Education

  • A Canadian secondary (high school) diploma, or a post-secondary certificate, diploma, degree, or educational credential, or
  • A foreign educational credential and an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) by an agency approved by CIC to show it is equal to a completed Canadian secondary or post-secondary educational credential and to verify the authenticity of the foreign educational institution.

Language Ability

You must meet the minimum language requirements:

  • Meet minimum language level of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) of 7 for NOC  A or B jobs, OR Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) of 5 for NOC  B jobs, and
  • Take a language test approved by CIC that shows you meet the level for speaking, listening, reading and writing. You need to include the results of the language test when you apply. Entry profile.

Your language test results must not be more than two years old on the day you apply for permanent residence (Express Entry Step 1).

Principal Applicant

If you are married or live with a common-law partner in Canada, and that person also meets the above conditions, you can decide which one of you will apply as the principal applicant under the CEC via the Express Entry system .

A common-law partner is a person who has lived with you in a conjugal relationship for at least one year. Common-law partner refers to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples.

Canadian Experience Class Inadmissibility

Some people are inadmissible—they are not allowed to come to Canada. Many things can make you inadmissible, such as being involved in criminal activity, in human rights violations or in organized crime.

Some people are not allowed to come to Canada. They are known as “inadmissible” under Canada’s immigration law.

There are many reasons we may not let you into Canada, such as:

  • you are a security risk,
  • you have committed human or international rights violations,
  • you have been convicted of a crime, or you have committed an act outside Canada that would be a crime,
  • you have ties to organized crime,
  • you have a serious health problem,
  • you have a serious financial problem,
  • you lied in your application or in an interview,
  • you do not meet the conditions in Canada’s immigration law, or
  • one of your family members is not allowed into Canada.

Normally, if you are inadmissible to Canada, you will not be allowed to enter. If you have a valid reason to travel to Canada, we may issue you a temporary resident permit.

If you have committed or been convicted of a crime, you have a few options.

If you have been convicted of driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs, you will probably be found criminally inadmissible to Canada. But as of March 1, 2012, you may be able to get a temporary resident permit for one visit without paying the C$200 processing fee.

You can also be inadmissible for security, health or financial reasons.

Do not apply under the CEC program if you are not admissible to Canada.

Please Contact Us for more information on this program.

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