The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) is a category of the experienced Canadian foreign workers who look forward to becoming permanent residents of the country. The temporary foreign workers are considered to be the optimal migrants for permanent residence immigration to Canada. This is because these candidates already have a good knowledge about the Canadian environment and will be easily able to adapt it. They already have the necessary networks in their community and their career. The candidates who are eligible for immigration should be able to phrase their interests for migrating to Canada. They usually do this by designing an express entry profile with a view to getting an offer for the invitation to apply for permanent residence before they even create an application themselves.
Minimum criteria for the Canadian Experience Class
The candidates must be able to fulfill the following requirements to successfully immigrate:
They should possess at least one year experience their skilled jobs. They should possess a professional or technical work experience in Canada within 36 months from the applied date of application.
They should be able to satisfy the minimum criteria level in Canadian language benchmark that is, 5 if initial intermediate or 7 in the case of adequate intermediate proficiency. Depending upon the job requirements, they should qualify the minimum benchmark.
These candidates should have planned to work out of Quebec. This is because if they possess work experience in Quebec and want to settle there, then they will have to apply for Quebec experience class. Thus, under Canadian experience class, they should seek permanent residency outside Quebec.
Please note, that if a full-time student has gained experienced in work, the experience will not be taken into account for the time he was pursuing his studies.
Minimum requirements
- meet the required language levels needed for your job for each language ability
- writing
- reading
- listening
- speaking
- have at least 1 year of skilled work experience in Canada, in the last 3 years before you apply, and the work experience must be
- full-time, or
- an equal amount in part-time
- have gained your work experience by working in Canada while under temporary resident status with authorization to work
You’re not eligible for the Canadian Experience Class if
- you’re a refugee claimant in Canada
- you’re working without authorization
- your work experience was gained without temporary resident status in Canada
According to the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC), skilled work experience means:
- managerial jobs (skill level 0)
- professional jobs (skill type A)
- technical jobs and skilled trades (skill type B)
Your work experience can be in 1 or more NOC 0, A or B jobs.
You must show that you performed the duties set out in the lead statement of the occupational description in the NOC. This includes all the essential duties and most of the main duties listed.
Self-employment and student work experience
Self-employment and work experience gained while you were a full-time student (even if you were on a co-op work term) doesn’t count towards the minimum requirements for this program.
Education
There is no education requirement for the Canadian Experience Class.
If you want to improve your rank in the Express Entry pool for immigration purposes, there are 2 ways you can do this.
- If you went to school in Canada, you can get 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 purposes from a designated organizatin 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
- 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
- describe the test results in your Express Entry profile
Your language tests are valid for 2 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.
Where you can live in Canada
You must plan to live outside the province of Quebec. The province of Quebec selects its own skilled workers. If you plan on living in Quebec, see Quebec-selected skilled workers for more information.
When you fill out your profile, we’ll ask you where you plan to live in Canada. You don’t have to settle in that province or territory.