Canadian Experience Class

The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) is an immigration program aimed to help temporary foreign working and foreign students to apply their work experience and education towards their applications for residency.

Requirements for the CEC Application

Foreign graduates as well as temporary foreign workers need to have work experience in Canada to qualify for the Canadian Experience Class. If the minimum requirements are met, the applicant is eligible to apply to this program.

Eligibility for CEC Applicants

  • Plan to live in a province outside of Quebec
  • Have 12 months of skilled work experience - full time or equivalent part-time. This experience must have been acquired within the last 3 years in a NOC 0, A or B occupation
  • The work experience must have been acquired with the proper authorization
  • Meet minimum language threshold.

Minimum requirements

To qualify for the CEC through Express Entry, you must have at least 12 months of skilled work experience in Canada, in the last three years (before you apply).

The work was:

full-time or an equal amount in part-time

gained your work experience in Canada with the proper authorization

meet the required language levels needed for your job for each language ability

writing

reading

listening

speaking

planned to live outside the province of Quebec

Self-employment and work experience gained while you were a full-time student (such as on a co-op work term) doesn’t count under this program.

Skilled work experience

To be eligible for the 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 level 0)

Professional jobs (NOC skill type A)

Technical jobs and skilled trades (NOC skill type B)

Your experience must be at least

12 months of full-time work

30 hours/week for 12 months = 1 year full time (1,560 hours), OR

equal amount in part-time hours, such as:

15 hours/week for 24 months = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)

30 hours/week for 12 months at more than one job = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)

You must show that you did the duties set out in the occupational description in the NOC. This includes all the main duties listed.

Education

There is no education requirement for Canadian Experience Class. But you can earn points for your education under Express Entry, if:

you went to school in Canada, and have a certificate, diploma or degree from a Canadian:

secondary (high school) or

post-secondary school

you have foreign education, and you have an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report from an approved agency showing that your foreign education is equal to a completed certificate, diploma or degree  from a Canadian:

secondary (high school) or

post-secondary school

You'll only benefit from getting an ECA if your foreign education is equal to a completed Canadian high school diploma or greater.

Language ability

You must:

meet the minimum language level of:

Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 for NOC 0 or A jobs OR

Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 5 for NOC B jobs

take a language test approved by the IRCC that shows you meet the level for:

writing

reading

listening

speaking

You must show that you meet the requirements in English or French. Your test results must not be more than two years old.

For further information, please contact us.