IMMIGRATE TO CANADA : CANADIAN EXPERIENCE CLASS

How to Qualify for a Canadian Visa - Canadian Experience Class

If you are a temporary foreign worker or a foreign student who graduated in Canada, you often have the qualities to make a successful transition from temporary to permanent residence. You are familiar with Canadian society and can contribute to the Canadian economy. You should have knowledge of English or French and qualifying work experience.

More information about the Canadian Experience Class Visas defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada

How Can Abrams & Krochak Help Me?

• Nearly 100% of our clients are granted access to Canada
• We are one of the largest full service immigration law firms in Canada
• Working with a Canada immigration lawyer will significantly speed up the application process and get you to your new home sooner

What's Next?

Find out if you Qualify for Canadian Permanent Residence.

Canada Immigration: Canadian Experience Class

You must meet these minimum requirements to apply for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class. You must:

• plan to live outside the province of Quebec
• be either:
  • a temporary foreign worker with at least two years of full-time (or equivalent) skilled work experience in Canada, or
  • a foreign graduate from a Canadian post-secondary institution with at least one year of full-time (or equivalent) skilled work experience in Canada
• have gained your experience in Canada with the proper work or study authorization
• apply while working in Canada – or – within one year of leaving your job in Canada

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

• Skill Type 0 (managerial occupations) or
• Skill Level A (professional occupations) or
• Skill Level B (technical occupations and skilled trades)

Your application will be assessed on two requirements if you apply as a temporary foreign worker:

• your work experience and
• your ability in English or French

If you apply as a graduate of a Canadian post-secondary educational institution with Canadian work experience, it will be assessed using the above requirements, as well as:

• your education

Principal applicant

If you are married or living with a common-law partner in Canada, and he/she also meets the above requirements, you can decide which one of you will apply for the Canadian Experience Class as a principal applicant.

Note: 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.

A. Requirements for temporary workers

As a temporary foreign worker, you must have two years of full-time (or equivalent) work experience in Canada. Your work experience must be gained within three years of applying.

Full-time work experience means working at least 37.5 paid hours per week.

Skill level — National Occupational Classification

Your work experience must be Skill Type 0, or Skill Level A or B on the NOC.

The NOC is a classification system for jobs in the Canadian economy. It describes duties, skills, educational requirements and work settings for occupations in Canada.

The NOC is divided into five (5) bands:

Find out your NOC category

To find out if your work experience qualifies you for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class, see http://www.akcanada.com/za.html. Search for the occupation(s) in which you have PAID work experience (either full-time or part-time). Your occupation(s) will appear in a list, along with a four-digit number. If the first digit is 0 or if the second digit is 1, 2 or 3, your work experience in this occupation can be counted towards your years of full-time skilled work experience. Otherwise, it cannot.

If the description and list of main duties for a job classified under 0, A or B (i.e. the first digit is 0 or if the second digit is 1, 2 or 3) match what you did while you worked in Canada, you probably meet the requirement for that type of experience.

If the description and list of main duties do not match your work experience in Canada, then you might not have the type of experience you need to apply. Look through the NOC list to see if another occupation matches your experience.

You do not meet the minimum work experience requirement if:

• you gained your work experience without the proper status (for example, as an undocumented worker)
• your work experience in Canada is not classified as 0, A or B (i.e. the first digit is 0 or if the second digit is 1, 2 or 3) under the NOC list
• you do not have at least two years of work experience as a temporary foreign worker.

If you do not meet the minimum work experience requirements, your application for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class will be refused.

B. Requirements for graduates

There are two requirements specific to graduates:

• Work experience
• Education

Work experience

As a graduate of a Canadian post-secondary educational institution, you must have one year of full-time (or equivalent) work experience in Canada after graduation. Your work experience must be gained within two years of applying.

You may get work experience by applying for the Post-Graduation Work Permit after graduation. Work permits may be valid for up to three years with no restrictions on the type of work you can do or where. To ensure that you can apply for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class, at least one year of work experience under the permit must be at Skill Type 0, or Skill Level A or B under the NOC. Your work experience must be gained within two years of the time you applied.

Full-time work experience means working at least 37.5 paid hours per week.

Note: Work experience gained during your studies does not count toward meeting the requirements for work experience. Only work experience gained after graduation can be counted.

Skill level — National Occupational Classification

Your work experience must be Skill Type 0, or Skill Level A or B on the NOC.

The NOC is a classification system for jobs in the Canadian economy. It describes duties, skills, talents and work settings for occupations in Canada.

The NOC is divided into five (5) bands:

Find out your NOC category

To find out if your work experience qualifies you for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class, see http://www.akcanada.com/za.html. Search for the occupation(s) in which you have PAID work experience (either full-time or part-time). Your occupation(s) will appear in a list, along with a four-digit number. If the first digit is 0 or if the second digit is 1, 2 or 3, your work experience in this occupation can be counted towards your years of full-time skilled work experience. Otherwise, it cannot.

If the description and list of main duties for a job classified under 0, A or B (i.e. the first digit is 0 or if the second digit is 1, 2 or 3) match what you did while you worked in Canada, you probably meet the requirement for that type of experience.

If the description and list of main duties do not match your work experience in Canada, then you might not have the type of experience you need to apply. Look through the NOC list to see if another occupation matches your experience.

You do not meet the minimum work experience requirement if:

• you gained your work experience without the proper authorization (for example, as an undocumented worker)
• your work experience in Canada is not classified as 0, A or B (i.e. the first digit is 0 or if the second digit is 1, 2 or 3) under the NOC list
• you do not have at least one year of work experience as a graduate of a post-secondary educational institution.

If you do not meet the minimum work experience requirements, your application for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class will be refused.

Education

Education is only assessed if you are applying as a graduate of a Canadian post-secondary educational institution.

If you want to apply based on your Canadian credentials, you must complete either:

• a full-time Canadian post-secondary educational program of at least two years or
• a one-year Master’s program (certificates and diplomas cannot be counted) and an additional year of education, obtained in Canada, before admission into the one-year program (for a total of two years).

Note: English- or French-as-a-second- language courses do not count toward education requirements under the Canadian Experience Class.

• The programs must be delivered by a private or public post-secondary educational institution such as a college or a university that is provincially recognized, or
• Private CEGEPs.

Note: You must have proper status during any period of full-time study or training.

If you do not meet the minimum education requirements when applying as a graduate, your application for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class will be refused.

Definitions

• Full-time studies – To be eligible, you must have been considered "full-time" at your school.
• Two years of study – At least 16 months—or four semesters—within the 24 months before completing a full-time post-secondary program of study in Canada.

C. Language requirements (all applicants)

Being able to communicate and work in one or both of Canada’s official languages is very important. Knowing English, French or both helps you in the Canadian job market.

You must prove your ability in English or French to qualify for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class.

Your occupation (job) will determine the language abilities you require to immigrate under the Canadian Experience Class. The requirements vary according to job classification under the National Occupation Classification system (NOC).

If you do not meet the minimum language skill requirement for your NOC category, your application for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class will be refused.

Proof of your language abilities

If you have some abilities in both English and French, decide which of the two is your first official language. The other is your second official language.

You must prove your abilities in your first official language only. There are three ways to do this. You can:

1. take an IELTS test to prove your ability in English or
2. take the TEF to prove your ability in French.

Note: IELTS and TEF are the only "designated language testing agencies." Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) uses IELTS and TEF scores to determine your level on the Canadian Language Benchmarks.

Finally, you may

3. provide other written evidence of your abilities.

Note: If your first language is neither French nor English, CIC recommends taking either the IELTS test or the TEF before starting the application process. This will help you find out if you meet the minimum language requirement for your job.

Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) is not a designated testing agency for applicants under the Canadian Experience Class.

For more information about providing written proof, see the next section, Providing other written evidence.

Providing other written evidence

We strongly recommend that you take an official language test if you are claiming skills in English or French and it is not your first language.

If you choose not to take an IELTS or TEF, you must prove your ability to speak, listen, read and write English or French through written evidence. There are only certain types of evidence visa officers accept as proof. It is your responsibility to find out the immigration language requirement for your job AND how to prove you meet the requirement.

Depending on your job, your written proof and explanation must clearly show that you meet the benchmark criteria listed for either Canadian Language Benchmark 7 or Canadian Language Benchmark 5 (see http://www.language.ca/display_page.asp?page_id=439).

Note: There is no Canadian Language Benchmark test. The Canadian Language Benchmarks are descriptions of language abilities. CIC visa officers use these descriptions to determine your language abilities based on the written evidence you provide.

NOTE
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) officers will not conduct an interview to assess your language abilities. CIC will only use test results from organizations approved by CIC or written proof in assessing language.

What happens next

A CIC officer will review the proof you include with your application.

• Your submission must satisfy the officer that your language skills meet the benchmarks for the levels you are claiming.
• The officer will assess your language ability based on what you send with your application.

If you believe you have the necessary requirements to commence the Canadian Experience Class application, you may contact Abrams & Krochak with a request for assistance, indicating why you believe you qualify. We will then confirm your eligibility based on the information you have provided, and if we are satisfied you can proceed, we will send you our agreement and payment instructions for assistance with the Canadian Experience Class.

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