Canadian Experience Class

The Canadian Experience Class is an immigration program which is a part of Canada’s Express Entry system. It allows foreign workers who have worked in Canada for at least one year to transition from temporary status to permanent residency.

The Canadian Experience Class is intended for individuals working in jobs where there is a lack of skilled Canadian workers.

As part of the application process, foreign citizens receive scores under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Those who get competitive CRS scores are issued invitations to apply for Canadian permanent residence.

Page Contents

• What is the Canadian Experience Class?
• Who is eligible for the Canadian Experience Class?
• What is the work experience requirement for the Canadian Experience Class?
• What is the application process for the Canadian Experience Class?
• What is the Canadian Express Entry?
• How Can IAS Help?
• Frequently Asked Questions

The main requirement to be eligible to apply for the Canadian Experience Class is to have at least one year of skilled work experience in Canada. This experience must have been gained within the last 3 years prior to the application.

The qualifying work experience can be gained through full-time or part-time work, or through a combination of both. That can be converted into 1,560 hours. Examples of how foreign citizens can get the required work experience include:

• Full-time at 1 job: 30 hours per week for 12 months
• Part-time at 1 job: 15 hours per week for 24 months
• Full-time at more than 1 job: 30 hours per week for 1 year

Generally speaking, it does not matter how many jobs an applicant worked as long as they got the hours required to submit the application.

However, according to the Canadian National Occupation Classification, the work experience must be in one of the following:

• managerial jobs (skill level 0)
• professional jobs (skill type A)
• technical jobs and skilled trades (skill type B)

There is no requirement to have a job offer at the time of applying for the Canadian Experience Class but those who do not have a full year of skilled work experience in Canada are not eligible to apply.

Those who want to apply for the Canadian Experience Class must create an online Express Entry profile to make a formal ‘expression of interest’ to stay in Canada permanently.

If an applicant meets all the requirements, Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada (IRCC) accepts their profile to the Express Entry pool. Then, they receive a score calculated using a points-based system known as the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The CRS ranks their:

• Skills
• Work experience
• Language skills
• Education
• Other factors

Whenever there is an Express Entry draw, there is a different cut-off threshold. Those who obtain a certain score or higher receive invitations to apply for Canadian permanent residence.

Once an applicant gets the invitation to apply, they have 60 days to submit their permanent residence application which includes the following:

• Proof that the applicant completed a medical examination with an IRCC-recognised physician
• Clearance Certificate from each country where they lived for 6 months or more since they were 18
• Reference letters from previous employers

If their application is approved, they receive a confirmation of permanent residence document. They need to show this document when applying for their Permanent Resident card that proves their immigration status in Canada.

On average, the processing of applications for the Canadian Experience Class takes six months but the waiting time can be shorter.

The Canadian Experience Class is a program that is part of the Canadian Express Entry. This system is used to manage applications for Canadian permanent residence submitted by skilled foreign workers.

In addition to the Canadian Experience Class, there are two other programs that fall under the Canadian Express Entry. These are:

• Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) – intended for skilled workers who have foreign work experience. To qualify, applicants need to have at least 1 year of full-time or equivalent part-time work experience in the managerial, professional or technical occupations. They need to have gained this experience in the last 10 years preceding their application
• Federal Skilled Trades – intended for workers qualified in a skilled trade. To be eligible to apply, they need to have at least 2 years of full-time or equivalent part-time work experience

In some Canadian provinces and territories there also are Express Entry streams called Provincial Nominee Programs which are intended for foreign workers who want to move to a specific part of Canada. The eligibility requirements vary depending on the labour market in each province.