The Canadian Experience Class

The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) is an alternative pathway to permanent residency in Canada based on your time already spent working in Canada. Canada always welcomes those individuals that demonstrate positive contributions to the economy.

Minimum requirements

You must:

• 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 required language levels needed for your job for each language ability (speaking, reading, writing and listening),
• plan to live outside the province of Quebec.

Skilled work experience

To be considered for the Canadian Experience Class, 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 (30 hours of paid work per week or more) or an equal amount in part-time hours.

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 this program.