To qualify under this program, an applicant should have at least 1560 hours of full-time (30 hours or more per week) or equivalent in part-time work experience in Canada under skilled (NOC 0, A, B) and intend to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada.

• Self-employment;
• Any hours worked above 30 hours/week; 
• Work done while you’re a refugee claimant in Canada;
• Word done without authorization;
• your work experience gained without temporary resident status in Canada;
• Work experience obtained as a business visitor, even if it was under International Mobility Program (IMP);
• work experience gained while you were a full-time student (even if you were on a co-op work term).

• Multiple NOCs under skill 0, A, B, multiple employment and Non-Continuous work;
• Canadian Work experience under implied status is applicable for the CEC, provided that the applicant had worked under the same working conditions as his/her initial contract;
• Work experience outside Canada during vacations is not applicable however a standard 2-week vacation time out of a 52-week period of work will be considered applicable;
• Applicants do not have to be employed at the time of application nor there need to be continuous Canadian work experience, but you will be considered eligible for CEC only if your Canadian work experience is not older than 03 years at the time of application;
• Paid Internship – [deemed work] not part of education is considered for CEC.

Canadian work experience outside Canada does not count. Even if you work for a Canadian employer and pay taxes, remotely working from outside Canada would not count towards CEC. 

To be eligible for the Canadian Experience Class, you must be physically present inside Canada and work under legal authorization.

Yes. You can work remotely in Canada as long as you are physically inside the country and work for a Canadian Employer.  

If you live in Canada and work for a U.S. company, you will still need to pay taxes in Canada. 

In Canada, you pay taxes according to the province or territory where you live, not where the business you work for is located. However, the taxes will be taken out and paid for by your employer.

Remember, that if you plan to apply under CEC, you show your intention to reside in any province other than Quebec. It is because Quebec follows another system for choosing skilled workers.

No minimum wage requirement has to be followed to qualify the work experience under CEC.

Immigration Officers can use their discretion in this particular type of situation, where applicant has slightly fewer hours than 1560 due to COVID.

For an applicant under CEC, the Primary Occupation is the one that you base of immigration application. If the current work since last 6 months is under NOC A (2171) in one company and 6 months of experience under NOC A (2174) in another company, any NOC could be a Primary Occupation.

In Canada, If I work though Agency in (NOC B category job with 17 $/hr) and gets paper work from agency, but I am working for some company. Does that experience counts for CEC ? 

YES it counts, but you have to be very clear – the agency is your employer. The “reputed company” is your client. And you will need letters from both. You will need to get the letter of employment from the agency. In addition to all the required details, it will be best if the letter describes a bit about your assignment with the Company. Since you are not employed by the company, you can’t technically get a letter of employment, but you could (SHOULD) get a letter of reference. It should be very similar to the letter of employment except for some changes (e.g. no salary/benefits info, since that is paid by the Agency). “Mr Ministry has worked as POSITION TITLE under contract from XXX AGENCY, from BEGIN DATE to END DATE. Under the terms of the contract, he works XXX hours per week at LOCATION in the XXX Department and is responsible for … LIST JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES….

If a foreign national worked full-time (NOC A) in Canada for a year by virtue of IRPR 186 (b) as a foreign representative for an International Organization located in Canada and their salary was paid for by the International Organization but the foreign national paid foreign and not Canadian taxes, will this foreign national qualify for Canadian Experience Class per IRPR 87.1(2) as it mentions work acquired in Canada but there is no mention of foreign or Canadian paid wages?

Work as a foreign representative in Canada may qualify as Canadian work experience provided that the foreign national had valid temporary resident status during their period of work as per the requirements of R87.1(3)(c) and was authorized to work in Canada as per R87.1(3)(b). In addition, the source of wages and taxes do not constitute a part of the requirements of the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) although this information may be used to substantiate the applicant’s declared work experience.

Please note that the onus is on the applicant to provide documentation with their application establishing that they had legal temporary status in Canada, that they were physically present in Canada during their declared employment period and that they meet all the other requirements of the CEC.

During the scrutiny of factor of control the payer’s control and influence, both, are kept under consideration. Ownership or partial ownership of a business is considered self-employment. 

• To what degree does the worker have to work personally and whether he/she has an option to further hire people to assist his/her work.
• To what degree does the worker have the independence to carry out the work including how it is carried out.
• If the employers provide tools & equipment to complete the work.
• To what degree there is a financial risk involved and if the worker has the autonomy to make business decisions when required.
• All other relevant factors.
• All contractors and consultants in financial, real estate & business services industries are considered to be self-employed

If an applicant is unsure of his employee/self-employment status he/she may request a ruling in the form of a letter or CPT1 form from the CRA to determine their status. The ruling will determine the nature of employment and whether it is insured or pensionable. The ruling can then be submitted to CIC for the CEC application. The final decision rests with the CIC officer as a CRA ruling does not confirm evidence of employment.

An applicant’s employment status will be considered if it satisfies the CIC officer along with the program requirements. All Canadian work experience must be through authorized employment in Canada. Documentation includes:

• Letter of Employment.
• Documentary evidence of Canadian work experience.
• Recent work permits.
• Copies of recent T4 tax information slips.
• Notice of Assessment NOA issued by Canada Revenue Agency CRA.
• Record of remuneration and deductions.
• Letter of references for all qualifying Canadian work experience.
• Other related documents.

Employer issued T4 tax information slips are evidence of income tax remuneration and deductions. All Canadian employers are responsible for deducting and remitting Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions, Income tax, and Employment Insurance (EI). Though the T4 document is primitive evidence of an employer-employee relationship, it is not mandatory and cannot be considered the sole evidence of work experience in Canada. This can be substituted by a letter of employment, payslips, or work contracts. Regardless all applicants must meet the program requirements and provide supporting evidence.

The applicant should accept ITA and not delay the application. IRCC staff knows about this glitch or loophole which is benefitting certain candidates well ahead of time and award them one year or two years CEC points in advance.

It is a misconception that the applicant will be penalized.The officer dealing with the application tend to focus on:

• continuation of the job
• an offer of employment by the same employer willing to hire or continue to hire the employee
• whether the applicant meets the experience requirement by the time his/her application is processed

Many people get confused due to this glitch but now they need not decline the ITA yet alone for this reason.

Applicants who plan to live in the province of Quebec are not eligible to apply under the CEC. However, the experience gained in the province of Quebec is qualified.

If you intends to reside in any other province of Canada other than Quebec, it is considered eligible for the CEC program. The onus is on the applicant to prove his/her future intent.