Canada is a place where many immigrants from all over the world come to look for jobs and a better way of life.
Among all of these people, a few want to become permanent residents of Canada for a variety of reasons.
The Canadian Experience Class, or CEC, is the perfect Canadian immigration category for temporary foreign workers in Canada and overseas graduates seeking permanent residency in Canada.
What is CEC (Canadian Experience Class)?
The Canadian Experience Class, or CEC, is a sort of Canadian immigration program that permits those who have previously worked in Canada for at least one year to immigrate to the nation permanently.
The Canadian Experience Class is a part of Canada’s Express Entry immigration system.
Express Entry System
On January 1, 2015, the Canadian Express Entry System was created to increase the number of migrants entering Canada.
Since its inception, the Canadian government has welcomed a large number of economic immigrants via the Express Entry System.
This Express Entry system provides immigration that is best suited for students and highly skilled individuals who want to immigrate to Canada.
The Express Entry program assists in the selection of applicants who meet the IRCC’s (Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada) requirements.
According to the IRCC, you may be chosen if you have the talents and ability to contribute to the growth of Canada’s economy. Candidates with higher Express Entry scores and rankings are sent an ITA or invitation to apply directly from the country.
Once the applicant’s application is accepted, they must follow the usual procedure to immigrate to Canada under the Canadian Experience Class program.
In addition to the Canadian Experience Class, there are additional possibilities for migrating through the Express Entry pool system.
You must meet the conditions of one of Canada’s immigration programs:
- Federal Skilled Trades Program
Benefits of (CEC PR) Visa
Here are the benefits of a PR Visa for a Canadian Experience Class;
- Immigrants who applied through the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) already have a year of experience which is helpful for their CRS Score.
- Less document requirements
- Less processing time. It takes around 3-4 months
- Not required to show any kind of funds when it comes to settlement funds
Is a job offer required for the Canada Experience Class?
No, a job offer is not required for the Canada Experience Class. A candidate for the CEC visa, on the other hand, must have at least one year of experience in any given occupation specified in the NOC or the National Occupational List of Canada.
Is it possible to apply for Canada PR without work experience?
No, it is impossible to apply for the Canada PR for the Canadian Experience Class if you do not have any work experience. You must have at least a year of working experience in Canada.
Who is eligible to apply for the Canadian Experience Class?
Not every Canadian citizen is eligible to apply for the Canada Experience Class program. Only people presently residing in Canada and meeting specific qualifying requirements are eligible to apply for the Canadian Experience Class.
An individual applying for the Canadian Experience Class must have at least one year of skilled job experience in one of Canada’s provinces within three years of their application date.
To qualify for the Canadian Experience Class program, you must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- If you want to apply for the Canadian Experience Class, you must have at least one year of skilled job experience in any of Canada’s provinces within the last three years.
- Your employment experience in Canada must have been obtained with valid authorization.
- The skilled work is precisely defined in the Canadian NOC or National Occupational Classification list. A skilled working experience means that your job must be in management, professional, technical, or skilled craft.
- Your work experience must include at least 12 months of full-time work, which is 30 hours of paid work per week or more, or an equivalent number of hours if it is a part-time position.
- If an applicant has work experience while still a full-time student, that experience will not be considered.
- You must fulfill or surpass the Canadian Language Benchmark, also known as the CLB, which specifies the required language levels for employment.
- You must also complete a language test recognized by CIC, or Citizenship and Immigration Canada, to demonstrate your ability in speaking, reading, listening, and writing in either English or French, or both at the same time.
- You should also be willing to live and work outside of Quebec. The province of Quebec runs the Quebec skilled worker program.
- Although education is not a requirement for the Canadian Experience Class, if you want to earn more points for it in the CRS or Comprehensive Ranking System under the Express Entry program, you must provide your:
- Canadian high school or post-secondary certificate, or your diploma or degree certificate.
- Your completed foreign credential, as well as an ECA or Educational Credential Assessment report from a CIC-approved provider.
- Aside from that, the candidate must pass medical exams and receive a security clearance. The Canadian Experience Class processing time is around 6 months.
Requirements for Canadian Experience Class
The following conditions must be met by the candidate for the Canadian Experience Class:
- The candidate must have at least 12 months of full-time or comparable part-time job experience in the country during the last three years.
The candidate must have earned this work experience while on a valid work visa and in one or more jobs classified by the National Occupational Classification, or NOC.
This one year of experience can also be obtained in two distinct NOC codes, as long as the positions are skilled and the working experience is obtained legally.
- Plan to live somewhere other than Quebec.
- Meets the required language levels for each language skill, such as reading, writing, speaking, and listening, as specified by the employer.
These levels must be demonstrated by passing an approved language test. CEC applicants may take either of the following IRCC-approved language tests:
- CELPIP – General (English)
- IELTS – General (English)
- TEF (French)
- TCF (French)
It should be noted that job experience earned through self-employment or as a full-time student is ineligible under the Canadian Experience Class.
Applicants who demonstrate proficiency in both French and English might earn extra points in Canada’s comprehensive ranking system.
Obtaining a PR visa for the Canadian Experience Class is not as complicated as it may appear. And with the right counsel, anyone can easily gain permanent resident status.
