Canadian Experience Class Immigration Program

Canada is a country where several immigrants from different countries all over the world visit in order to search for work and living.

Amongst all these people there are a few people who want to become permanent residents of Canada for so many different reasons.

The Canadian Experience Class or CEC provides the applicant with the ideal Canadian immigration category for temporary foreign workers in Canada and international graduates who want to become permanent residents of Canada.

What is a Canadian Experience Class?

The Canadian Experience Class or CEC is a type of a Canadian immigration program which allows individuals who have previously worked in Canada for at least one year to immigrate to the country permanently.

The Canadian Experience Class is a part of the Express Entry immigration system of Canada.

Express Entry System

The Express Entry System of Canada was launched on January 1, 2015, in the hope that it would increase the number of migrants to Canada.

Ever since it was launched, the government of Canada has welcomed so many economic immigrants through the Express Entry system.

This Express Entry system is a system that provides immigration that suits the best for students and highly skilled workers who are willing to immigrate to Canada.

The Express Entry program helps in selecting applicants that are set by guidelines according to the IRCC or the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

According to the IRCC, if you have the skills and ability to contribute to the growth of the economy of Canada, you might be selected. Candidates who have higher scores and ranking in the Express Entry pool are sent an ITA or invitation to apply directly from the country.

Once the application is received by the applicant, they have to go through the standard procedure if they wish to immigrate to Canada through the Canadian Experience Class program.

Besides Canadian Experience Class, there are other options that you can opt for in order to migrate through the Express Entry pool system.

You must meet the requirements either of the immigration programs of Canada:

1. Federal skilled worker Program
2. Federal Skilled trades Program

To apply for a visa through any of the two above programs, Canadian work experience is not mandatory.

What are the benefits of this (CEC PR) visa?

There are benefits of the PR visa for the Canadian Experience Class.

These are as follows:

1. The Canadian Experience Class immigrants have already built up a year of working experience. This factor is highly valued under the Comprehensive Ranking System and gives the migrant the access to the CRS points for the experience they have.
2. Since the required documents are quite less, the Canadian Experience Class applications are processed much faster, which is often within three to four months.
3. Candidates which are under the Canadian Experience Class are not required to show any kind of proofs when it comes to the settlement funds, unlike the FSTC and FSWC are.

Does Canada Experience Class require job offer?

No, the Canada Experience Class does not require a job offer. However, an applicant who is applying for the CEC visa must have at least one year of experience in any given occupation that is listed in theNOC or the National Occupational List of Canada.

Can I apply for Canada PR without work experience?

No, you cannot apply for the Canada PR for the Canadian Experience Class if you do not have any work experience in a Canadian province. You need to have at least a year of working experience in Canada.

Who is eligible for Canadian Experience Class?

Not every person who is residing in Canada is eligible to apply for the Canada Experience Class program. Only an individual who is currently residing in Canada and meets certain eligibility criteria is eligible to apply for the Canadian Experience Class.

The person who is willing to apply for the Canadian Experience Class must have at least one year of skilled work experience in the provinces of Canada within three years of their application date.

You must meet the following eligibility requirements in order to apply for the Canadian Experience Class program:

1. If you wish to apply for the Canadian Experience Class, you must have at least one year of skilled work experience in any of the provinces in Canada within three years of your application date.
2. The work experience that you have in Canada must be done under proper authorization.
3. The Canadian NOC or National Occupational Classification list has stated clearly about the skilled work. A skilled working experience means that your job must be either from the managerial ones, professional jobs, technical jobs or skilled trade.
4. Your working experience must be a minimum of 12 months of full-time work, which is 30 hours of paid work per week or even more, or it can also be an equivalent number of hours if it is a part-time job.
5. If the candidate has a working experience while they were a full-time student, then that experience shall not be taken into account.
6. You must meet or exceed the Canadian Language Benchmark or the CLB, which is the required language levels that are needed for the job.
7. You must also take the language test which is approved by the CIC or Citizenship and Immigration Canada, that would help in demonstrating your proficiency in speaking, reading, listening, and writing in either English or French or both together.
8. You must also be willing to live and work outside the province of Quebec. The state of Quebec has its own program called the Quebec skilled worker program.
9. Even though the education is not that an important requirement when it comes to the Canadian Experience Class, if you wish to earn more points for your education in the CRS or Comprehensive Ranking System under the Express Entry program, you must provide your:
10. Canadian high school or post-secondary certificate, or your diploma or degree certificate.
11. Your completed foreign credential along with an ECA or Educational Credential Assessment report provided by an agency which is approved by the CIC.
12. Apart from this, the candidate must go through the medical examinations and obtain a security clearance. The processing time for the Canadian Experience Class is roughly around 6 months.

How much does it cost to get this visa?

There are several fees that are included and that you have to pay to get this visa.

These fees include the following:

1. Right of Permanent Residence fee: 500 CAD
2. Principal applicant fee: 475 CAD
3. If the principal applicant is less than 22 years of age and is not a spouse or common law partner:75 CAD
4. The family member of the principal applicant who is over 22 years of age or is less than 22 years of age and is a common law partner or spouse: 825 CAD
5. The family member of the principal applicant who is less than the age of 22 years and is not a common law partner or spouse: 225 CAD

What are the requirements for Canadian Experience Class?

The Canadian Experience Class requires the candidate to meet the following requirements:

1. The candidate must have at least 12 months of full-time work experience or equivalent in part time in the country within the past three years.
   The candidate must have obtained this work experience when on a valid work permit and needs to be in one or more occupations which are classified under the National Occupational Classification or NOC.
   This one year of experience can also be gained in two different NOC codes, so long as they are skilled positions and the working experience is gained legally.
2. Plan to live outside the province of Quebec.
3. Meets the required language levels that are needed as per the job requirements for each language ability such as reading, writing, speaking and listening.
   These levels must be proven by taking the approved language test. The CEC applicants can take either of the following language tests that are approved by the IRCC
   1. CELPIP - General (English)
   2. IELTS - General (English)
   3. TEF (French)
   4. TCF (French)

You must note that the work experience that is gained through the self-employment and while a person is a full-time student are not eligible under the Canadian Experience Class.

Applicants who prove their language ability in both French and English can obtain additional points in the comprehensive ranking system of Canada.

Getting the PR visa for the Canadian Experience Class is not that difficult as it seems. And with the proper guidance, one can easily manage to obtain permanent residency status.

Need more information?

You may get in touch with Canadian Center for Immigration Services for further details and guidance regarding Express Entry System. Alternatively, you can fill the free assessment form on our website so that our representative will contact you with all required information and key advice with regards to your Immigration Procedure and Visa Category.

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