Canadian Experience Class

Canadian skilled work experience source

At least 1 year or 1,560 hours of work experience in the 3 years before applying, calculated at 30 hours per week. This can come from one full-time job, equivalent part-time work or several jobs combined. For example, 15 hours per week for 24 months also totals 1,560 hours.

Occupation category source

The work must be in NOC TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3. Your experience can span more than one NOC, but choose the one that most closely aligns with what you actually did.

Duties must match the NOC source

You must show that your work matches the lead statement of the selected NOC occupation and includes most of its listed main duties.

The work must be paid source

You must have been paid wages or earned commission. Volunteer work and unpaid internships do not count.

Status while gaining the experience source

It must be gained by working in Canada while authorized to work under temporary resident status. Remote work counts only if you were physically in Canada working for a Canadian employer.

Language source

You must meet the minimum level in all 4 abilities: CLB 7 / NCLC 7 for NOC TEER 0 or 1, and CLB 5 / NCLC 5 for TEER 2 or 3. It is your lowest ability that counts, not an average.

How long test results last source

Results must be less than 2 years old both when you complete your Express Entry profile and when you submit your permanent residence application. Applying with expired results means refusal. Accepted tests: CELPIP-General, IELTS General Training (One Skill Retake is not accepted) and PTE Core for English; TEF Canada and TCF Canada for French.

Education source

CEC has no education requirement, but education affects your CRS ranking in the pool. Canadian secondary or post-secondary credentials earn points. Foreign credentials earn points when supported by proof of completion and an educational credential assessment (ECA) for immigration purposes.

Admissibility source

You must be admissible to Canada. Some people are not allowed into Canada for security, criminal or medical reasons.

Where you plan to live source

You must plan to settle outside Quebec. Work experience gained in Quebec can count, but you must provide evidence that you do not intend to settle there, which officers will review. Provincial nominees must settle in the province or territory that nominated them.

1. Take an IRCC-approved language test and meet the minimum level for your TEER in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Results are valid for 2 years.
2. Create an Express Entry profile and enter your language results. When declaring Canadian work experience, review the “Self-employed work” option.
3. Enter the pool and wait for an invitation to apply (ITA). Your language results must still be valid when you submit your permanent residence application after an invitation; expired results will lead to refusal.

• Work experience gained while you were a full-time student does not count toward CEC, including paid co-op terms. For example, a six-month internship completed during full-time studies does not count toward the required work experience.
• Self-employment does not count. One temporary public policy exempts foreign physicians who were invited through Express Entry on or after April 25, 2023 and submitted an application, who have experience providing publicly funded medical services in Canada (such as fee-for-service work) and were ineligible because they were self-employed — that experience now counts as Canadian work experience. Do not check the “Self-employed work” box under Work experience in Canada.
• Remote work counts toward CEC only if you were physically in Canada and working for a Canadian employer. Remote work done from outside Canada does not count.
• Expired language results are a hard refusal, not a fixable omission. If yours are about to expire and you have not been invited, your options are to retest, apply before they expire, or decline the invitation and go back into the pool.
• LINC centres are not approved testing agencies for people applying under the Canadian Experience Class.
• Education does not affect basic CEC eligibility, but it affects your ranking in the pool and your chances of receiving an invitation.

The records below show related invitation rounds and cut-off scores. Eligibility requirements and cut-offs can vary by round; check the relevant category before comparing scores.