Canadian Experience Class Immigration(CEC)

In 2008, Immigration Canada established the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) in order to welcome qualified applicants with Canadian experience to contribute to Canada. 12,000 applications are scheduled to be accepted in 2013-2014, which is not expected to vary much from those submitted.  　

The CEC has become the preferred immigration method for international students in Canada. In recent years, the Canadian government has developed policies to attract international students to Canada that are increasingly favourable to international student immigration. Unlike other categories of applications, this category is only for the following two categories of applicants.

(1) International student applicants with a Canadian educational background.

This category includes applicants who have completed two years (at least 16 months or 4 semesters) or more of post-secondary education in Canada with a diploma or degree.

Applicants must also have 12 months of continuous Canadian work experience (1 year for 1,950 work hours) in the 24 months prior to submitting their application.

The applicant must be working in an occupation listed in the National Occupational Standards of Canada (NOC) as Class 0, A or B.

The applicant's language skills must meet the appropriate requirements (language requirements according to job class level).

The Department of Immigration accepts qualifications from a public or private college or university in Canada that have been completed at least two years of full-time post-secondary education leading to a diploma or degree (including certificates). Full-time education is defined as an average of 15 hours per week of classroom attendance or internship related to the program. To be considered for this two-year educational process, the applicant must have completed it in Canada.

(2) Labour category applicants with a temporary work permit in Canada.

Applicants in this category are those who are in Canada on a legal temporary work permit.

There are no specific educational requirements for these applicants.

Applicants must have 24 months of full-time NOC 0, A, B work experience (at least 37.5 hours per week) or 1,950 work hours for 1 year within the 36 months prior to application.

The applicant's language skills must meet the appropriate requirements.

The applicant must have entered Canada legally and hold a valid work permit while working in Canada. If the applicant is in Canada during the immigration application period, the applicant must be on a valid temporary residence visa (e.g., study permit, work permit, visitor visa).  　

The Department of Immigration will directly review applicants on an acceptance or denial basis, rather than using the current point system used for federal skilled immigration. Applicants in the new category will only be evaluated on the basis of whether they have received post-secondary education, whether they have worked in Canada, and whether they have passed a language test. According to the new law dated June 26, 2010, CEC applicants must provide the appropriate language test scores when submitting their applications, so applicants who intend to submit CEC applications should prepare for the appropriate language test in advance.