Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

What is the Canadian Experience Class & who is it for?

The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) is one of the three federal immigration programs managed by the Express Entry system.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) launched the CEC as a pathway for temporary foreign workers and graduates with Canadian work experience who wish to settle in Canada permanently and who are able to meet the program's minimum requirements for work experience and language ability.

Candidates who meet the eligibility requirements of the CEC are able to submit a profile to the Express Entry pool on IRCC's website where they are ranked against other candidates using a points-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).

During an Express Entry invitation round, IRCC invites candidates with the highest CRS scores to apply for permanent residence.

How to apply for the Canadian Experience Class

The process of applying under the Canadian Experience Class can be broken down into the following steps:

Step 1. Determine Your Eligibility

Find out if you are able to meet the minimum requirements for the program for:

• Canadian work experience
• language ability
• proof of funds
• living outside Quebec
• admissibility

If you meet all the requirements and are eligible for the Canadian Experience Class, you will be able to create an Express Entry profile and submit it to the pool of candidates.

Step 2. Collect your documents

To create your Express Entry profile, you will need to refer to information from the following documents:

• Passport or travel document
• Your National Occupational Code (NOC)
• Language test results (i.e. IELTS or TEF)
• Proof of education level (Canadian credential or ECA if applicable)
• Provincial nomination (if applicable)
• Written job offer (if applicable)

You will not need to upload these documents to submit your profile, but it will be important for you to refer to them while creating your profile.

Step 3. Create and submit your Express Entry profile

The next step involves completing the Canadian government's Come to Canada tool. The purpose of this tool is to determine if you would be a good candidate for Express Entry.

While completing the questionnaire, you will be asked a series of questions about your human capital profile (i.e. your work experience, language ability, etc.). 

If the tool has determined you are eligible for Express Entry, you will receive a personal reference code.

You will also be instructed to create a GCKey account, which will allow you to submit your Express Entry profile and subsequent application for permanent residence, pay your application fees, check the progress of your application and receive messages and updates from IRCC.

Once you have submitted your Express Entry profile, you will be ranked against other candidates using the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) and given a score out of 1,200 points. Your CRS score is based on the details you provided in your profile.

Step 4. Get an Invitation to Apply

Once your profile has been submitted, IRCC will conduct periodic draws targeting candidates in the Express Entry pool.

During an Express Entry invitation round, the highest ranked candidates who meet the CRS cut-off score of an Express Entry draw are issued an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence.

The higher your CRS score is, the higher the likelihood that you will receive an invitation to apply.

Factors that affect your CRS score are:

• age
• level of education
• English language skills
• French language skills
• brother or sister living in Canada (permanent resident or citizen)
• Canadian work experience
• arranged employment
• provincial nomination

Candidates in the Express Entry pool can take steps to increase their CRS score and maximize their chance of receiving an ITA by:

• reviewing how the CRS is calculated
• identifying "weak points" in their profile
• focusing on areas that will have a drastic impact on their score (such as improving their language test scores or gaining more work experience)

If you do not receive an ITA within 12 months of submitting your profile to the Express Entry pool, your profile will automatically expire. At this point, you will be able to create a new Express Entry profile, essentially starting the process over from the beginning.

Step 5. Apply for Canadian PR

If you obtain an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence, you will have 60 days to submit a complete application for permanent residence and upload the documents you used for your profile (Step 2). In addition, you will need to upload copies of your:

• Birth certificate
• Medical exams
• Police clearance certificates
• Documents attesting to work experience
• Proof of funds
• Digital photos that confirm your identity

The documents you need to provide for Express Entry will depend on the program you are applying under, your civil status, your work and education history, and other factors.

After you have submitted your electronic application, IRCC will make sure that you:

• meet the requirements of an Express Entry-aligned program
• completed your application for permanent residence correctly by providing all the necessary supporting documents
• paid your processing fee
• are admissible to Canada (based on the results of your medical exam, police certificates and background checks)

If you are approved, you will receive:

• a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR)
• a permanent resident visa (if you're from a country that requires one)

Canadian Experience Class eligibility requirements

You must meet the following minimum eligibility criteria to be considered eligible for the Canadian Experience Class:

Canadian Work Experience

You must have at least one year (or 1,560 hours total at 30 hours per week) of continuous (or an equal amount in part-time) paid work experience in Canada within the last 3 years in an occupation classified as Skill Type/Level 0, A or B under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system.

Your Canadian work experience must have been gained while you were on a valid temporary resident status with the authorization to work. You must also be able to meet the job requirements and perform the essential duties for your skilled trade according to the NOC.

Language ability

You must take an approved language test in English or French and get a minimum score in all four factors (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) of:

• Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 if the NOC of your job is Skill Type/Level 0 or A; or
• CLB 5 if the NOC of your job is Skill Level B

The approved English language tests are:

• International English Language Testing System (IELTS) - General Training option
• Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) - CELPIP-General test

The approved French language tests are:

• Test d’évaluation de français (TEF Canada) 
• Test de connaissance du français (TCF Canada)

Once you have obtained the results from your language test(s), you will be able to determine your language level according to the:

• Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) for English tests; or 
• Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) for French tests

Education

While education is not a requirement under the Canadian Experience Class, you can claim additional points under the CRS by obtaining an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) for immigration purposes from a designated organization.

CEC candidates may wish to have their educational credential(s) assessed if the additional points can help them increase their CRS score and improve their ranking in the Express Entry pool.

The purpose of the ECA is to evaluate your foreign credential (certificate, diploma, degree) against Canadian standards.

The approved ECA organizations are:

• Comparative Education Service – University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies
• International Credential Assessment Service of Canada
• World Education Services
• International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS)
• International Credential Evaluation Service 
• Medical Council of Canada - for specialist physicians (NOC 3111) or general practitioners/family physicians (NOC 3112)
• Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada - for pharmacists (NOC 3131)

You can also obtain points for your spouse or common-law partner's education (if applicable) by having their educational credentials assessed.

Proof of Funds

Candidates who are invited to apply though the Canadian Experience Class do not need to meet the proof of funds requirement. 

Living Outside Quebec

You must intend to live outside the province of Quebec, which has its own pathway for selecting skilled workers. 

Admissibility

You must be admissible to Canada.

Being "inadmissible" to Canada means that you are barred from entering Canada for any of the following reasons:

• security (espionage, subversion, violence or terrorism, membership in an organization involving any of these)
• human or international rights violations (war crimes, crimes against humanity, being a senior official in a government engaged in gross human rights violations or subject to international sanctions)
• crime (such as driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol)
• organized crime (including membership in a group that takes part in organized crime)
• medical reasons (medical conditions that endanger public health or safety and which cause excessive demand on health or social services)
• financial reasons (being unable or unwilling to financially support yourself or your family members)
• misrepresentation (providing false information or withholding information which affects decisions made under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA))
• failure to comply with any provision of IRPA
• having an inadmissible family member

Canadian Experience Class FAQs

Do I need a job offer for the CEC?

No, a job offer is not required under the CEC.

Even though a valid job offer isn't required under the CEC, you may wish to obtain one in order to claim additional points under the CRS and increase your chances of being invited to apply.

Can I apply for both the CEC and FSWP?

No. Even if you are eligible for more than one Express Entry program at a time, you can only receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for one program based on the details of your profile.

When there is an "all-program"  Express Entry draw (meaning the draw is not specific to a program, like CEC or FST) and you are eligible for more than one option at the same time (i.e. you are eligible for both the CEC and FSWP), the system will invite you to apply for one of the classes in the following order:

1. Provincial Nominee Class (PNC)
2. Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
3. Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
4. Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)

Can I apply for the CEC if I live in Quebec?

Yes. You can count your work experience in Quebec so long as you intend to reside outside of Quebec.

Can I be eligible for the CEC even if I live outside Canada?

Yes. You can be eligible for the Canadian Experience Class even if you have returned to your home country, provided you meet the eligibility requirements of the program.

In particular, make sure that you can still meet the work experience requirement of having at least one year (or 1,560 hours total at 30 hours per week) of continuous (or an equal amount in part-time) paid work experience in Canada within the last 3 years in an occupation classified as Skill Type/Level 0, A or B under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system.

What is a good CRS score for the CEC?

The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score cut-off is dynamic and changes every time there is an Express Entry draw.  Express Entry candidates with a CRS score over 450 are generally in a good position to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA). 

Since the start of the Express Entry system in 2015, the lowest CRS cut-off score for Canadian Experience Class candidates was 75, which occurred in a "Canadian Experience Class" draw that took place on February 13, 2021. It is important to note that this particular CRS cut-off score was exceptional, with the average CRS cut-off score for CEC candidates typically ranging above 350.

What are the eligible occupations for the CEC?

To be eligible for the Canadian Experience Class, you must have at least one year (or 1,560 hours total at 30 hours per week) of continuous (or an equal amount in part-time) paid work experience in Canada within the last 3 years in an occupation classified as Skill Type/Level 0, A or B under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system.

Your Canadian work experience must have been gained while you were on a valid temporary resident status with the authorization to work. You must also be able to meet the job requirements and perform the essential duties for your skilled trade according to the NOC.

The following table lists all the skilled occupations that are classified as NOC 0, A and B. These occupations are eligible for the Canadian Experience Class.