You worked in Canada for a year. Does CEC count all of it?
You worked for six months while studying and another six months after graduation. On a calendar, that is exactly one year.
“So, I have one year of Canadian work experience for CEC, right?”
Sorry, but no. You may have only six months.
The work you did while studying full-time does not count toward the Canadian Experience Class. Yes, the work may have been completely legal. You may have followed every condition on your study permit and received proper wages. That still does not make it eligible CEC work experience.
Legal work and countable CEC work experience are two different things. A lot of people miss this part.
When you calculate your Canadian work experience, check three things: your status when you worked, the work you actually performed and the amount of time you can count.
What was your status when you worked?
IRCC does not count work completed while you were a full-time student. A mandatory co-op work term does not count either.
So, in our example, the first six months disappear from the CEC calculation. Only the six months worked after graduation may count.
And here is another issue. Finishing school does not automatically give you the right to work full-time the next morning.
If you work while waiting for a decision on your PGWP application, you must meet the conditions that allow you to work during that period. Among other things, you must have held a valid study permit when you applied, completed your program, been eligible to work off campus and followed the permitted working hours while studying. IRCC lists those conditions here.
“Eventually, I received my PGWP” is not enough by itself. We still need to check whether you were authorized to work during the period you are claiming.
Your employer called you a manager. Nice.
Now tell me what you actually did.
A job title does not decide your NOC. Having “Manager” on your business card does not automatically place you in a managerial occupation, and having “Assistant” in the title does not automatically make the position ineligible.
IRCC looks at your actual duties. Your work must fall under NOC TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3, and you need to have performed the actions in the lead statement and most of the main duties for that occupation.
This is why you should check the job duties before counting the months. If the duties do not match an eligible NOC, working in the position for another six months will not fix the problem. That would be quite disappointing after waiting a full year.
Can 1,560 hours turn six months into one year?
CEC describes one year of full-time work as 1,560 hours: up to 30 hours per week for 12 months.
Part-time work can count. For example, working 15 hours per week for 24 months can give you the equivalent of one year. You can also combine eligible hours from more than one part-time job.
Then what if you work 60 hours per week for six months? The total is still 1,560 hours.
Nope.
CEC counts a maximum of 30 hours per week, even if you worked overtime or held two jobs at the same time. You cannot squeeze the required 12-month period into six months. Put 500 stars beside this one.
The work must also be paid, authorized and completed in Canada within the three years before you apply. Self-employed work generally does not count, although there is an exception for some physicians providing publicly funded medical services.
One more thing. Meeting the one-year CEC work experience requirement does not mean you will automatically receive an invitation through Express Entry. Eligibility and invitation are separate steps. Your CRS score and the applicable invitation round still matter.
So, before you start counting, draw three boxes.
In the first box, write down your immigration status and work authorization for each period. In the second, list your actual duties and the NOC they match. In the third, calculate your countable weekly hours and the actual calendar period.
If one of those boxes does not work, the year you counted may not be a full year for CEC. Better to find that out now than when you are asking your employer for a reference letter.
This post reflects the rules on its publication date. Confirm the current rules in a consultation.