Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

This program is designed as a transition from temporary to permanent residence. There are two categories of persons who can take advantage of this program if they have the intention to live anywhere in Canada except Quebec:

• International Student with Canadian Work Experience: who has completed a two-year post-secondary program from a Canadian educational institute OR a Masters degree of one year in Canada after completing one year of a educational program in Canada (so total two years study in Canada) get a three-year Post-graduate Work Permit (PGWP).

 If the students work in any admissible occupation for one-year (or equivalent - 1950 hrs) in this three-year period, he/she can be eligible to apply for Permanent Residence of Canada under this program. However, the applicant also must meet the language proficiency requirements in the language testing exams approved by immigration authorities for this program (IELTS for English & TEF for French).

Please note that:

The educational programs must be delivered by a private or public post-secondary educational institution such as a college or a university that is provincially recognized, or Private CEGEPs.

The applicant must have proper status during any period of full-time study or training and must have been studying as a "full-time" student at college/institute.

 At the time of application, the work experience must be gained within two years of the time you applied. If the applicant has to go back to the native country, he/she can still apply from the Canadian Visa office serving that country but must apply within one-year from the date he/she left Canada if the work experience still falls under the time frame explained above.

 The work experience gained during studies does not count toward meeting the requirements for work experience. Only work experience gained after graduation can be counted.

• Canadian Experience Class for temporary workers: Temporary Foreign Workers are those who are authorized to work in Canada for a specified employer after getting approval from Canadian Immigration authorities with or without HRSDC approval.

A Temporary Foreign Worker who has completed two years of full-time (or equivalent) work experience in Canada might be eligible under this program if he/she meets the following requirements:

• Has worked for two years in the last three-year period in any admissible occupation.

• Meets the language proficiency requirements in the language testing exams approved by immigration authorities for this program (IELTS for English & TEF for French).

• At the time of application, the work experience must be gained within two years of the time you applied. If the applicant has to go back to the native country, he/she can still apply from the Canadian Visa office serving that country but must apply within one-year from the date he/she left Canada if the work experience still falls under the time frame explained above.

• The work experience gained during studies does not count toward meeting the requirements for work experience. Only work experience gained after graduation can be counted.