Canadian Experience Class (CEC) is a skilled worker immigration program available to individuals who have already gained work experience in Canada while holding temporary resident status, and who want to apply for permanent residence.
Applications for the Canadian Experience Class are managed by the Express Entry system alongside the Federal Skilled Worker Program and Federal Skilled Trades Program.
If you do not have any previous Canadian work experience, you are not eligible to apply for this visa program.
Who can apply for Canadian Experience Class (CEC)?
In order to qualify to apply for the Canadian Experience Class program, you should:
- have at least one year of skilled work experience in Canada within the last three years
- this work experience must be aligned with the National Occupational Classification description of your profession and its main duties
- skilled work experience is defined as paid work at management level or usually requiring one of the following:
- a university degree
- a college diploma
- a minimum two-year apprenticeship
- a college diploma
- an apprenticeship of at least two years
- at least six months’ on-the-job training
- take approved English or French language tests and meet minimum Canadian Language Benchmark/Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadien requirements, specifically:
- Level 7 for management roles or those requiring a university degree
- Level 5 for all other eligible roles
- intend to live and work outside Quebec, which has its own skilled worker program
You do not need to have a job offer or minimum level of education in order to apply for the Canadian Experience Class. However, an offer of employment or proof of education can earn you additional selection factor points when your application is assessed and scored.
What does Canadian Experience Class offer?
Successful applicants for the Canadian Experience Class program will be able to get permanent residence in Canada. Canadian permanent residents can:
- live, work or study anywhere in Canada
- access most social benefits available to Canadian citizens, including healthcare coverage
- use their permanent residence status as a starting point for an application for Canadian citizenship
How do I apply for Canadian Experience Class (CEC)?
In order to qualify to apply for the Canadian Experience Class program, you will have to register a profile with the Express Entry system. Once you have filled out and submitted your profile, it will be assessed, scored and added to a pool along with other Express Entry applicants.
If your skills and experience gain you enough points, and your profile is judged to be most suitable for the Canadian Experience Class program (i.e. more than or instead of the Federal Skilled Trades Program or Federal Skilled Worker Program), you will be invited to submit a full application.
When using Express Entry, the system will determine what program you are most suited for. You can not indicate a preference for one program over another.
For more details on the Express Entry system and application process, please refer to our detailed Express Entry guidance. You can also get an estimate of your Express Entry score by using our Express Entry calculator, or by speaking with a member of our team.