International Law

The Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

By immlawyer

Here's some details regarding the long awaited CEC.

The published regulations can be found here (Canada Gazette).

Essentially, the CEC will be another arrow in the quiver to obtain permanent residency. The government has essentially acknowledged the failure of the Federal Skilled Worker Immigrant Class. It will assist recent foreign graduates and certain temporary foreign workers (low skill need not apply).

Excerpt:

...

The CEC will be limited to Skill Type 0 Management Occupations, Skill Level A (professional occupations), or Skill Level B (technical occupations and skilled trades) of the National Occupation Classifications (NOC). Lower-skilled occupations (NOC skill levels C and D) will not be eligible, as they are more vulnerable in economic downturns. Consequently, caution should be taken prior to increasing the pool of lower-skilled workers.

All applicants must have come to Canada to work or study, have been lawfully admitted to Canada, and have temporary resident status in Canada at the time of application for the CEC. Foreign nationals who are already in the process of receiving their permanent resident status through other avenues do not qualify under the CEC. ...

...

The proposed Regulations create two distinct streams with different thresholds for each selection criterion, one for recent foreign graduates, and the other for temporary foreign workers. Foreign graduates will need to obtain 12 months of legal work experience within a 24-month period prior to making a CEC application, obtain a Canadian credential by studying in Canada full-time for at least two academic years, and meet the language benchmark for their occupation skill level. Temporary foreign workers will need to obtain 24 months of legal work experience in Canada within a 36-month period prior to making a CEC application and meet the language benchmark for their occupation skill level.

Full post as published by Canadian Immigration Blawg on August 11, 2008 (boomark / email).