How to Get Permanent Residence Via the Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) is designed for skilled workers who have Canadian work experience and want to become permanent residents in the country. To qualify for the CEC, you should:

• Meet the required language levels for your job for each language ability, such as writing, reading, listening, and speaking.

• Have at least one year (1,560 hours) of skilled, professional, or technical work experience in Canada in the last three years before your application.

• You have gained your work experience by working in Canada under temporary resident status with authorization to work.

• Meet the score on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).

• You intend to live outside Quebec province.

How to Gain Permanent Residence Through CEC

If you want to gain permanent residence through the Canadian Experience Class, here are the steps you need to take:

1. Make sure that you meet the CEC’s eligibility criteria as mentioned above.

2. Submit your Express Entry profile to the IRCC website

3. Create an IRCC secure account and follow the instructions they will provide. Once you see the prompt for you to create an Express Entry profile, type your personal reference code (if you have one) and key in your personal information.

Remember, you only have 60 days to complete and submit your Express Entry profile. Once you’re done filling it out, submit it, and the IRCC will determine which Express Entry program is eligible for you. If the IRCC determines that you qualify for the CEC, you will be placed in the Express Entry pool with other qualified applicants. Afterwards, all of you will be scored based on different factors such as age, official language ability, education, and work experience.

4. Check if you have an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence.

Even completing the online Express Entry profile does not automatically make you eligible to apply for permanent residence. What is important is that you get a high enough score to meet the minimum requirement in a given Express Entry draw.

Once you find out that you made it in the pool of Express Entry, wait for IRCC to send you an ITA. You have 60 days to submit the complete application if you receive one. The IRCC draws Express entry every two weeks.

If you are given an ITA, apply for immigration.

If you get an ITA, the IRCC will send you a message detailing which program you’re invited to and the next steps you should do. Here are the Express Entry-managed programs: Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), CEC, Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)

Make sure that the information you submitted in your Express Entry profile is accurate because the IRCC will request proof of these details you gave. Suppose the immigration officers see that the information you provided in your application is different from your profile, such as false information or you’ve left out important details. In that case, they may reject your application, find you inadmissible, or worse, bar you from applying for immigration in Canada for five years.

Other Things to Remember

Make it a habit to check the program's criteria you’ve been invited to apply to ensure that you are still eligible. If your situation changes, it is best to re-calculate your score before proceeding with the application. If your new score is less than the minimum CRS cut-off, the IRCC recommends that you decline the invitation.

When you decline an invitation, what will happen is that your name will be placed back into the Express Entry pool of candidates. You may still be considered to be invited only if you are still eligible in the future. Take this chance to improve your CRS score or update your Express Entry profile.

If you are given an ITA but did not respond to it within 60 days, the IRCC will take your profile out of the pool of Express Entry candidates. To make it into the pool of candidates again, you should fill out a new Express Entry profile.

May this guide help you determine if you are qualified for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and help you see the steps you need to take to gain permanent residency in Canada.

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