Backgrounder - The Canadian Experience Class

Proposed minimum requirements for temporary foreign workers

Under the proposed changes, temporary foreign workers would need to demonstrate the following minimum requirements:

• temporary resident status in Canada at the time of their application;
• two years of skilled, professional or technical work experience;
• moderate or basic language skills, depending on occupational skill level.

Requirements would be based on a pass/fail model. In other words, if the minimum requirements were met, the applicant would be eligible. There would be no point system as with the federal Skilled Worker Program.

Work experience

Under the proposed changes, applicants would be required to accumulate, in the three years prior to an application, at least two years of work experience at Skill Type 0 (managerial occupations) or Skill Levels A (professional occupations) or B (technical occupations and skilled trades) on the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC).

Language abilities

Under the proposed regulations, applicants with managerial or professional experience (Skill Type 0 or Skill Level A) would have to demonstrate moderate skills in either English or French. If the work experience were classified at Skill Level B, applicants would have to prove basic language skills.

Moderate language skills means the applicant can communicate comfortably in familiar social and work situations. Basic language skills means the applicant can communicate in predictable contexts and on familiar topics, but with some difficulty.

Who would not qualify

Applicants would not meet the minimum requirements if:

• their work experience in Canada is not classified as 0, A or B under the NOC list;
• they do not have at least two years of Canadian work experience;
• they have not demonstrated moderate or basic language skills, depending on skill level;
• they do not have temporary resident status in Canada at the time of their application.

Applying

All applicants would have to have temporary resident status in Canada at the time of their application for the Canadian Experience Class. They would initiate their application by mailing it to CIC’s visa office in Buffalo, USA, the visa office dedicated to temporary residents who have been in Canada for at least one year. If accepted, they could be granted permanent residence from within Canada at a local CIC office or the closest border crossing.