The Canadian Experience Class is part of the three federal programs managed through the Express Entry system. It is a program for skilled workers who have Canadian work experience and want to become permanent residents.

Candidates must meet the minimum requirements to qualify for the program so they can create their profile on the Express Entry System.

The minimum requirements are:

• Skilled work experience: which means you have worked in Canada in a skilled position, (NOC skill level 0, A or B), for at least one year full-time (1560 hours) or equivalent part-time, in the last three years before you apply. You can NOT count any hours you worked above 30 hours/week. It is important to say that Self-employment and work experience gained while you were a full-time student (such as a co-op work term) doesn’t count under this program.

• Language ability: you must take approved language tests in English or French in all four abilities (writing, reading, listening and speaking) and get a minimum score of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 for NOC 0 or A jobs or Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 5 for NOC B jobs;

There are no education requirements for the Canadian Experience Class program, but if you want to improve your score in the Express Entry pool of candidates, you can get extra points for education. That being said, you will need a completed credential and an Educational Credential Assessment report from an approved agency showing that your education is equal to a completed certificate, diploma or degree from a Canadian secondary (high school) or post-secondary school.

Also, you must plan to live outside the province of Quebec because they select their own skilled workers through different criteria.

Above all, you must be admissible to Canada. If you are inadmissible to Canada, you will not be allowed to come to Canada, even if you qualify for the program.

The current processing time for the Canadian Experience Class applications under the Express Entry system is six months after you submitted all the required documents. Good luck!