FAQs

Q?

I have a client that will complete their one year of skilled experience in Canada in mid-December. CEC allows for a reasonable amount of vacation time in their qualifies for the work experience requirement. However, the client has only taken 4 days off. In light of the above, do you think a CEC file can be submitted a couple of weeks prior to the 52 weeks if the applicant did not take any vacation? I’m sure the answer is no, but wanted to double check, since things are a bit different with Express Entry.

A.

Under CEC, full-time work is calculated based on number of months of full time employment, assuming the person works 30 hours minimum per week.

The reason this is so is due to a combination of the Regulations and the Policy Manual. The wording of s.87.1(2) of the Regulations states as follows:
(2) A foreign national is a member of the Canadian experience class if
(a) they have acquired in Canada, within the three years before the date on which their application for permanent residence is made, at least one year of full-time work experience, or the equivalent in part-time work experience, in one or more occupations that are listed in Skill Type 0 Management Occupations or Skill Level A or B of the National Occupational Classification matrix, exclusive of restricted occupations
In its Policy Manual, IRCC interprets this to mean a person needs to complete 12 months of experience, so an applicant needs to go through the full 52 weeks even if she reached the equivalent number of annual work hours earlier due to not taking holidays.
Applicants must have at least 12 months of full-time, Canadian skilled work experience (or the equivalent in part-time work experience).

Q?

I have a client that will complete their one year of skilled experience in Canada in mid-December. CEC allows for a reasonable amount of vacation time in their qualifies for the work experience requirement. However, the client has only taken 4 days off. In light of the above, do you think a CEC file can be submitted a couple of weeks prior to the 52 weeks if the applicant did not take any vacation? I’m sure the answer is no, but wanted to double check, since things are a bit different with Express Entry.

A.

Under CEC, full-time work is calculated based on number of months of full time employment, assuming the person works 30 hours minimum per week.
The reason this is so is due to a combination of the Regulations and the Policy Manual. The wording of s.87.1(2) of the Regulations states as follows:
(2) A foreign national is a member of the Canadian experience class if
(a) they have acquired in Canada, within the three years before the date on which their application for permanent residence is made, at least one year of full-time work experience, or the equivalent in part-time work experience, in one or more occupations that are listed in Skill Type 0 Management Occupations or Skill Level A or B of the National Occupational Classification matrix, exclusive of restricted occupationsIn its Policy Manual, IRCC interprets this to mean a person needs to complete 12 months of experience, so an applicant needs to go through the full 52 weeks even if she reached the equivalent number of annual work hours earlier due to not taking holidays.

Applicants must have at least 12 months of full-time, Canadian skilled work experience (or the equivalent in part-time work experience).

Q?

The electrical engineer from Mexico wants to enter Canada to provide services to a Canadian company. However, he is the employee of a Mexican company that was hired by the Canadian enterprise to provide the services. Does this qualify as a NAFTA professional, since the foreign worker has no intention on becoming the temporary employee of the Canadian company. He will also be paid by the Mexican company while in Canada. Should the application be framed as a business visitor instead?

A.

If the temporary foreign worker is a Mexican citizen and has the appropriate qualifications as an electrical engineer, he should certainly be able to obtain a work permit as a NAFTA professional under section 204(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (LMIA Exemption Code T23). This is not the case where you could be successful in a Business Visitor application, as the foreign national will certainly be entering the Canadian labour market and providing services to Canadians, even if the remuneration for the services is paid to his foreign employer.
IRCC's Program Delivery Instructions (PDIs) specifically provide for this type of arrangement under the exemptions for Free Trade Agreement professionals. In describing the type of pre-arranged services that are permissible for NAFTA professionals, the PDIs recognize the following three scenarios:

  • An employee-employer relationship with a Canadian enterprise (direct employee); OR
  • A contract between the professional and a Canadian enterprise (contractor); OR
  • Where services are provided under a contract between the professional's Mexican employer and a Canadian enterprise.What does not qualify as pre-arranged services is self-employment in Canada, which is exemplified at length in the PDIs. This certainly does not concern the scenario you mention.

Consequently, evidence of confirmation of pre-arranged employment for a NAFTA professional application can be provided through either:

  • A signed contract with a Canadian enterprise, OR
  • Evidence of an offer of employment from a Canadian employer, OR
  • A letter from the Mexican employer on whose behalf the service will be provided to the Canadian enterprise.

Q?

What are the actual changes in Express Entry processing due to the amendments to the Immigration Ministerial Instructions as of November 19, 2016?

A.

On November 11, the government made publicly available its proposed amendments to the Ministerial Instructions that regulate Canada's Express Entry system. You can see the amendments here: http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2016/2016-11-12/html/notice-avis-eng.php#na1
The first change that is worth noting is that permanent residence applicants will now have 90 days to submit an eAPR after receiving an Invitation to Apply. This is great news as many of us have experienced the struggle of putting together an application for permanent residence in 60 days, particularly when documents such as police clearances can take longer than two months to be issued.
In addition to the points that the system already awards for the candidate's highest level of education, the new scoring system will award the following points for a candidate's Canadian degree (if applicable):

  • 15 points for a Canadian post-secondary degree of 1 or 2 years
  • 30 points for a Canadian post-secondary that is either
    • 3 years or longer
    • A Master's degree
    • A PhD degree, OR
    • An entry-to-practice professional degree for a NOC level A occupation for which licensing by a provincial regulatory body is required

It is worth nothing that these points are not cumulative but only awarded to a candidate's highest Canadian degree. Moreover, these points, combined with the extra points that can be awarded for a provincial nomination and an eligible offer of arranged employment, cannot exceed 600 points. This means that a provincial nominee, who is already awarded 600 extra points, cannot claim the extra points for Canadian degrees.