Canadian Experience Class

Canadian Skilled Worker Immigration


Immigrating to Canada Under the Canadian Experience Class


If you have worked or studied in Canada for at least one (1) year you could qualify to for Permanent Residence under this class. Note: the point system is not applicable.

Applicants must have been legally authorized to work and study in Canada, and should apply while working in Canada, or within one year of leaving their jobs in Canada.

Eligibility for the Canadian Experience Class

  1. A temporary “skilled” foreign worker (NOC Skill level O, A, B) with at least two years of full-time (or equivalent) skilled work experience in Canada, or;
  2. A foreign graduate from a Canadian post-secondary institution with at least one year of full-time (or equivalent) skilled work experience in Canada

English or French language ability required
Applicants in this class are expected to prove they have met the minimum language requirements by providing evidence of their proficiency in English or French (speaking, reading, listening and writing). Standards correspond with the benchmarks set out below, using the Canadian Language Benchmarks 2000 (for English) or Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens 2006 (for French):

Skill Type 0 or Level A
For applicants with qualifying Canadian work experience at of NOC O or A level they must obtain a benchmark of:

  • 7 or higher for each of those abilities, or;
  • 6 for any one of those abilities; 7 or higher for any other two of those abilities; and 8 or higher for the remaining ability

Skill Level B
For applicants with qualifying Canadian work experience at this level they must obtain a benchmark of:

  • 5 or higher for each of those abilities, or;
  • 4 for any one of those abilities; 5 or higher for any other two of those abilities; and 6 or higher for the remaining ability

If an applicant has work experience in both NOC 0 or A and B, the applicant must prove that they meet the minimum language requirement for the skill type/level in which they have obtained most (more than half) of their work experience.

Approved testing organizations
Designated IELTS testing organizations include The University of Cambridge, Education Australia and The British Council.

The “General Training” tests are accepted for CIC purposes.

French-language testing organizations
The Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which administers the Test d’Évaluation de Français (TEF).

Note: For CIC purposes, applicants must submit results for the following TEF modules: compréhension écrite (reading); compréhension orale (listening); expression écrite (writing); and expression orale (speaking). The lexique et structure (grammar and structure) test is not required for Canadian immigration purposes, though test candidates take it as part of the reading and listening modules.

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Test score equivalency chart
(applications received or test reports dated after February 15, 2009)

NOC CLB Level Test Results of Each Ability
Speaking Listening Reading Writing
O, A 8 6.5 7.5 6.5 6.5
O,A 7 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0
O,A,B 6 5.5 5.5 5.0 5.5
B 5 5.0 5.0 4.0 5.0
B 4 4.0 4.5 3.5 4.0

Note: Visa officers should also assess applications and test reports which pre-date the above correlation table if it is to the applicant’s advantage (i.e. resulting in more points for language proficiency).

Test Score Equivalency Chart
(applications received or test reports dated after February 15, 2009)

NOC CLB Level Test Results of Each Ability
Speaking Listening Reading Writing
O, A 8 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0
O,A 7 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0
O,A,B 6 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0
B 5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5
B 4 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0

For applicants with qualifying Canadian work experience of Skill Type 0 or of Skill Level A of the NOC [R87.1(2)(b)(i)]:

Test d’évaluation de français (TEF) Test Score Equivalency

NOC CLB Level Test Results for each ability
Speaking
(expression orale)		 Listening
(comprehension orale)		 Reading
(comprehension ecrite)		 Writing
(expression ecrite)
O, A 8 349 280 233 349
O,A 7 309 248 206 309
O,A,B 6 271 217 181 271
B 5 225 180 150 225
B 4 181 145 121 181