Eligibility for Express Entry programs: Who can apply for the Canadian Experience Class

Minimum requirements

To be eligible, you must meet all the minimum requirements for

Canadian skilled work experience

You must

Skilled work experience means that you’ve worked in 1 or more of these NOC training, education, experience and responsibilities (TEER) categories

Your skilled work experience must be paid work, including paid wages or earned commission. We don’t count volunteer work or unpaid internships.

You’re not eligible for the Canadian Experience Class if

Self-employment and student work experience

Self-employment and work experience gained while you were a full-time student (even if you were on a co-op work term) doesn’t count toward the minimum requirements for this program.

Exemption for physicians

We introduced a temporary public policy for foreign national physicians who

  • were invited to apply for permanent residence through Express Entry on or after April 25, 2023, and submitted an application
  • have work experience in providing publicly funded medical services in Canada (such as fee-for-service work) and
  • aren’t eligible because they’re self-employed

We now count this work experience as Canadian work experience. When you create your Express Entry profile, to make it possible for your work experience to count as Canadian work experience, do not check the “Self-employed work” checkbox under Work experience in Canada.

Language ability

You must

Your language tests

Education

There is no education requirement for the Canadian Experience Class.

If you want to improve your rank in the Express Entry pool, there are 2 ways you can do this.

  1. If you went to school in Canada, you can get points for a certificate, diploma or degree from a Canadian
    • secondary institution (high school) or
    • post-secondary institution
  2. If you have foreign education, you can get points if you have both of these

Admissibility

You must be admissible to Canada.

Where you can live in Canada

You must plan to live outside the province of Quebec. The province of Quebec selects its own skilled workers. If you plan on living in Quebec, see Quebec-selected skilled workers for more information.

When you fill out your profile, we’ll ask you where you plan to live in Canada. You don’t have to settle in that province or territory.

If you’re a Provincial Nominee, you must settle in the province or territory that nominated you.

Next steps

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