Using foreign PhD as work experience

[mohoozee]

Thanks also in the letter what did you mention research assistant or research scholor or phd candidate

I don't think it matters, really. In any case, I used Research Assistant which is what is stated on my employment contract.

 

[pawansh]

We recently got PPR using NOC 4012. FWIW:
- The duties mentioned in the reference letter closely mirrored those for the research assistant. No duties of a teaching assistant were mentioned.
- Designation mentioned on the reference letter was "PhD candidate".
- We attached salary slips of the last six months and the bank statement of only the last month, just to show that the account numbers on the salary slips and the bank statement match, and the salary is, indeed, credited in the back account.

I do not have salary slips also i was on scholorship so i was getting money in six months to my account, so do i need to present bank statement or letter is sufficient.

 

[mohoozee]

I do not have salary slips also i was on scholorship so i was getting money in six months to my account, so do i need to present bank statement or letter is sufficient.

To be frank, I believe you are stressing yourself unnecessarily. If CIC required any additional information be rest assured they'll send you an ADR.

 

[shifs]

I do not have salary slips also i was on scholorship so i was getting money in six months to my account, so do i need to present bank statement or letter is sufficient.

The reference letter, with the signature and stamp of your supervisor/HR/HOD/etc (in our case, it was the director of the PhD school) is the only mandatory document. The rest are just supporting documents for your own peace of mind.

 

[shifs]

I do not have salary slips also i was on scholorship so i was getting money in six months to my account, so do i need to present bank statement or letter is sufficient.

I'm not sure if it is important, but just to be on the safe side: on the reference letter, if possible, have your scholarship amount mentioned as "salary" and not as "scholarship".

 

[jes_ON]

Dear Can we use experience gain during PHD for CRS also?

You can, if you were employed while studying. If you were just studying, then it is not considered employment. While many graduate students can have their work experience counted, not all can. It all depends on your status at the university - were you classified as an employee?

For example, above Mohoozee commented about having an employment contract; this is proof of employment. Do you have this?

You would need the same proof as any other job - job letter, supporting documents.

I'm not sure if it is important, but just to be on the safe side: on the reference letter, if possible, have your scholarship amount mentioned as "salary" and not as "scholarship".

That would be misrepresentation.

 

[pawansh]

You can, if you were employed while studying. If you were just studying, then it is not considered employment. While many graduate students can have their work experience counted, not all can. It all depends on your status at the university - were you classified as an employee?

For example, above Mohoozee commented about having an employment contract; this is proof of employment. Do you have this?

You would need the same proof as any other job - job letter, supporting documents.



That would be misrepresentation.

Thanks a lot


Someone told me that i cannot claim points for PHD until i get one year experience after getting degree is it correct?

 

[picklee]

Thanks a lot


Someone told me that i cannot claim points for PHD until i get one year experience after getting degree is it correct?

Re-read @jes_ON reply. If your PhD includes an employment contract then you were classified as an employee, count the experience in EE. Otherwise, you were just classified as a student, and you must wait until you have one year of work experience.

 

[shifs]

That would be misrepresentation.

Even if the scholarship is taxable?

 

[picklee]

Even if the scholarship is taxable?

A scholarship cannot be considered salary if you were not an employee. A scholarship is for studying and a salary is for working. It all depends on how you are classified by your university. Some people are both a student and employee, others only student. Whether a scholarship is taxable or not has nothing to do with how the university classifies you.

At my university/Department, most graduate students are funded through grants from professors. For the others funded through scholarships, the scholarship is typically paid directly to the university, the university takes a percentage for overhead, then the remainder is paid to the student as salary. We even have distinction between ‘employee postdocs’ and ‘award postdocs’.

 

[pawansh]

Re-read @jes_ON reply. If your PhD includes an employment contract then you were classified as an employee, count the experience in EE. Otherwise, you were just classified as a student, and you must wait until you have one year of work experience.

I was on scholorship but if i get reference letter which states that i was phd candidate and was getting compensation than would it be sufficient to claim the experience or assessing officer required employement letter also

 

[jes_ON]

Thanks a lot
Someone told me that i cannot claim points for PHD until i get one year experience after getting degree is it correct?

Not sure what you're asking. As soon as you finish your PhD (have the degree awarded), you can claim points for your educational credential.

You need a minimum of one year of qualifying work experience to be eligible under express entry. If you have no prior skilled work experience, then the implication is that you will have to work for a year before you can qualify, PhD or no PhD.

 

[picklee]

I was on scholorship but if i get reference letter which states that i was phd candidate and was getting compensation than would it be sufficient to claim the experience or assessing officer required employement letter also

I understand you were paid by scholarship.

Did you receive a monthly or bi-weekly paycheck?
Does your pay stub have an “employee id” or “employee number” on it?

If you answered yes to both of the questions above, then you were likely classified as an employee by your university. You can add additional certainty that you were an employee with terms like “regular” or “stipend” on your paystub. There is an important distinction between titles, too. For example, if you are a student, then your title might simply be PhD student or doctoral candidate. If you are an employee, then your title might be research assistant. If you were paid as a teaching assistant, that is qualifying work experience separate.

Just because you were paid a scholarship, does not mean you had a job. This is for good reason. Suppose I won a $1000 scholarship from an organization to study at a university. Just because the university paid the scholarship to me does not in any way imply that I was an employee of the university.

See the point?

 

[pawansh]

I understand you were paid by scholarship.

Did you receive a monthly or bi-weekly paycheck?
Does your pay stub have an “employee id” or “employee number” on it?

If you answered yes to both of the questions above, then you were likely classified as an employee by your university. You can add additional certainty that you were an employee with terms like “regular” or “stipend” on your paystub. There is an important distinction between titles, too. For example, if you are a student, then your title might simply be PhD student or doctoral candidate. If you are an employee, then your title might be research assistant. If you were paid as a teaching assistant, that is qualifying work experience separate.

Just because you were paid a scholarship, does not mean you had a job. This is for good reason. Suppose I won a $1000 scholarship from an organization to study at a university. Just because the university paid the scholarship to me does not in any way imply that I was an employee of the university.

See the point?

I was entitled to receive monthly stipend, but it was credited to my account in 6 month afte

I understand you were paid by scholarship.

Did you receive a monthly or bi-weekly paycheck?
Does your pay stub have an “employee id” or “employee number” on it?

If you answered yes to both of the questions above, then you were likely classified as an employee by your university. You can add additional certainty that you were an employee with terms like “regular” or “stipend” on your paystub. There is an important distinction between titles, too. For example, if you are a student, then your title might simply be PhD student or doctoral candidate. If you are an employee, then your title might be research assistant. If you were paid as a teaching assistant, that is qualifying work experience separate.

Just because you were paid a scholarship, does not mean you had a job. This is for good reason. Suppose I won a $1000 scholarship from an organization to study at a university. Just because the university paid the scholarship to me does not in any way imply that I was an employee of the university.

See the point?

I was entitled to receive monthly stipend, but it was credited to my account in 6 month after audit of the university. Also i had no pay slips. What can we do in this case?

 

[picklee]

I was entitled to receive monthly stipend, but it was credited to my account in 6 month afte

I was entitled to receive monthly stipend, but it was credited to my account in 6 month after audit of the university. Also i had no pay slips. What can we do in this case?

It sounds like you were not considered an employee. The fact that you don’t have pay stubs will be the first red flag for IRCC, regardless whether you can get a reference letter from someone. You can save yourself a lot of headache and money by waiting until you have 1 year of work experience rather than hoping that IRCC considers your degree program work experience.

That’s probably not what you wanted to hear, but I think most other seniors would agree with me.