Any rejection for experience claimed during transition Off-campus WP to PGWP?

[seton]

Lots of opinion being belted out here.

When the CIC rejects an application, they refer to the Immigration and Refugee Act (including the regulations). They do not refer to the website. The CIC website is written to assist persons in applying and interpreting the act.

If you want to go to the "rules", you need to refer to the act. Here are the regulations regarding the CEC class (http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2002-227/page-36.html#h-44):

(a) they

(i) have acquired in Canada within the 24 months before the day on which their application for permanent residence is made at least 12 months 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, and have acquired that work experience after having obtained

(A) a diploma, degree or trade or apprenticeship credential issued on the completion of a program of full-time study or training of at least two years' duration at a public, provincially recognized post-secondary educational or training institution in Canada,

(B) a diploma or trade or apprenticeship credential issued on the completion of a program of full-time study or training of at least two years' duration at a private, Quebec post-secondary institution that operates under the same rules and regulations as public Quebec post-secondary institutions and that receives at least 50 per cent of its financing for its overall operations from government grants, subsidies or other assistance,

(C) a degree from a private, provincially recognized post-secondary educational institution in Canada issued on the completion of a program of full-time study of at least two years' duration, or

(D) a graduate degree from a provincially recognized post-secondary educational institution in Canada issued on the completion of a program of full-time study of at least one year's duration and within two years after obtaining a degree or diploma from an institution referred to in clause (A) or (C), or

(ii) have acquired in Canada within the 36 months before the day on which their application for permanent residence is made at least 24 months 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;

The act does not mention either the Off Campus Work Permit or the Post Graduate Work Permit. The actual wording of the act says "After having obtained [the degree]".

As such, the interpretation of this is not clear and there is an element of ambiguousness. By the definition of the act, it doesn't matter what type of work permit you have once it has been obtained after your degree.

I believe why the CIC website mentions the OCWP is to be explicit that work done during your degree won't count. But it does not adequately address the gap between applying for your PGWP where your OCWP allows you to keep working after your degree. It's subjective, and neither your or my opinion are going to change how an officer interprets it. However, I do think that if you get rejected for this reason, you will have a very strong case for an appeal if your work experience was after obtaining your degree (regardless of the WP type).