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fulltime (or equivalent)

jaha

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Feb 18, 2011
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Hi folks,

I have a question to the fulltime requirement for the CEC. The guide says that you need 24 month of full-time or full-time equivalent with 37.5h per week. The full-time equivalent at the University I worked the past 32 month has a full-time equivalent of 35h/week. So what does count, the hours per week, the total hours over the las t 2 1/2 years or the term "full-time equivalent". My letter of reference states "..full-time equivalent of 35h per week..."

I'm really confused whether I'm eligible or not.

Thanks
Jan
 

rjessome

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Feb 24, 2009
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jaha said:
I have a question to the fulltime requirement for the CEC. The guide says that you need 24 month of full-time or full-time equivalent with 37.5h per week. The full-time equivalent at the University I worked the past 32 month has a full-time equivalent of 35h/week. So what does count, the hours per week, the total hours over the las t 2 1/2 years or the term "full-time equivalent". My letter of reference states "..full-time equivalent of 35h per week..."
"Or equivalent" in the this case means 37.5 hours per week or 3900 hours (2 years). According to my calculations, you have at least 4480 hours so YES, you do qualify as long as you meet the other requirements. It doesn't have to be gained within 2 years but equal to. I hope you understand.
 

jes_ON

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The two-year work requirement means you must work
1) a minimum of 24 months (104 weeks) AND
2) a minimum of 3900 hours (104 weeks at 37.5 hours per week).

If you work less than 37.5 hours per week, you are "part-time" for CIC's purposes. The term "full-time equivalent" refers to the amount of work a part-time worker has to do to reach the 3900 hours, which is (usually) longer than 2 years (or 24 months or 104 weeks).

In your case, at 35 hours per week ...

35 * 104 = 3640 hours

3900 - 3640 = 260 hours short at 2 years

260 / 35 = 7.43 extra weeks (make it 8 weeks) to qualify,

... for a total of 112 weeks (roughly 2 years and 2 months). That is your "full-time equivalent."

Your letter doesn't need to state "full time equivalent" but it won't matter one way or the other. CIC will calculate your equivalence. As long as you have worked for 112 weeks at 35 hours per week, you qualify.
 

rjessome

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I like your explaination jes but number of weeks doesn't come into it really. And I didn't do a good job of explaining my comment either.

The calculation for the foreign worker stream is pretty easy. OP Manual 25 says:
For the Temporary Foreign Worker Stream, the applicant must have 24 months of fulltime
equivalent Canadian skilled-work experience at NOC 0, A or B acquired in Canada,
within the 36 months preceding the date their application is made .


24 months of full time equivalent equals 3900 hours for the purposes of CEC [37.5 hours x 104 weeks = 3900]. So as long as you have 3900 hours of qualifying work experience within the 36 months (3 years) from the date the application is submitted, you are fine.
 

flag2009

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I suggest you listen to Jes,

People have been denied because they had more than 3900hours BUT did not have up to 24 months of work experience (they worked more than 37.5 hours a week, but the officer counted only 37.5 hours as maximum)

Simply put,

The two-year work requirement means you must work
1) a minimum of 24 months (104 weeks) AND
2) a minimum of 3900 hours (104 weeks at 37.5 hours per week).

The one-year work requirement (graduate stream) means you must work
1) a minimum of 12 months (52 weeks) AND
2) a minimum of 1950 hours (52 weeks at 37.5 hours per week).
 

jaha

Newbie
Feb 18, 2011
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Many thanks, for the replies. For some reason I didn't get e-mail notification. I found the guide not very specific to this requirement but if they really count the hours within the last 3 years then I'm save. I mean I could also get a letter of reference with a 37.5h/week statement but I feel better without this cheat. My boss is really easy going but the official FTE 1.0 is 35h/week at the University.

Thanks again
 

rjessome

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flag2009 said:
I suggest you listen to Jes,

People have been denied because they had more than 3900hours BUT did not have up to 24 months of work experience (they worked more than 37.5 hours a week, but the officer counted only 37.5 hours as maximum)
That's for people who worked less than 2 years. 2 years or 24 months of work minimum is stated right in the requirements. I thought everyone got that part. Oops. ::) I certainly didn't mean to imply that anyone who worked less than 2 years but met the number of hours would qualify. Once again, I should have been more clear. Sorry.
 

jaha

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Feb 18, 2011
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Ok, I'm about to send my application but I'm still unsure about the full-time equivalent. THe guide says:
"You must have obtained the equivalent of 24 months of full-time or full-time equivalent (one week is 37.5 hours of work) Canadian skilled work experience at NOC Skill Type 0, or Skill Level A or B."

So you interpretated teh word equivlaent as the total hours earned. However, one could also think that each week with min 37.5h is full-time week and I need two years of those weeks within 3 years.

So, how secure is your statement about teh calculation of total hours? Is it based on personal experience or do your interpretattion of the word equivalent.
Sorry, for bothering again but don't wanna pay $1500 just to hear that I'm not eligible.

Many thanks
Jan
 

rjessome

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jaha said:
Ok, I'm about to send my application but I'm still unsure about the full-time equivalent. THe guide says:
"You must have obtained the equivalent of 24 months of full-time or full-time equivalent (one week is 37.5 hours of work) Canadian skilled work experience at NOC Skill Type 0, or Skill Level A or B."

So you interpretated teh word equivlaent as the total hours earned. However, one could also think that each week with min 37.5h is full-time week and I need two years of those weeks within 3 years.

So, how secure is your statement about teh calculation of total hours? Is it based on personal experience or do your interpretattion of the word equivalent.
Sorry, for bothering again but don't wanna pay $1500 just to hear that I'm not eligible.

Many thanks
Jan
You must have worked for a MINIMUM OF 2 YEARS. That's the first requirement. If you meet that, then you must ensure that the total hours worked equals the 3900 within the last 3 years.

For example, if you worked 3900 hours in 1 year and 10 months, you do NOT qualify. But if you worked 3900 hours in 2 years and 3 months, you DO qualify.
 

jaha

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Feb 18, 2011
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ok, I understand but is it really how teh CIC calculates the full-time equivlanet? How do you know?

Sorry, for bothering but I want to 1000% sure.
The CIC Buffalo didn't answer to my questions. They just said I should call the call centre which directed me to the CIC. :mad:
 

jes_ON

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jaha said:
ok, I understand but is it really how teh CIC calculates the full-time equivlanet? How do you know?

Sorry, for bothering but I want to 1000% sure.
The CIC Buffalo didn't answer to my questions. They just said I should call the call centre which directed me to the CIC. :mad:
Yes, this is how they do it, and yes, I have personal experience because my sh**Ty contract states "a minimum of 33.75 hours a week." Since I am salaried, I do not have any way to prove I work more than that, so I had to work 2 years +3 extra months to qualify. And yes, I had an immigration officer confirm my calculations. But I have not yet been approved, so there ya go.
 

rjessome

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jes_ON said:
Yes, this is how they do it, and yes, I have personal experience because my sh**Ty contract states "a minimum of 33.75 hours a week." Since I am salaried, I do not have any way to prove I work more than that, so I had to work 2 years +3 extra months to qualify. And yes, I had an immigration officer confirm my calculations. But I have not yet been approved, so there ya go.
It's gotta be getting close now jes. Approvals are starting to come in for other applications with dates just a couple of months before yours. :)
 

jes_ON

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rjessome said:
It's gotta be getting close now jes. Approvals are starting to come in for other applications with dates just a couple of months before yours. :)
Alas, it's been "So close" for quite some time :) there was a big gap between the April and May applicants. Our bad timing, I think my application arrived just in time for new systems (GCMS) to be implemented in Buffalo. Then, all file transfers seemed to stop after the new year (again, at the same point - end of april applicants got through, but then it stopped). It seems that mine will be one of the first to go through the system, for better or worse.

Thanks for the encouragement, tho!