Hi everyone,
I have a question regarding how to calculate my work experience
Employer 1: Jan 19, 2015 - Aug 7, 2015 (Technically this is 6 months and 20 days) but Express entry system is mm/yyyy, so it calculates 7 months
Employer 2: Sept 25, 2017 - March 31, 2018 ( 6 Months and 7 days) but Express entry system calculates 7 months.
Employer 3: April 1 2018 - Present (1 year 7 months 21 days) but express entry systems calculates 1 year 8 months.
So in total i technically have 2 years, 8 months and 18 days and my CRS is 452, but my applications calculates mm/yyyy, so it becomes 2 years and 11 months of experience which would increases my CRS TO 475 next month (Considering 3 years). I understand that with 475 i am more likely to get ITA in the first draw in December. So should i decline the ITA and wait till i reach exact 3 years based on days counted towards my experience which will be on march 5 2020 or can i accept the ITA.
I have posted this question before and got different opinions. Today i called the IRCC and the representative told me i can go ahead and accept the ITA as long as the information provided on my profile is truthful and the officer's looking at your application will be well aware of the system limitations. I also did ask them if this was posted anywhere in the website and the representative did send me the below email.
Please do not reply to this email.
Date: 2019-11-21
Good day,
Thank you for contacting Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. As discussed, you will find below complementary information to our conversation:
Invitation to apply - How IRCC calculates the one year work experience
When submitting an Express Entry (EE) permanent residence application, you must demonstrate you are meeting the eligibility requirements of one of the federal economic immigration programs. One of the requirements is to enter the month/year of work experience and no specific date. Therefore, you may have received an Invitation to Apply (ITA) even if you are missing a few days of work experience to be eligible.
IRCC officers processing the EE applications are aware of the system calculating months and not actual days/hours worked in a month. When reviewing an application, they will take into consideration factors such as:
The decision for approval is at the discretion of the officer. However, the onus is on you to provide all required information and supporting documentation to facilitate the decision.
- Continuous work status,
- The Offer of Employment Letter from the same employer, and
- Whether you reach the one year work experience at the time the EE application is submitted/approved or within a few days after.
I have been in a same situation and never got the clear answer whether to accept /Decline ITA before work anniversary. It's highly debatable topic:
[1] If you have ample work visa left, I would suggest to get your work anniversary(1st/2rd/3rd) completed first and then accept ITA. Very safe option.
[2] If you accept ITA before work anniversary, it's up to the officer to take a final call. That's the nice declaimer IRCC sent me in their response to my query. There are success stories even taking the risks but one will end up worrying during whole PR application.
[3] When you have enough visa (more than 2 years) and If still you want to take a risk (accepting ITA before work anniversary) -- If unlucky and In the worst case, PR will get rejected but you would still be able to apply again. But this would be a bad choice.
[4] If you must need to file bridging WP due to the max-out, then only option is to take the risk [2].
It's your choice in the end, good luck !