Teaching Assistant as Work Experience

[cwjian90]

Hello,

I'm new to this forum, I've completed an Express Entry profile but there are some ambiguities about my application that I hope some people can help me with here with their experience.

I wish to apply under the Canadian Experience Class, I graduated in 2012 from the University of Toronto with a BSc., and am now doing an MSc. at Bishop's University in Quebec (since 2013). I've been working for my thesis supervisor there as a teaching assistant. By CIC's definition of a full time student (15 hours of instruction/week), I am not a full-time student, but a part-time one. My university counts full-time/part-time status based on the number of credits, as opposed to instruction hours. Should I get a letter from my university registrar clarifying this to CIC?

I have a Post Graduation Work Permit along with a Study Permit that I got later on from within Canada, so as far as I can tell, my work experience will count if I am considered a part-time student by CIC.

I can also get pay stubs and a letter of employment from my supervisor, along with his reference letter, though I don't think he has filled out a T4 since the amount he pays me is below the taxation level.

Is that sufficient for CIC? Their call centre has not been very helpful so far.

Also, I received an invitation from the Ontario Human Capital Stream. Do they require the T4 or is the other evidence sufficient?

Thanks for any help

Any help

 

[jes_ON]

By CIC's definition of a full time student (15 hours of instruction/week), I am not a full-time student, but a part-time one.

I have never seen this definition before, can you point out where you found it?

As far I know, CIC goes by whatever your registration status is - if you are registered as a full-time student at your institution, that is your status.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?q=855&t=6

I can also get pay stubs and a letter of employment from my supervisor, along with his reference letter, though I don't think he has filled out a T4 since the amount he pays me is below the taxation level.

The threshold is $500, so if you earned less than $500 for a year of full-time work, it would be difficult to consider this as skilled employment, more like volunteering.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/pyrll/rtrns/t4/slps/whn-eng.html

 

[cwjian90]

Hi,

It's in the CIC Help Centre's Glossary of terms, check under "Full-time study".

My funding/pay is $8000/year, it's part-time, and it technically goes towards tuition.

I also called Opportunities Ontario, and they said it counts for them.

 

[jes_ON]

Hi,

It's in the CIC Help Centre's Glossary of terms, check under "Full-time study".

It seems contradictory, but right below that entry, it also says:

Full time study status: Full time study status is determined by your educational institution (school). It is usually based on the number of classroom hours per week.


My funding/pay is $8000/year, it's part-time, and it technically goes towards tuition.

The point is, you would need a T4 or T4A. You would also need to document the number of hours per week you work.

I also called Opportunities Ontario, and they said it counts for them.

That's fine, but if your university considers you a full-time student, it will not count for CEC. And OO will happily take your money even if you don't qualify at the federal level.

It's your decision of course - but in my opinion your CEC application will be refused, they're very strict on the student thing.

Have you looked into Quebec Immigration? http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/immigrate-settle/students/stay-quebec/index.html

 

[cwjian90]

Hi jes_ON,

I can prove it with T4s and T4As, and with documentation from my supervisor. The main issue is whether they will accept it due to the whole full time/part time study thing, since that is based on what the institution says. I may be able to get the registrar to declare me part time for the purposes of immigration.

At worst, though, I could fall back on the FSWP criteria, though the proof of funds is another issue.

I have considered Quebec immigration, but based on my calculations, I don't think I have enough points unless I spend some time to take French up to the advanced-intermediate level.

 

[kagaya]

Hello cwjian90,

I had similar situation to your case when I submitted my 1st CEC application. I was doing MSc as well and did have TA and RA paid (I had T4 for those period). Unfortunately, CIC refused my application since those experience was obtained when I was a full-time student. Most MSc programs are full-time even though I only took 1 class per term, 3h per week (Yes, only 3!), and I spent plenty of hours per week on research. CIC still consider me as full-time student and thus the RA and TA experience did not count for CEC. Make sure you check with your registrar office to see if you have registered at full-time or part-time. If you registered as part-time student, ask them to provide a letter (to support your case).

 

[cwjian90]

Ah, I'm sorry to hear that, kagaya. How did CIC know you were a full time student? I'm asking my registrar to provide a letter saying that CIC should consider me as a part time student due to the low instruction hours, and that they should count my work experience.

Worst comes to worst, there's always the FSWP, or CSQ for me...

 

[them3ntor]

Hello @jes_ON I have a question to this thread: TA's work only during the semesters (usually 20 hrs/week), not during the summer/winter vacations. Does it make them ineligible to apply since the CIC states that the work has to be continuous? Thanks.