"To be on the verge" How is foreing work experience work hours calculated?

[serhat737]

Hi everyone! I have a kind of "threshold" situation with the way work hours are calculated and I'm wondering what kind of calculation CIC officers doing. This is because my foreing work hours seem to be just above 3 years and might not even exceed full 3 years depending on how it is calculated.

Definition says: "Work experience can be calculated by adding up the number of weeks of full-time (or equivalent in part-time) paid work in a skilled trade occupation"

My work experience is as below,
1-) 21-03-2018 to 31-05-2018 (0 years, 2 months, 11 days)
2-) 06-03-2019 to 30-09-2020 (1 years, 6 months, 25 days)
3-) 04-10-2020 to 18-01-2022 (1 years, 3 months, 15 days)

When I use an online work experience calculator it says I have "3 years 0 months 21 days" of total work experience, which is 159 weeks. 3 years means 156 weeks, so in this case I should get full-3 years of foreign work experience points for CEC.

However if it is calculated on a week base, and if I don't count first and last weeks (since I worked less than regular 5 days a week in FIRST and LAST weeks in my workplaces, in other words 5 weeks of my experience are not full 5 days a week) it adds up to 154 weeks, which is less than 3 years.

Long story short friends, do you think I could get the points of 3 years of foreign work experience?

 

[Deleted member 1050918]

Hi,

You need to count weekly paid hours. You can claim a maximum of 30 hours worked (paid) in a week. Anything above 30 hours in the same week won't count towards your work experience. See below example:

Assume you worked for 5 weeks and your paid weekly hours are as below:

Week 1: 35 hours
Week 2: 25 hours
Week 3: 30 hours
Week 4: 10 hours
Week 5: 40 hours

Total: 35 + 25 + 30 + 10 + 40 = 140 hours

IRCC counts these hours as below:

Week 1: 30 hours (capped)
Week 2: 25 hours
Week 3: 30 hours (capped)
Week 4: 10 hours
Week 5: 30 hours (capped)

Total (IRCC): 30 + 25 + 30 + 10 + 30 = 125 hours

To be able to claim 3 years of work experience and get max points from work experience, Total (IRCC) must be greater than or equal to 1560 x 3 = 4680 hours. Doesn't matter if you collected these hours as part-time or full-time in one or more companies, given they were collected in eligible NOCs (0, A or B), all those hours were paid, and that for your primary NOC Total (IRCC) is greater than or equal to 1560 hours.

Some tips:

- It is always recommended to add some buffer. It's never a good idea to try to claim exactly 4680 hours and hope nothing goes wrong.
- Remember your unpaid leaves as they don't count as "paid work experience". Any hour (on or off work) that was paid counts as "paid work experience" given they meet the above requirements.

 

[serhat737]

Thank you so much! This is well explained.

In two of the reference letters, it was stated that the work hours are 45 hours/week plus I worked full-time.
However, in one of them, they didn't mention the work hours due to company policy and only stated that I worked full-time. Do you think this should be good?

 

[Deleted member 1050918]

However, in one of them, they didn't mention the work hours due to company policy and only stated that I worked full-time. Do you think this should be good?

Absolutely not good, your application would definitely be rejected if you submitted work letters with missing information. See below and search "proof of work experience":

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/permanent-residence/express-entry/applications-received-on-after-january-1-2016-completeness-check.html

It says:

Proof of work experience
Purpose
To prove each work experience claim and to validate that the applicant meets program requirements
Document requirements

• The personalized document checklist in applicants’ online account prompts the applicant with an upload field for each work experience declared.
• At the completeness check, the processing office determines only whether the required documents are included. The validity or fraudulence of the information is assessed only if and when the application is placed into processing.

The following documents are mandatory for each work experience declared:

• a reference or experience letter from the employer, which
  • should be an official document printed on company letterhead (must include the applicant’s name, the company’s contact information [address, telephone number and email address], and the name, title and signature of the immediate supervisor or personnel officer at the company),
  • should indicate all positions held while employed at the company and must include the following details: job title, duties and responsibilities, job status (if current job), dates worked for the company, number of work hours per week and annual salary plus benefits; and
• if the applicant is self-employed, articles of incorporation or other evidence of business ownership, evidence of self-employment income and documentation from third-party individuals indicating the service provided along with payment details (self-declared main duties or affidavits are not acceptable proof of self-employed work experience).

If your weekly work hours were at least 30 hours, ask your company to put the minimum hours worked into your reference letter if they don't want to provide the exact numbers. Like they could write "The employee worked and paid for at least 30 hours in each week throughout his/her employment at our company." or something like that. Since work hours cap at 30 hours/week, IRCC won't care about the exact numbers if the company states the minimum was 30 hours / week.

General advice: The initial stage of your EE app is called R10 where IRCC checks the completeness of your documents. Without any exceptions, all of the information IRCC is asking in the above link must be submitted in the exact format IRCC accepts. Otherwise, your application will definitely be rejected in the R10 phase. Do not think that IRCC will reach out to you for any missing information, that only happens AFTER R10 (this doesn't mean you can submit missing info after R10 and get away with it, always expect to be rejected if you're submitting missing info). Before R10, it is your responsibility to submit all necessary information in the appropriate format.

Also, since you're aiming for the bare minimum with very little to no buffer in work experience (again, absolutely not recommended), your letters should be as clear as they can be, which in your case looks pretty challenging to arrange. Have your company state the minimum weekly hours and make sure to add a good buffer. Be assured that IRCC is never lenient when it comes to the requirements and minimums asked. You won't get max work exp points if you're short of 3 years by even an hour.

 

[serhat737]

Actually I'm not aiming the minimum but rather just trying to figure out what are the odds for me to get the points for 3 years of FWE.

As for the reference letter, I'll try asking them at least to put minimum weekly work hours.

Thanks again for all the information and effort.

 

[Sayeda Malik]

I have completed my 1 year of Canadian experience in May 2022. I created my express entry profile and submitted it. Other than the Canadian work experience, i also have work experience outside of Canada for 5 years (NOC A) which also i showed in my profile. I got 50 point for foreign work experience and my total CRS score is 484. After submitting my profile, it showed that i met the eligibility of CEC but didnt met the eligibility for FSW. As i have work experience outside of Canada, I understand I should also met the eligibility for FSW. I am not sure if I have done any mistake. In this situation, to get ITA, does the draw has to be CEC specific?

 

[Deleted member 1050918]

I have completed my 1 year of Canadian experience in May 2022. I created my express entry profile and submitted it. Other than the Canadian work experience, i also have work experience outside of Canada for 5 years (NOC A) which also i showed in my profile. I got 50 point for foreign work experience and my total CRS score is 484. After submitting my profile, it showed that i met the eligibility of CEC but didnt met the eligibility for FSW. As i have work experience outside of Canada, I understand I should also met the eligibility for FSW. I am not sure if I have done any mistake. In this situation, to get ITA, does the draw has to be CEC specific?

Is your foreign experience in the same NOC as your Canadian experience? It's a bit odd how your profile qualified for CEC but not FSW. You might want to carefully check all the fields you filled out.

To answer your question: Given your CRS is above the cutoff, you'd receive an ITA in an "all program draw" (when it says "no program specified") or a CEC draw. There hasn't ever been an FSW draw, draws have always been all program draws and we saw CEC draws during the pandemic. So you don't have to worry about not qualifying for FSW as long as you qualify for CEC. But again, you probably should check your profile and figure out why you don't qualify for FSW just to be sure you haven't made any mistakes.

 

[Sayeda Malik]

Is your foreign experience in the same NOC as your Canadian experience? It's a bit odd how your profile qualified for CEC but not FSW. You might want to carefully check all the fields you filled out.

To answer your question: Given your CRS is above the cutoff, you'd receive an ITA in an "all program draw" (when it says "no program specified") or a CEC draw. There hasn't ever been an FSW draw, draws have always been all program draws and we saw CEC draws during the pandemic. So you don't have to worry about not qualifying for FSW as long as you qualify for CEC. But again, you probably should check your profile and figure out why you don't qualify for FSW just to be sure you haven't made any mistakes.

Thanks a lot for ur reply. The NOC for my foreign work experience is not the same as my Canadian work experience. My foreign work experience is NOC A whereas my Canadian work experience is NOC B. I am also worried and wondering how the FSW eligibility didnt met. I checked all the fields several times but couldn’t figure out where I am doing the mistake. Do u suggest me to see a consultant to check my profile?

 

[Deleted member 1050918]

Thanks a lot for ur reply. The NOC for my foreign work experience is not the same as my Canadian work experience. My foreign work experience is NOC A whereas my Canadian work experience is NOC B. I am also worried and wondering how the FSW eligibility didnt met. I checked all the fields several times but couldn’t figure out where I am doing the mistake. Do u suggest me to see a consultant to check my profile?

No need to pay a consultant for that because it seems to be a minor thing and you can get free help on these forums. I'd ask @scylla or @Naturgrl about your FSW ineligibility. But rest assured, there's nothing holding you back from getting an ITA given your CRS is above the cutoff.

 

[Sayeda Malik]

No need to pay a consultant for that because it seems to be a minor thing and you can get free help on these forums. I'd ask @scylla or @Naturgrl about your FSW ineligibility. But rest assured, there's nothing holding you back from getting an ITA given your CRS is above the cutoff.

Thank you very much! I am very glad and sincerely appreciate your help. Thanks to the members of this forum.

 

[Sayeda Malik]

No need to pay a consultant for that because it seems to be a minor thing and you can get free help on these forums. I'd ask @scylla or @Naturgrl about your FSW ineligibility. But rest assured, there's nothing holding you back from getting an ITA given your CRS is above the cutoff.

Dear @ImpatientKangaroo : it just suddenly came in my mind that do u think the reason for not being eligible for FSW is because I answered ‘No’ for the question that if I have ECA for my master’s degree that i did in my country? (The question was: Has X had an Education Credential Assessment (ECA) within the past five years for this degree, diploma or certificate?)

 

[Deleted member 1050918]

Dear @ImpatientKangaroo : it just suddenly came in my mind that do u think the reason for not being eligible for FSW is because I answered ‘No’ for the question that if I have ECA for my master’s degree that i did in my country? (The question was: Has X had an Education Credential Assessment (ECA) within the past five years for this degree, diploma or certificate?)

Maybe. You can experiment with it like try selecting Yes instead and see if it makes a difference after a few minutes. Still a bit weird though since you qualify for CEC.