Canada Immigration Visas

Canada’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, The Honourable Diane Finley, announced that certain temporary foreign workers and students can start applying for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class starting September 17, 2008.
This Canadian Experience Class application is for temporary workers and recent graduates with Canadian credentials who are already in Canada and wish to apply for permanent residence. Unlike other programs, the Canadian Experience Class allows an applicant’s experience in Canada to be considered a key selection factor when immigrating to Canada.

All applicants must have:

1. legally come to Canada to work or study, and have valid temporary status in Canada at the time of application
2. work or studies in occupations that meet the minimum requirements
3. evidence of proficiency in the English or French language (reading, writing, listening and speaking)
4. work experience as a temporary foreign worker, or work experience following graduation from a Canadian post-secondary institution, and post-graduation education requirement.

The final implementation of the Canadian Experience Class reflects what was originally proposed on August 9, 2008. The main difference is that those who have left Canada, but otherwise meet the requirements as workers or graduates, will be eligible to apply provided they do so within one year of leaving their job in Canada. Under the proposal, CIC had suggested that applicants would be required to have temporary resident status and be present in Canada to be eligible to apply. The Government of Canada has since chosen to cast a wider net to avoid missing those with the Canadian experience, through residency restrictions.