CEC decline or accept invite

[AJ816]

I have:

• 10 months of foreign work experience: June 23, 2021 to April 29, 2022.
• Canadian work experience: January 6, 2025 to present.
  • Took a 4-week vacation outside Canada: September 7 to October 4, 2025. (Paid)
• Also worked a 2-month remote contract job for a non-Canadian employer: September 1 to October 31, 2025.

I entered these details in my Express Entry profile and I was awarded points for foreign work experience even though I was also working full-time in Canada.
I understand I have 2 months to accept the ITA, but when am I technically eligible?

1. January 6, 2026
2. February 6, 2026 (because of the vacation or can it be earlier?)
3. March 6, 2026 (to avoid “double dipping” by counting Sept–Oct 2025 as foreign experience instead of Canadian experience: Jan–Aug 2025 Canada, Sept–Oct 2025 foreign, Nov 2025–Mar 2026 Canada to complete the remaining CEC experience)

There is a thread already under CEC topics. Repeating here for better reach.

 

[canuck78]

I have:

• 10 months of foreign work experience: June 23, 2021 to April 29, 2022.
• Canadian work experience: January 6, 2025 to present.
  • Took a 4-week vacation outside Canada: September 7 to October 4, 2025. (Paid)
• Also worked a 2-month remote contract job for a non-Canadian employer: September 1 to October 31, 2025.

I entered these details in my Express Entry profile and I was awarded points for foreign work experience even though I was also working full-time in Canada.
I understand I have 2 months to accept the ITA, but when am I technically eligible?

1. January 6, 2026
2. February 6, 2026 (because of the vacation or can it be earlier?)
3. March 6, 2026 (to avoid “double dipping” by counting Sept–Oct 2025 as foreign experience instead of Canadian experience: Jan–Aug 2025 Canada, Sept–Oct 2025 foreign, Nov 2025–Mar 2026 Canada to complete the remaining CEC experience)

There is a thread already under CEC topics. Repeating here for better reach.

You can only count 2 weeks of paid vacation time per year. You will need to subtract 2 weeks from your work experience.

 

[rohan012]

I'm in a similar situation, @AJ816 please let me know whatever you do. Since you got the ITA, you'll have 60 days to submit your profile. How will you be able to submit your application on March 6 to avoid double dipping?

 

[AJ816]

I'm in a similar situation, @AJ816 please let me know whatever you do. Since you got the ITA, you'll have 60 days to submit your profile. How will you be able to submit your application on March 6 to avoid double dipping?

I declined. Planning to proceed only if get invite after 1st week of Jan

 

[rohan012]

I declined. Planning to proceed only if get invite after 1st week of Jan

So, if you receive the ITA in mid-January, you still wouldn’t have a full 52 weeks of Canadian work experience, right? Experience is only counted up to the date of the ITA, and paid vacation time doesn’t count, correct?
Also how are you filling your CEC experience in the form?
JAN-SEPT
OCT-PRESENT

OR

JAN-AUG
OCT-PRESENT

 

[AJ816]

Experience is counted when you submit the application afaik.

I just put Canadian as Jan to present (coz technically that’s the truth and I didn’t know how to approach when I filled the profile . Thats why I got the invite. Because the points calculation considers foreign and Canadian experience valid simultaneously. I could have avoided it had I put my Canadian experience as Jan to August and then Nov to present.

Anyways I plan leave the profile as it , if I get the invite and I ll submit after march 6 and let the officer do the math.

I ll have completed 1 year Canadian and 2 months foreign experience required in my case by then, even if they don’t consider vacation as experience I have overlapping foreign experience during that time period.