CEC ITA Dilemma: Foreign Work Experience Was 2y11m at ITA – System Gave Full Points

[zachli]

Hi everyone, seeking urgent advice on my CEC application situation.

My Timeline & Stats:

• Program: CEC
• Points Claimed at ITA: Based on 3 years of Foreign Work Experience (FWE) and 1 year of Canada Work Experience.

The Situation: I have Foreign Work Experience totaling 3 years and 4 months in my EE pool profile. However, I need to remove two short periods of foreign work experience from "work experience" to "Personal History" (and not claim points for them) to ensure consistency with my previous temporary resident visa applications, where these jobs were not disclosed in personal history. I want to avoid any potential misrepresentation issues.

The Problem (The "Gap"): If I exclude those two periods:

1. At the time of ITA: My remaining "clean" foreign work experience was actually 2 years and 11 months (calculated by exact dates).
2. System Glitch: Because the EE system calculates by calendar month, my profile still shows maximum points for "3 years or more" of foreign experience, keeping me above the cutoff score.
3. Current Status (e-APR): As of today (ready to submit e-APR), I have continued working and my "clean" FWE is now indisputably over 3 years by exact dates.

My Question: I know Section A11.2 requires meeting MEC and CRS cutoff at BOTH the time of ITA and e-APR.

• Since I technically didn't have the full 3 years (missing 1 month) at the exact moment of ITA—but the system awarded the points anyway—will an officer recalculate this manually, deduct the points, and refuse my application under A11.2?

I am leaning towards declining the ITA and waiting for the next draw since I am fully qualified now, but I wanted to double-check if this is a hard refusal ground.

Thanks for your help!

 

[canuck78]

Hi everyone, seeking urgent advice on my CEC application situation.

My Timeline & Stats:

• Program: CEC
• Points Claimed at ITA: Based on 3 years of Foreign Work Experience (FWE) and 1 year of Canada Work Experience.

The Situation: I have Foreign Work Experience totaling 3 years and 4 months in my EE pool profile. However, I need to remove two short periods of foreign work experience from "work experience" to "Personal History" (and not claim points for them) to ensure consistency with my previous temporary resident visa applications, where these jobs were not disclosed in personal history. I want to avoid any potential misrepresentation issues.

The Problem (The "Gap"): If I exclude those two periods:

1. At the time of ITA: My remaining "clean" foreign work experience was actually 2 years and 11 months (calculated by exact dates).
2. System Glitch: Because the EE system calculates by calendar month, my profile still shows maximum points for "3 years or more" of foreign experience, keeping me above the cutoff score.
3. Current Status (e-APR): As of today (ready to submit e-APR), I have continued working and my "clean" FWE is now indisputably over 3 years by exact dates.

My Question: I know Section A11.2 requires meeting MEC and CRS cutoff at BOTH the time of ITA and e-APR.

• Since I technically didn't have the full 3 years (missing 1 month) at the exact moment of ITA—but the system awarded the points anyway—will an officer recalculate this manually, deduct the points, and refuse my application under A11.2?

I am leaning towards declining the ITA and waiting for the next draw since I am fully qualified now, but I wanted to double-check if this is a hard refusal ground.

Thanks for your help!

As long as you have the points when you submit your application you should be fine. That means you can only submit your application when you have the 3 years of work experience versus at any point after receiving ITA. This is a fairly common scenario.

 

[zachli]

As long as you have the points when you submit your application you should be fine. That means you can only submit your application when you have the 3 years of work experience versus at any point after receiving ITA. This is a fairly common scenario.

thanks! Also there’s a question,
When I got my ITA, I needed two short past jobs + my current job to hit the 3-year mark for CRS points. During the 60-day window after ITA, I kept working in my current role. By the time I actually submit my e-APR, my current job alone will carry enough time to hit the 3-year mark independently.
My question is: Can I delete those two short jobs from the 'Work History' section (to avoid the hassle of getting reference letters for them) and only claim points for my current job? I will still remain them in my personal history form

 

[canuck78]

thanks! Also there’s a question,
When I got my ITA, I needed two short past jobs + my current job to hit the 3-year mark for CRS points. During the 60-day window after ITA, I kept working in my current role. By the time I actually submit my e-APR, my current job alone will carry enough time to hit the 3-year mark independently.
My question is: Can I delete those two short jobs from the 'Work History' section (to avoid the hassle of getting reference letters for them) and only claim points for my current job? I will still remain them in my personal history form

Sure if you list them in personal history. I would also attach a letter of explanation of why you made the change.

 

[zachli]

Sure if you list them in personal history. I would also attach a letter of explanation of why you made the change.

Thank you I still have one question about calculating Foreign Work Experience for Express Entry. I am very close to the 3-year cutoff, so I need to know if a specific 18-day period counts or not.


My Timeline:


• Sept 02: I officially started my new job in the US and completed onboarding physically in the US.


• Sept 07: I returned to Canada to pack and finalize my move.


• Sept 25: I flew back to the US to resume work permanently.


The Situation:


Between Sept 07 and Sept 25 (18 days), I was physically in Canada. However:


1. I was already officially employed by the US company.


2. I was receiving a US salary and paying US taxes for this period.


3. I had NO active employment in Canada during this time (no Canadian payroll).


My Question:


Will IRCC consider these 18 days as valid "Foreign Work Experience" (treated as paid leave/relocation leave), or will they deduct it because I was physically inside Canada?

 

[Naturgrl]

Thank you I still have one question about calculating Foreign Work Experience for Express Entry. I am very close to the 3-year cutoff, so I need to know if a specific 18-day period counts or not.


My Timeline:


• Sept 02: I officially started my new job in the US and completed onboarding physically in the US.


• Sept 07: I returned to Canada to pack and finalize my move.


• Sept 25: I flew back to the US to resume work permanently.


The Situation:


Between Sept 07 and Sept 25 (18 days), I was physically in Canada. However:


1. I was already officially employed by the US company.


2. I was receiving a US salary and paying US taxes for this period.


3. I had NO active employment in Canada during this time (no Canadian payroll).


My Question:


Will IRCC consider these 18 days as valid "Foreign Work Experience" (treated as paid leave/relocation leave), or will they deduct it because I was physically inside Canada?

If job letter says your were with payslips, bank statements, taxes filed then should not be an issue.