CEC points update

[saravanaz89]

Hello Folks,

I'm planning to apply under cec category. I already created a profile and it got updated under CEC and points (501) where awarded. Please advice me what will be the safer period to accept the ITA, based on my situation.

Started working full time - Aug 29 2016
PGWP expiry - Oct 14 2017
Travel to home country - Dec 25 2016 to Feb 3 2017 ( in this 2 weeks was a vacation and 3 weeks remote working from my home country)

So if i accept the invitation in the next round, will it be safe or what is the best possible time frame. since my permit is getting expired, i'm really worried what to do.

Thanks in advance.

 

[saravanaz89]

It will be really great , if someone gives a suggestion,

Thanks in Advance

 

[allawi]

Hey there,

How did you meet the eligibility requirements for CEC given that you currently have less than one year of Canadian work experience?

 

[saravanaz89]

Hi,
I work 40 hours per week and i guess the system calculated from August 1st, that's the reason i believe i got the cec eligibility earlier

 

[allawi]

I believe your work experience requirements must be met before you accept your ITA. By accepting the ITA, you're confirming the information you have provided is true, which is not the case if you accept your ITA before August 29th, 2017 as until then you do not have 1 year of Canadian work experience.

 

[jes_ON]

Hello Folks,

I'm planning to apply under cec category. I already created a profile and it got updated under CEC and points (501) where awarded. Please advice me what will be the safer period to accept the ITA, based on my situation.

Started working full time - Aug 29 2016
PGWP expiry - Oct 14 2017
Travel to home country - Dec 25 2016 to Feb 3 2017 ( in this 2 weeks was a vacation and 3 weeks remote working from my home country)

- You must meet the minimum qualifications at the time you receive the ITA.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/perm/express/refuse.asp

- You cannot count the 3 weeks of working remotely from outside Canada, so you would not be eligible until after September 18.

Because the profile only uses mm/yyyy instead of mm/dd/yyyy, the system "sees" one year (August 2016 - July 2017), this has caused a lot of people to apply too soon, and to be refused because of it. IRCC tells you that it is YOUR responsibility to make sure you qualify before you accept an ITA. This has been discussed many, many times on this forum.

Assuming you are hoping to get a bridging open work permit, you can prepare to submit your eAPR as soon as possible after receiving the ITA by collecting all your documents (esp. the police clearances) in advance.

 

[TempResident]

- You must meet the minimum qualifications at the time you receive the ITA.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/perm/express/refuse.asp

- You cannot count the 3 weeks of working remotely from outside Canada, so you would not be eligible until after September 18.

Because the profile only uses mm/yyyy instead of mm/dd/yyyy, the system "sees" one year (August 2016 - July 2017), this has caused a lot of people to apply too soon, and to be refused because of it. IRCC tells you that it is YOUR responsibility to make sure you qualify before you accept an ITA. This has been discussed many, many times on this forum.

Assuming you are hoping to get a bridging open work permit, you can prepare to submit your eAPR as soon as possible after receiving the ITA by collecting all your documents (esp. the police clearances) in advance.

What I interpret from the link provided by @jes_ON, you would actually qualify for PR already but just make sure you apply for PR after August 29th

The eligibility reads:

Under section A11.2, an officer may not issue a visa to an applicant who did not or does not meet the Express Entry minimum entry criteria (MEC) or did not or does not possess the qualifications for which they received their CRS score at the time when

• the invitation to apply (ITA) was issued; or
• the e-APR was received by IRCC

and if you continue to read. is either at ITA or at e-APR. Meaning that as long as you meet the CEC by the time IRCC receives your e-APR, after August 29th of course, you should be good.

 

[saravanaz89]

- You must meet the minimum qualifications at the time you receive the ITA.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/perm/express/refuse.asp

- You cannot count the 3 weeks of working remotely from outside Canada, so you would not be eligible until after September 18.

Because the profile only uses mm/yyyy instead of mm/dd/yyyy, the system "sees" one year (August 2016 - July 2017), this has caused a lot of people to apply too soon, and to be refused because of it. IRCC tells you that it is YOUR responsibility to make sure you qualify before you accept an ITA. This has been discussed many, many times on this forum.

Assuming you are hoping to get a bridging open work permit, you can prepare to submit your eAPR as soon as possible after receiving the ITA by collecting all your documents (esp. the police clearances) in advance.

Thank you so much. I already made all the documents ready, except medicals. Being said that, i received a ITA now, going to decline it

 

[saravanaz89]

What I interpret from the link provided by @jes_ON, you would actually qualify for PR already but just make sure you apply for PR after August 29th

The eligibility reads:

Under section A11.2, an officer may not issue a visa to an applicant who did not or does not meet the Express Entry minimum entry criteria (MEC) or did not or does not possess the qualifications for which they received their CRS score at the time when

• the invitation to apply (ITA) was issued; or
• the e-APR was received by IRCC

and if you continue to read. is either at ITA or at e-APR. Meaning that as long as you meet the CEC by the time IRCC receives your e-APR, after August 29th of course, you should be good.

Yes, i agree with you, but if you read further more in that page under "Requirement to maintain the MEC" , it says,

Ministerial Instructions created under the authority of section A10.3(1)(e) list the MEC for Express Entry. Applicants must meet the MEC to be accepted into the Express Entry pool and must also meet the MEC when they are issued an ITA and when they submit their e-APR.

If an applicant’s situation changes in the time between when they receive an ITA and when they submit their e-APR to such a degree that their qualifications fall below the MEC, the application must be refused under section A11.2. The officer must also consider whether the application should be refused for not meeting the minimum requirements of the federal program to which they are applying or for misrepresentation.


This is quite contradicting

 

[saravanaz89]

You should not accept any ITA until after August 29, 2017. You should still be able to the work experience during your absence. Paid vacation counts towards work experience. Unpaid leave does not count.

I took 1.5 months vacation during my qualifying year. I worked from my home country for some of that time (nature of my career), but it's irrelevant, as long as you are getting paid to be working, then the experience counts. I also took 2.5 months of unpaid leave, which I did not count towards my experience. Whether you consider it vacation or work is privately negotiated with your employer and has no impact on your application for PR.

Yes, but that makes sense, but there was a clause in http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/perm/econ/cec/work.asp
which says this

"An allowance for a reasonable period of vacation time will generally be made in calculating the period of qualifying work experience (e.g., a two-week period of paid vacation leave within a given 52-week period in which the applicant was engaged in qualifying work experience). An allowance for normal vacation time during a period of qualifying work experience cannot be used as a substitute or proxy for meeting the in-Canada element of the work experience requirement (i.e., work experience obtained outside Canada will not be considered as though the applicant had been on a period of vacation in order to be counted as part of the period of in-Canada work experience). While officers will account for a reasonable period of vacation time in calculating the period of qualifying work experience in Canada, each application is considered on its own merits with a final decision based on a review of all the information available to the officer at the time of decision."

I'm confused with the bold statement.

 

[picklee]

Yes, but that makes sense, but there was a clause in http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/perm/econ/cec/work.asp
which says this

"An allowance for a reasonable period of vacation time will generally be made in calculating the period of qualifying work experience (e.g., a two-week period of paid vacation leave within a given 52-week period in which the applicant was engaged in qualifying work experience). An allowance for normal vacation time during a period of qualifying work experience cannot be used as a substitute or proxy for meeting the in-Canada element of the work experience requirement (i.e., work experience obtained outside Canada will not be considered as though the applicant had been on a period of vacation in order to be counted as part of the period of in-Canada work experience). While officers will account for a reasonable period of vacation time in calculating the period of qualifying work experience in Canada, each application is considered on its own merits with a final decision based on a review of all the information available to the officer at the time of decision."

I'm confused with the bold statement.

That's a good find and I wasn't aware of that position. Unless you are submitting pay stubs that show paid vacation hours, how would IRCC know that you didn't work those hours? I'm salaried, so maybe it's more challenging to distinguish between paid time off and working in the office since my hours worked each week were always the same regardless whether I was on vacation or working.

 

[jes_ON]

What I interpret from the link provided by @jes_ON, you would actually qualify for PR already but just make sure you apply for PR after August 29th

The eligibility reads:

Under section A11.2, an officer may not issue a visa to an applicant who did not or does not meet the Express Entry minimum entry criteria (MEC) or did not or does not possess the qualifications for which they received their CRS score at the time when

• the invitation to apply (ITA) was issued; or
• the e-APR was received by IRCC

and if you continue to read. is either at ITA or at e-APR. Meaning that as long as you meet the CEC by the time IRCC receives your e-APR, after August 29th of course, you should be good.

Re-read the entire page, it IS confusing. And don't expect boolean logic in the use of AND or OR : )

The requirements are different for MEC and CRS scores.
- For the MEC - you must meet the requirements BOTH the time of the ITA and the submission of the eAPR.
- For CRS score - it is calculated 2 times, once at the time of the ITA and once at the time of the eAPR. As long as your score is at/above the cut-off for your draw at the time of the eAPR, your eligibility for the ITA will be accepted.

Example: Let's say you have worked 1 year 11 months when you receive the ITA. The system has erroneously calculated your CRS score for 2 years of work experience. At the time of the ITA, you meet the MEC, but you received points for 2 years when you had only completed one. If you subtract one year of experience, you do not meet the cutoff for the draw. Still, you are allowed 3 months to submit your eAPR. If you wait at least one month and complete the 2nd year, you can then submit the eAPR and receive credit for the 2nd year of work.

 

[jes_ON]

That's a good find and I wasn't aware of that position. Unless you are submitting pay stubs that show paid vacation hours, how would IRCC know that you didn't work those hours?.

They might not be able to, but then again, they might (travel records, etc). The OP was out of the country for a 5-week stretch, which exceeds IRCC's generic view of "reasonable amount of vacation time." (Sure, some people might actually get that amount of time, which is why it's a good idea to have your benefits included in your letter of reference).

So - IRCC might not "catch" you if you claim work outside of Canada as in-Canada work experience (or as vacation time). But then again, they might. Do you want to risk it? Wouldn't it just be easier to work an extra 3 weeks and safer to be truthful?

 

[jes_ON]

Yes, but that makes sense, but there was a clause in http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/perm/econ/cec/work.asp
An allowance for normal vacation time during a period of qualifying work experience cannot be used as a substitute or proxy for meeting the in-Canada element of the work experience requirement (i.e., work experience obtained outside Canada will not be considered as though the applicant had been on a period of vacation in order to be counted as part of the period of in-Canada work experience).

I'm confused with the bold statement.

Paid vacation counts as time towards Canadian employment, regardless whether you are in Canada or not. On the other hand, paid work performed outside of Canada does not.

So I'm sure you can imagine that some people who worked outside of Canada have tried to claim that time was "vacation time." All this is saying is, you can't do that.

Sure, enforcing this may be challenging. But if it is not difficult to comply, then why risk it? Being upfront and transparent with IRCC is a good thing. So a letter of explanation that you were on vacation for 2 weeks and working remotely for 3 weeks is not a bad idea.