Many provincial immigration streams target candidates with work experience in a specific occupation
Immigration candidates with work experience in any skilled occupation may be invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence through Canada’s Express Entry system, but experience in a specific line of work can be an advantage at the provincial level.
Canada has both federal and provincial economic immigration pathways, each with its own unique work experience criteria.
The Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class and Canadian Experience Class are three of Canada’s main federal pathways to permanent residence. The pool of candidates for all three programs is managed by the Express Entry system.
Express Entry’s Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), which determines a candidate’s position in the pool, only considers the amount of full-time, or equivalent part-time, work experience and whether their occupation is considered ‘skilled.’
Eligible occupations are those rated skill type 0 (managerial), skill level A (professional) or skill level B (technical) under Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC).
Provincial Nominee Programs
Work experience in a specific occupation is required by a number of provincial nominee streams, some of which are linked to the Express Entry system.
These streams allow participating provinces and territories to nominate foreign workers with the required work experience for Canadian permanent residence.
