Applicants under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) would need to satisfy Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) officers that they meet all the specified program requirements. This is in accordance with the provisions specified in R87.1. The officers would not include any period of self-employment while calculating the period of qualifying work experience under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) provisions. This is in accordance with the provisions specified in R87.1 (3) (b). Under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) provisions, applicants would need to demonstrate that they acquired skilled work experience in Canada through the authorised employment by a third party.
Applicants would need to go through the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) Document Checklist carefully. As specified in this document, principal applicants would need to provide documentary evidence of their work experience in Canada. They could do this by submitting combinations of the following documents:
- Copies of their most recent work permits (unless they are work permit exempt)
- Copies of their most recent T4 tax information slips and Notice of Assessment (NOA) issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) or,
- A sufficient combination of other supporting documentation AND,
- Employer letters of reference for all periods of qualifying work experience claimed in their applications
Canadian employers would be responsible for deducting and remitting the following to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA):
- Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions
- Employment Insurance (EI) premiums and,
- Income tax from remuneration or,
- Other amounts payable to their employees
Canadian employers would need to provide employees with a record of their remuneration and deductions. For this, they would need to provide their employees with a T4 tax information slip. Because of this, the T4 slip is a key documentary evidence for the vast majority of Canadian Experience Class (CEC) applicants. It enables these individuals to demonstrate that they were in an employer-employee work relationship during their period of qualifying work experience in Canada.
It is worth noting however, that Canadian Experience Class (CEC) applicants do not need to provide a T4 tax information slip or a Notice of Assessment (NOA) specifically with their applications under the regulations. In addition, officers cannot consider these documents as conclusive (or the only acceptable) evidence for substantiating whether applicants have the requisite qualifying Canadian work experience.
Situations could arise where some applicants do not possess T4 tax information slips or Notices of Assessment (NOAs). In this scenario, these applicants could include:
- A record or a letter of employment from their Canadian employers
- Work contracts and,
- Pay stubs
Officers would accept these documents as acceptable evidence for substantiating the applicant’s work experience in Canada.
It is worth noting that the applicants bear the responsibility for establishing that they meet the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program criteria at the time of their application. All applicants would need to provide satisfactory evidence of their work experience in Canada. This includes the fact that they were in an employer-employee relationship during their period of qualifying work experience.
Source: Citizenship and Immigration