Operational Bulletin 521 – May 03, 2013

Summary

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) took the decision to transition to the 2011 edition of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) for the:

• Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and,
• Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSWC)

Therefore, this Operational Bulletin (OB) guides officers on processing applications for permanent residence based on CIC’s decision. This OB also supersedes the instructions issued in OB 393 in March 2012.

Background

Prior to January 31, 2012, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) and Statistics Canada (STC) were using the 2006 edition of the National Occupational Classification (NOC). On January 31, 2012, both, the HRSDC and STC replaced the 2006 edition of the NOC with the 2011 edition.

Accordingly, the authorities felt the need to provide interim guidance to officers for this change. These officers processed applications for permanent residence in the following categories:

• Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and,
• Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSWC)

Therefore, the authorities released OB 393 on March 05, 2012. This OB contained instructions for officers processing applications for permanent residence. These applications belonged to the above-mentioned classes.

The authorities had merged the 2011 edition of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) with the National Occupational Classification for Statistics, referred to by Statistics Canada (STC). Therefore, the 2011 edition of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) contained:

• Certain structural changes
• Changes to some NOC codesand,
• Changes to some NOC job descriptions

The authorities provided a transition period for the officers. These officers worked at processing applications. The authorities did this at the time when they replaced the 2006 edition of the National Occupational Classification (NOC). The authorities had an underlying objective for providing this transition period. The objective was to give new applicants sufficient time to adjust to this change.

Currently, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) would commence using the 2011 edition of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) exclusively. Officers of the CIC would use this for assessing applications for permanent residence in the CEC and FSWC classes.

The authorities had launched the Federal Skilled Trades Class (FSTC) on January 02, 2013. Therefore, officers assessed these applications for permanent residence against the 2011 edition of the National Occupational Classification (NOC). That too, from the very outset. This was in accordance with the definition of a skilled trade occupation, provided in:

• Subsection 2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR)
• Subsection 87.2 (1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR)

The Guidelines for Assessing Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSWC) Applications Against the National Occupational Classification (NOC)

The guidelines for officers assessing CEC and FSWC applications specify that:

• The authorities have updated the Global Case Management System (GCMS) to include four-digit unit group occupation codes from both, the 2006 and 2011 editions of the National Occupational Classification (NOC)
• This gives the officers the ability to view which edition of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) the code belongs to
• Officers can refer to the 2006 and the 2001 editions of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) on the HRSDC website
• If the officer receives the application prior to May 04, 2013, the officer would:
• Assess the CEC or FSWC applicant’s work experience against the minor unit group occupation  descriptions specified in either the 2006 or the 2011 edition of the National Occupational Classification (NOC)
• Officers would assess this based on whichever edition of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) is most advantageous to the applicant
• Similarly, if the officer receives the application on or after May 04, 2013, the officer would:
• Assess the CEC or FSWC applicant’s work experience exclusively against the minor unit group occupation  descriptions specified in the 2011 edition of the National Occupational Classification (NOC)

Note:

• As mentioned above, officers would assess FSWC applications received on or after May 04, 2013 against the 2011 edition of the National Occupational Classification (NOC)
• Despite this, officers of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) would continue to accept positive or neutral Labour Market Opinions (LMOs), assessed and issued by HRSDC, against the 2006 edition of the National Occupational Classification (NOC), as supporting documentation
• Similarly, officers would also continue to accept work permits based on these LMOs if:
• The officers can correlate the 2006 occupation codes to an eligible NOC 2011 occupation code belonging to one of the categories listed below, at the time when the CIC receives these applications:
• Skill Type 0
• Skill Level A or,
• Skill Level B
• Regardless of the NOC code specified on the LMO, the applicant would need to bear the entire onus of:
• Demonstrating that the applicant performed the actions mentioned in the lead statement
• Performed a significant number of the main duties of the occupation (including all the essential duties as prescribed in the occupation description for an eligible NOC 2011 minor unit group)

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)