Work experience you need to support your permanent residence application
Updated June 24, 2024
You now only need 6 months of eligible work experience from inside or outside Canada to qualify for permanent residence.
Your qualifying work experience must
- be in 1 of these NOCs (home child care provider or home support worker)
- It can’t be a mix of both NOCs.
- match the NOC job description and you must have done most of the main duties listed
- have been gained anytime between the 36-month period before you submitted your permanent residence application and the date you provide proof of work experience
- You have 36 months from the date we issued your occupation-restricted open work permit to provide your proof of work experience.
- You don’t have to have worked 6 months in a row, just 6 months total within that period.
- be full-time work
- Full-time means at least 30 hours of paid work each week.
- Any week where you worked less than 30 hours doesn’t count.
- Any work experience you had while you were a full-time student doesn’t count.
- Canadian work experience must have been authorized under a work permit, under maintained status or a public policy.
- Experience working for a business can also count. However, we’ll only issue you an initial occupation-restricted open work permit if you have a job offer that doesn’t come from a business.