Learning moments – Economic classes and work experience obtained as a refugee claimant

Hello, fellow practitioners! Today’s column deals with the economic classes and work experience obtained as a refugee claimant.

A refugee claimant had his application for protection refused. While the application was in progress, one of his children started and concluded a university education in Canada. Another child worked in NOC code A within Canada, for 3 years during this period. If the children decide to apply to Express Entry in the future, will their education and work experience in Canada count?

Let’s begin by analyzing whether work experience can be counted for the purposes of a refugee claimant’s Comprehensive Ranking System score. For this, we need to turn to the current Ministerial Instructions respecting the Express Entry system (“MI”). Section 8 of the MI lists the categories of factors for which points will be assigned under the Comprehensive Ranking System. Canadian work experience is a core human capital factor (see s.8(1)(a)(iv) of the MI), and is also assessed in combination with level of education or foreign work experience as skill transferability factors (see s.8(1)(c)(ii) and (iv)).

Subsection 15(7) of the MI stipulates that in order for points to be given for Canadian work experience as a core human capital factor, the foreign national must have had temporary resident status during their period of work experience.

Subsections 22(4) and 24(3) of the MI incorporate this same requirement with respect to the awarding of points for a combination of level of education and Canadian work experience, and for a combination of Canadian work experience and foreign work experience.

Refugee claimants who have authorization to work or study while waiting for a decision on their claim do not have temporary resident status. Therefore, their Canadian work experience will not help them improve their Comprehensive Ranking System score.

A refugee claimant’s Canadian work experience will also not help them meet the Canadian Experience Class’s requirement of having one year of skilled work experience in Canada. This is because of s. 87.1(3) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (“IRPR”), which states:

However, if we look at the sections of the IRPR dealing with the Federal Skilled Workers Class, we can see that there is no similar requirement for skilled work experience as a minimum requirement or as a selection factor under that program.

Therefore, Canadian work experience obtained by a refugee claimant can help them meet the eligibility requirements of the Federal Skilled Workers Class.

Education obtained as a refugee claimant can be used to gain points and/or meet the minimum eligibility requirements for the Comprehensive Ranking System score, and the Canadian Experience Class and Federal Skilled Worker programs. Nowhere in the MI or IRPR does it state that an applicant needs to have held valid temporary resident status in Canada while they were obtaining their education credential.

However, it should be noted that there may be other issues associated with being a failed refugee claimant (e.g. enforceable removal order, inadmissibility for non-compliance, requiring an Authorization to Return to Canada, etc.) that may need to be addressed before an application for permanent residence under an economic category is submitted.