Work experience during studies: when it counts for immigration

Experience gained while studying can count in immigration programs, but only if you already had the required qualification for the position at the time of employment. If the occupation requires a diploma you are still earning, that experience does not count.

Main rule: qualification must come before, not after

The key question is whether you already met all the requirements to work in that position when you started the job. If the position requires a license or diploma, and you obtained that diploma specifically through studies you were taking at the same time as the job, then that experience will not count. The logic is simple: you could not meet the requirements of the occupation if you did not yet have the mandatory education.

If you already held a bachelor’s degree or other qualification that allowed you to work in the position, then studying simultaneously in a different program will not prevent that experience from counting.

Example: why teachers can’t use experience from their student years

Suppose you were teaching while obtaining your teaching license. That experience will not count, because the license is a mandatory requirement to work as a teacher, and you were earning it at the same time. At the start of your teaching, you did not yet hold the required qualification.

The same logic applies to any occupation with clear educational requirements. If a diploma is a condition of entry into the occupation, experience gained without that diploma does not count.

When experience does count: having the credential before starting work

The situation is different if you came to the job already holding a license or bachelor’s degree, and then enrolled in another program afterward. For example, you worked as a licensed accountant and then started additional education — that experience would count, because you already had the necessary qualification.

Or another case: you came to Canada with a foreign diploma that was recognized, started working in your field, and are studying at the same time. If the diploma gave you the right to work, the experience will count.

A special rule for Canadian experience

In Canada, unlike other programs, a strict rule applies: experience gained while studying categorically does not count under the Canadian Experience Class. This applies to all students, regardless of their prior qualifications.

If you worked in Canada while studying, those hours will not count toward permanent residence through the Canadian Experience Class, even if you were authorized to work and were fully qualified for the position.