Canadian Experience Class: how IRCC really counts your 1,560 hours

Canadian Experience Class: how IRCC counts your 1,560 hours of work depends on more than adding up shifts. Many workers add up their pay stubs and conclude they have their year; then the officer’s math gives a smaller number. To identify a defensible eligibility date, you need to check that your work qualifies, apply the weekly cap, and account for the time it took to earn those hours. This guide is based on the Regulations and IRCC’s pages checked on October 17, 2026.

Key takeaways

• Check hours and time separately. IRCC caps the hours credited each week at 30, and extra hours in a busy week do not shorten the qualifying period.
• Build a week-by-week calculation. Add qualifying hours from all jobs in the same week, then apply the cap once. Keep weeks with reduced hours, leave or gaps visible.
• Test the work before counting it. Only paid, authorized work in Canada, in a TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 occupation, counts.
• Part-time work can count. It takes longer to accumulate the full-time equivalent, so track both credited hours and elapsed time.
• Keep eligibility separate from ranking. CEC eligibility and your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score are different assessments.
• Quebec plans need separate attention. The CEC requires that you plan to live outside Quebec.

The two-part test behind the 1,560-hour requirement

Requirement	Where it comes from
At least 1 year of full-time work, or the full-time equivalent in part-time work	Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, s. 87.1(2)(a)
Full-time means at least 30 hours of paid work a week	Regulations, s. 73
1,560 hours in total, up to 30 hours a week	IRCC, Canadian Experience Class page
In Canada, in a TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 occupation, within the 3 years before you apply	Regulations, s. 87.1; IRCC
Hours above 30 a week are not counted	IRCC, Federal Skilled Worker page

To qualify, you need both the required hours and the minimum elapsed period. IRCC’s Canadian Experience Class page says applicants must total at least 1 year of work or 1,560 hours total, at 30 hours per week, in the 3 years before they apply. That is the eligibility calculation, not a forecast of whether you will receive an invitation or become a permanent resident.

The lookback period is the three years before you apply for permanent residence, not before today. Work outside that window does not count toward this requirement, even if it would otherwise qualify.

Keep the calculation separate from your CRS score. Qualifying work experience can matter for both, but meeting the CEC work requirement does not by itself establish your score or an invitation.

Why overtime doesn’t shorten the year

The cap works week by week. A 45-hour week counts as 30. So working longer weeks does not let you reach the requirement in fewer weeks: in practice, full-time workers need the equivalent of 52 weeks.

A typical case we see: two TEER 2 jobs at 40 hours a week, about 27 weeks in the first and 13 in the second.

	Weeks	Hours paid	Hours counted
Job 1	27	1,080	810
Job 2	13	520	390
Total	40	1,600	1,200

The pay stubs show 1,600 hours, yet only 1,200 count. About 12 more weeks of full-time skilled work are needed.

A practical worksheet for changing schedules and multiple jobs

For each week, list the hours from every qualifying job, combine them, and credit no more than 30 hours. Do not multiply a typical week across a long period if your schedule changed: record actual qualifying hours week by week, and mark reduced-hour weeks, weeks without work, leave and job gaps separately.

Week or period	Job A hours	Job B hours	Hours credited	Elapsed time
One job at 30 hours weekly	30	0	30 per week	12 months
Two jobs, 20 and 10 hours weekly	20	10	30 per week combined	12 months
Part-time work at 15 hours weekly	15	0	15 per week	24 months

These are IRCC’s three examples: one job at up to 30 hours a week for 12 months, two or more jobs adding up to 30 hours a week for 12 months, and part-time work at 15 hours a week for 24 months.

Use a worksheet with one row per week and columns for dates, each job’s qualifying hours, combined hours, credited hours, hours excluded by the cap, and notes. Apply the cap to the combined weekly total once, and never count the same hour twice if schedules overlap.

Which Canadian work can count toward CEC experience

Before adding any hours, check whether the work itself qualifies: paid (wages or commission), done in Canada while you were authorized to work as a temporary resident, in a TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 occupation. Remote work counts only if you were physically in Canada working for a Canadian employer.

Assess your actual duties against the National Occupational Classification lead statement and main duties, not just the title on a contract. What never counts:

• work done while you were a full-time student, co-op terms included;
• self-employment (IRCC has a temporary exception for some physicians);
• volunteer work and unpaid internships;
• work without authorization;
• remote work done from outside Canada, even for a Canadian employer.

For readers planning how to obtain or keep authorization, our pages cover the study permit, the work permit, the post-graduation work permit and the LMIA in Quebec. The federal rules still decide whether particular work counts for the CEC.

Part-time work, job changes and different occupations

Part-time periods can add up to the full-time equivalent. Weeks under 30 hours are counted as they are, and you keep adding weeks until you reach 1,560 hours. Hours from more than one job can be combined within the weekly cap, so two jobs do not create extra elapsed time when their shifts overlap.

The 1,560 hours do not need to be consecutive or in the same occupation, as long as each job is TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 and falls within the window.

Example: you leave one qualifying job and begin another later, with a gap between them. You can total eligible experience from both jobs, but the gap adds no hours; check the accumulated hours and whether all the experience is still inside the three-year window.

Leave, gaps and the moving three-year window

Record each job’s start and end dates, paid absences, unpaid leave and gaps as separate entries. Continued employment and hours worked are related, but they are not the same question: a job may continue during an absence without that absence representing hours worked. Use payroll records, schedules and employer leave records to document the weeks in your calculation.

Work backward from the date you plan to submit your permanent residence application to mark the three-year window. Every week that passes without qualifying work pushes your oldest weeks out of the window: if you are between jobs, the clock is working against you. Repeat the check if your intended date changes.

The earliest defensible eligibility date is the first date on which your qualifying experience meets the capped-hour total and still sits entirely inside the window.

How to check your own number

1. Get the exact start and end dates of each skilled job. A Record of Employment from Service Canada is the quickest source.
2. Count the weeks of each job inside the last 3 years.
3. Multiply each week by its hours, capped at 30 (and at 30 combined if two jobs overlap).
4. Compare the total with 1,560.

Then check the rest of the CEC: the occupation must match the NOC lead statement and most main duties, and you need CLB/NCLC 7 for TEER 0 or 1, or 5 for TEER 2 or 3, in all four abilities. See our CEC requirements checklist.

Evidence that makes your hours and duties clear

Organize employer letters, pay records, schedules or timesheets and leave records by employer and date range. This makes it easier to reconcile the weekly total with the evidence supporting your dates, pay, hours and duties. A pay record alone may not explain the occupational classification, so keep evidence of the duties as well.

If an employer letter conflicts with payroll or scheduling records, identify the exact weeks and explain the difference. Ask for a corrected or explanatory record rather than filling the gap with an unsupported estimate.

Keep a calculation sheet that another person can reproduce: weekly hours by job, hours credited, hours excluded by the cap, leave and gaps.

What the CEC means if you live in or plan to move to Quebec

Work done in Quebec can count. But the CEC requires that you plan to live outside Quebec. If you want to stay in Montreal, the Quebec routes, the PEQ and the PSTQ, are the ones to look at.

Your calculation can change after you create an Express Entry profile or receive an invitation. Recheck your eligibility and supporting facts when preparing the permanent residence application.

As of November 3, 2026, IRCC has changed how points are awarded for Canadian work experience and valid job offers in the CRS. That affects your score, not the CEC eligibility rules, which IRCC says are not changing.

When your federal and Quebec plans are unclear, you can describe your situation or book a consultation; we review the dates with your documents.

Frequently asked questions

Do the 1,560 hours have to be consecutive?

No. Separate periods can be added up, as long as they all fall within the 3 years before you apply.

I worked 50 hours a week for 8 months. Do I qualify?

Not on hours alone. Each week counts as 30 at most, so about 35 weeks give roughly 1,040 counted hours. You need the equivalent of 52 weeks at 30 hours.

Does a TEER 4 job help?

No. Only TEER 0, 1, 2 and 3 work counts toward the CEC.

If my employer’s letter gives different hours from my pay records, which should I use?

Ask the employer to clarify which hours the letter covers, then compare that explanation with the pay records and correct the letter if needed.

Do I need to update my calculation if my schedule changes after I create a profile?

Yes. Recalculate the total using the changed schedule, and update your profile if the facts change.

Conclusion

How IRCC counts your 1,560 hours comes down to qualifying Canadian work experience, a weekly cap and elapsed time. Keep a dated record of the jobs, duties, hours, leave and gaps, then check the three-year window against the date you apply. CEC eligibility remains separate from your CRS ranking, an invitation and Quebec’s selection process.

Official sources

Official pages consulted on November 4, 2026:

• IRCC — Canadian Experience Class
• IRCC — Federal Skilled Worker Program
• RIPR, article 87.1 (catégorie de l'expérience canadienne)
• RIPR, article 73 (travail à temps plein)