-by Senthil Kailasam
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There has been couple of changes to the eligibility and criteria set for Postdocs to be eligible for applying for PR and recievebetter Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score for skilled immigrants (Express Entry).
- A full time valid job offer supported by Labour market Impact Assessment was previously necessary to qualify under Skilled Worker Class. Postdocs used to lose Express entry CRS points since our job offer was LMIA exempted. Now, that has changed. A Postdoc’s job contract with University is consider as a Job offer and we can obtain additional points, even though we have LMIA exempt.
- The word “Postdocs” got added to NOC skill Type A and our job code is
NOC Title Skill level or type 4011 University professors and lecturers A - We became eligible for Canadian experienced class category.
The following excerpt from CIC website answers the most common doubt raised by all Postdoctoral fellow before applying for Express Entry.
I have a PhD and am in a post-doctoral program. Do I qualify for the Canadian Experience Class?
Work experience gained while you were on a study permit will not count towards meeting the Canadian Experience Class requirements.
But, you may still be eligible if you:
already gained one year of skilled Canadian work experience while you were not on a study permit, and
meet the language threshold for that occupation .
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=672&top=29
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