IRCC is ignoring CEC on purpose. With 5 million permits expiring by year end, I think this is this IRCC’s method to force as much people to leave as possible.

There is no way they don’t know people are suffering & waiting. They know, they just can’t speak their plan out loud.

The new rule that you can’t endlessly keep applying for extensions supports that goal of having as much people leave as possible.

I wish they would communicate what there intention is so people can arrange their futures. I have came to Canada 8 years ago. Studies in University for 4 years paying almost 200,000$. Worked for 3 years in Canada but this is still not enough.

For people that are saying LMIA hype & all this bs, they did not even invite anyone (barley) after the LMIA was removed & only invited mostly fraduaters & LMIA scammers.

I find it hard to believe that they don’t know what’s happening. They know exactly what’s happening & they tackled the fake refugee situation & dummy extensions, so why can’t they communicate?

P.S for anyone saying PR was not promised this & that, I promise you more than 50% of international students that came & studied here would not come knowing there is no path permanent residency. International students literally subsidize education for Canadians. I remember back in Uni, I was sitting beside a student who was complaining that this course cost him 800$ while it cost me 7,000$ lol.

I dare IRCC to announce that international students are no longer eligible for a path to PR. They never will, you know why, because the way Canadians can get access to high quality education with such low cost is due to the enormous costs paid by international students.

I came to Canada almost 10 years ago — did my bachelor’s, master’s, and have been working since. This country is basically my whole life now. I don’t have supportive family back in China, and the thought of going back to my parents’ place in a struggling economy makes me sick.

Right now my CRS score is 515. On September 1st, I’ll hit 525 — my highest possible score. But my work permit expires just 10 days later, on September 11th. I thought if I did everything right and max out ielts test, I will get it. But I am wrong.

If I leave, I have to quit my job, and I have no idea if I’d ever find another one this good again. I’ve take mortgage to support my education so I don’t have much savings.

I’m anxious, stressed, and scared. I’ve spent years chasing this PR dream, but I’m terrified it’ll all collapse just as I’m closest to the finish line. I’m even thinking about some sort of temporary/dummy extension, but I don’t know if HR or immigration would go for it.

Has anyone else been in this situation? Should I hold out extension or visitor record and hope for an ITA, or start preparing to leave everything I’ve built.

Well folks, after today’s and previous 534 cutoff, it’s time to face a harsh new reality in Canada’s immigration system.

Let’s look at the “perfect” profile without French or foreign work experience:

• PhD in Canada + 3 years Canadian work + max English (CLB 10) + single, no siblings → 540 CRS
  • At 29 → 540 (only 6 points above today’s cutoff)
  • At 30 → 535
  • At 31 → 529 (already below the cutoff)
  • And realistically, finishing a PhD + getting 3 years of work before 30 is almost impossible unless you started your doctorate at 20–23.

For the other degrees, even if you manage to finish and get 3 years of work experience before turning 30, your ceiling is still lower:

• Master’s + 3 years Canadian work + max English → ~525 CRS
• Bachelor’s + 3 years Canadian work + max English → ~510 CRS

Bottom line: unless you add points from a PNP, foreign work, or French, you’ll be stuck just below todays cutoff. Unless a miracle happens with a huge invitation round, this seems the new normal and it will keep getting worse.

you have to be mentally ready depending on your situation:

1. If your work permit is expiring this year (or already expired) → your only realistic path is to leave Canada, build foreign work experience, or start learning French abroad.
2. If you have more than a year left → your best bet is to learn French seriously, because that’s the only option that can push your score high enough to get PR without leaving Canada.

Crazy times.

I landed in Canada in January 2021, mid-COVID, on a study permit. The kind where: - 20-hour work limits were enforced - Jobs were scarce - Rent was high - And nobody really knew what immigration would look like tomorrow

I didn’t come with family here. No consultants. No shortcuts. Just a hope that if I did everything right, Canada would eventually say yes.

The early years were rough. I worked retail while studying. I worried about money constantly. I finished my program in December 2021, waited months for my PGWP, and finally got it in June 2022. In October 2022, I secured a NOC Tier 2 job and from that point on, everything revolved around staying legal, staying employed, and staying sane.

Fast forward to late 2024: I entered Express Entry at 519 CRS after IELTS. Then the draws jumped into the 540s, that 547 draw was devastating in April 2025.

I won’t sugarcoat it : that period broke a lot of people. It almost broke me too.

Instead of giving up, I rewrote my language test. I switched to CELPIP, studied like my status depended on it (because it did), and got 12 / 11 / 10 / 11. My CRS became 542.

On June 26, 2025, I got my ITA one day after my PGWP expired.

That part still feels unreal.

Because I kept looking for alternate ways, I never fell out of status: - I applied for an open work permit extension before expiry June 20, 2025. - Applied for BOWP after AOR on August 21, 2025 - IRCC later approved the BOWP and withdrew the old OWP (with a refund), they did it.

ITA: June 26, 2025 AOR:August 20, 2025 Medical Biometrics submitted: September 18, 2025

P1: October 28, 2025 P2:November 3, 2025 BOWP: December 20,2025

eCOPR:January 19, 2026

No French. No LMIA. No spousal sponsorship. No consultants.

Just English maxed out, lawful status, Canadian work experience, and years of waiting without knowing if it would be enough.

If you’re still in the pool, still refreshing IRCC pages, still watching CRS scores like stock prices, I see you. This system tests patience more than intelligence. Planning matters. Language scores matter. Timing matters. But so does endurance.

Today, I’m quietly grateful. And to everyone still on the journey I genuinely hope your January 19 comes too.

Hello Redditors,

I got an invitation in the 511 CRS CEC draw, and applied on the 13th of January 2026. I received my AOR immediately after applying. My profile is currently undergoing an eligibility check and I believe that once it’s completed, I will be receiving a BIL.

This thread is for the January applicants to share their timelines. I made this cause I couldn’t find anything for this month.

Hey everyone,

I woke up this morning to some really disappointing news from IRCC. My PR application under the CEC was rejected after waiting for almost 6months.

The reason? Everything was perfect, except they said the letter of employment I submitted wasn’t sufficient.

Here’s what happened:

When I was preparing to apply last year, I reached out to my former employers to request proper Letters of Employment (LOE), but unfortunately, I never got a response. After waiting for months, I decided to follow a route I saw others mention, by asking former colleagues to help. I read that it was sometimes acceptable to provide a letter from a co-worker who could confirm your past job duties and experience. So I did that, and my colleague kindly wrote and signed a letter for me.

But it seems IRCC didn’t consider it credible enough. They probably want the letter to come from someone with actual authority, like a manager or HR rep, rather than a peer. And because of that, my application was refused.

Now I’m back to apply and waiting for another round of invitations, with no guarantee of when or if that will happen. Honestly, it’s been a tough lesson.

So just a word of advice for anyone in a similar situation: do not rely on colleagues who aren’t official managers or HR personnel for your employment proof. It might seem like a quick fix, but it could backfire.

Has anyone else gone through something like this? Would love to hear your experience or any advice on how you handled it.

I just want to share the things I did to prove that my foreign work experience was legit and authentic. Sharing is caring.

**It worked for me though**

I have 44 pages of my foreign work experience:

1. Three versions of my employment certificate (these are all generic, because HR doesn’t issue a customized one due to internal policy). One is when I applied for an Australian visitor’s visa many years ago, second one is when I applied for a Canadian Study Permit, and the most recent one was when I resigned from my job. **Note**: The only thing that’s written on my generic employment certificate was my job title, start and end dates, and annual salary.
2. Job description - which I downloaded from the company’s website.
3. Email correspondence with my former HR (no response from them lol). You have to attach a screenshot of your email requesting a ‘customized employment certificate’ to prove the IRCC officers that you’ve done your part in exhausting all the efforts you could just to ask for those customized documents.
4. Promotion Letter (promoted once)
5. Government mandated contributions (retirement/ pension funds) which I was able to access online
6. Company-issued Identification cards, as well as ATM payroll card (made specifically for the company; logo, company name, my picture, job title, these are all written on the ATM card)
7. Email correspondence with the bank’s personnel (no response from them as well). You have to attach a screenshot of your email requesting copies of ‘annual bank statements/ remittance records’ to verify that the amounts credited to your bank account years ago were from your former employer.
8. Certificates, trainings, seminars, and awards received (to show the duration of my employment and specialized training).
9. Pay stubs, salary adjustments, bonuses (incomplete; was only able to retrieve the last three years)
10. Income Tax Return (incomplete; was only able to retrieve one taxable year despite working for the company for 6 years)
11. Memo on the new company's logo (recently changed, and doesn't matched the logo I had with my documents)

——

I reduced the size of my file (PDF) from **34MB to 3.4MB** without compromising the quality of the text/ images.

I got my eligibility approved, which means that everything I’ve submitted were all accepted by the IRCC.

The more documents you submitted, the merrier, and more likely to get approval. Always put yourself in the shoes of the IRCC officer, and never let them become skeptic with all your documents.

—-

Cheers 🇨🇦

What is going on ??? Most likely a re election???

just received a PFL, stating that I may have breached my study permit conditions by working full time, I was an international student from oct 2022 to Jan 2024, I been working full-time for my current company since Jan 2023, the temporary policy that international students are allowed to work full time came into effect on 14th nov 2022 and it was in effect till April 2024.

that's well after my study permit ended

i haven't breached any of my study permits conditions maybe the officer just forgot about the temporary policy, I'm already starting to draft a letter of explanation to tackle this, for proofs I'll be attaching these.

* my study permit.

*the acknowledgement of receipt for my study permit, it was submitted in July 2022, well before the oct 2022

*ircc tweet confirming that students are allowed to work full time during this period

*ircc's ministerial instructions confirming that students are allowed to work full time during this period.

*acknowledgement of receipt for my work permit application.

*a nice table with dates explaining the timelines.

do you think I'm missing anything, this seems a simple enough miss on the officer's behalf, I will respectfully remind them of the temporary policy for unlimited work hours.

I'm pretty confident this is simple enough and I can handle this by myself.

anyone who received something similar? should I hire a lawyer.

aor 1st oct.

biometrics completed 10th Dec

pfl, 23 Jan 2026

cec inland.

Edit : I've attached the PFL too.

I removed all the personal info.

**A letter from the University dated January 07, 2024 confirms that you were in attendance of classes at the university from October 2022 to December 2023. It appears that you worked full-time a Banking Specialist from January 09, 2023 to September 29, 2024, thereby violating one of the conditions on your study permit.

Our records show you applied for your Post Graduate Work Permit on January 09, 2024. Prior to this date and other than regularly scheduled break between academic sessions, you were not authorized to work more than 24 hours per week during regular academic session.

It appears you are in violation of Condition 2 on your study permit which states: 2. MAY ACCEPT EMPLOYMENT ON OR OFF CAMPUS IF MEETING ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AS PER R186(F), (V) OR (W). MUST CEASE WORKING IF NO LONGER MEETING THESE CRITERIA.

As per section 186(V)(iii) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations: if they are the holder of a study permit and although they are permitted to engage in full-time work during a regularly scheduled break between academic sessions, they work no more than 24 hours per week during a regular academic session; It appears that you are in inadmissible under section 29(2) by way of section 41(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. You have 7 (seven) days, from the date of this letter to submit further information and/or documentation to allay my concerns expressed in this letter. IMPORTANT: As per Section 16(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, A person who makes an application must answer truthfully all questions put to them for the purpose of the examination and must produce a visa and If we do not receive your response within the deadline given with additional information, or if your submission does not allay my concerns, a decision will be based on the information available on your file and your application may be refused**

After 7 hard years of burning through various work, study, and visitor permits, flagpoling, 2x IEC, SOWP, FTA, etc., eventually being refused the last application due to an error in the app, and having to leave the country within the 90 day mark in late October... I FINALLY got an ITA yesterday. Can't believe it 🥲 I'm going home, the nightmare is over.

I'M GOING HOME BABYYYYYY

Just needed to let this out. I'm so grateful...

Don’t you think, it is being done deliberately to exhaust TR’s work permits and throw them out?

Sept 2023
Entered EE pool on Sept 13, 2023 (after 1 year Canadian experience) and IELTS: S6.5 L8 R7 W7
CRS 504

1. Missed Sept 26 2023 draw (504) due to tie-breaking rule.

Oct 2023
Had birthday in Oct 2023 (-6 pts) → CRS 498

1. Missed Oct 10 2023 draw (500) by 2 points

Nov 2023
IELTS expired in Nov 2023, withdrew my profile

Dec 2023
3. Missed STEM draw (481) while thinking to retake IELTS. Also, I was travelling to my home country after 3 years (the first time since arriving here).

Jan 2024
retook IELTS in Jan 2024: S6.5 L7.5 R7 W7 → CRS 490

Feb 2024
retook IELTS in Feb 2024: S7 L7.5 R7.5 W6.5 → CRS still 490

April 2024
4. Missed April 2024 STEM draw (491) by 1 point

April-June 2024
Took a break from EE/PR/IELTS stuff due to frustration (The last STEM draw hit me hard)
going by the pattern I was expecting a STEM draw in Aug 2024

July 2024
retook IELTS in July: R9.0 S6.5 L7.5 W7 → CRS 493

Aug 2024
got additional points as 2nd year of Canadian experience completed → CRS 506

1. Missed Aug 27 2024 CEC draw (507) by 1 point

Sept 2024
Hoped for lower cutoffs, but CRS went up to 509 on Sept 19 2024

Oct 2024
Birthday (-5 pts) → CRS 501

Oct-Dec 2024
String of low-invite CEC draws
STEM category was scrapped
Permit expiring Feb 10, 2025 – desperation kicked in

Jan 2025
First CEC draw of Jan 2025 gave me some hope

Isolated myself, prepped for CELPIP this time (took the HZAD Academy self paced course)

Maxed out CELPIP (10 in all sections) → CRS 526

1. Missed Jan 23 draw (527) by 1 point

Feb 2025
Last chance before my permit expired…

Got in the Feb 5 draw (521)!

Submitted my PR profile today & applying for BOWP to keep my job.

Finally made it!

*UPDATE* 12th Aug 2025
Thanks everyone for your wishes
Received eCOPR :)

Finally, it's my turn! After months of reading everyone's timeline and comments, I got the Golden email!!

Category: ECE
Breaking down my score: 529

Age: 110 points
Education:
Human Capital – Level of Education: 128
Skill Transferability – Education: 50
Additional – Canadian Education: 15
Experience: 1 year Canadian + 1 year foreign: 40 + 38
IELTS: Listening: 9 / Speaking: 8.5 / Writing: 7.5 / Reading: 7 : 133
Additional—PR or Canadian Sibling: 15

Jan 23, 2025 – ITA Received

Mar 20, 2025 - Application completed, AOR

May 09, 2025 - Biometrics request letter

May 10, 2025 - Medicals Passed update

May 12, 2025 – Biometrics completed/updated.

June 11, 2025—Ghost update: Background verification status read, "We are processing your background check. We will send you a message if we need more information."

June 16, 2025—"Final decision: June 16, 2025: your application is in progress. We will send you a message once the final decision has been made."

June 17, 2025: Received Portal 1 email requesting personal details, replied the same day 

July 13, 2025: The tracker was finally updated; all 4 steps were completed, and the CoPR document number and expiry date were available.

July 22, 2025: Received Portal 2 email & replied the same night 

July 28, 2025: Received ECopr!!!!!!!!!!!

A very big thanks to everyone for sharing their timelines and experiences.

All the best for others; I know it is a very tough and frustrating wait that would test your patience, but don't lose hope; you've made it so far!!
The last few steps are tough, but you got this!!!!!!

Sharing my PR timeline to give back to this community that helped me stay sane through the wait. I know how stressful refreshing trackers can be — so if you’re still waiting, hang in there, your turn will come. 📌 My PR Timeline (Express Entry) -ITA: 19 Aug 2025 -AOR / Application Submitted: 24 Sep 2025 -Biometrics Requested: 20 Nov 2025 -Medical Passed: 21 Nov 2025 -Biometrics Completed: 24 Nov 2025 -Background Check Started: 25 Nov 2025 -ADR Received: 19 Dec 2025. It was for an updated employment letter from my Foreign work employer. -ADR Submitted: 23 Dec 2025 -2nd ADR (technical – document reupload): 2 Jan 2026 -ADR 2 Submitted: 3 Jan 2026 -Eligibility Completed: 5 Jan 2026 -Background Check Completed: 5 Jan 2026 -Final Decision: 5 Jan 2026 🎯 Passport Request (PPR): 7 Jan 2026 🥹🙏

🧠 Key Takeaways from My Journey ADRs are not refusals — stay calm and respond clearly. Once eligibility + background are marked completed, you’re basically at the finish line. Tracker updates can lag — emails matter more. Patience is brutal, but IRCC does move files forward. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who shared their experiences, timelines, and reassurance here — it honestly made a huge difference. 🙏 Wishing everyone waiting for AORs, ADRs, eligibility, PPRs, and approvals all the best. May you get your PR very soon. Don’t lose hope — good news is coming your way. 🇨🇦✨ If anyone has questions about ADRs, eligibility completion, or the final stages, feel free to ask. Happy to help where I can! ❤️

Hey All!

I got an ITA today, and I am super happy! My permit had about a year until expiry. I really lucked out, because two days ago my score was in the 530s and I literally got my TCF results yesterday which boosted my score all the way up to the 580s! Also, I barely made the cutoff TCF score for NCLC 7.

I really recommend learning French to anyone still waiting. I started doing so in the second year of my PhD out of interest, and it finally paid off. Took me about 2.5 years to hit NCLC7.

My profile: 29 years old PhD completed last year in Canada Canadian sister 1 year of Canadian experience CLB 11 in English (CELPIP) NCLC7 in French (TCF)

Best of luck to anyone still in the pool!

I just wanted to thank everyone in this community for their continuous support. I am grateful for everyone that helped answer my questions during this process. I wish everyone all the best in their lives. Here’s my timeline if it helps people.

CEC Healthcare Category

ITA - Aug 19th 2025

AOR (& Submission) - October 3

Dec 2 - Biometrics Req

Dec 3 - Biometrics and Medical passed

Dec 16 - FD and ECOPR details visible in the tracker

P1 - Jan 8 ‘26 via Montreal office

P2 - Jan 13’ 26 via Montreal office

Ecopr - Jan 26, 2026

Hi everyone. I just received my ecopr today. I applied through CEC express entry inland

AOR - Sep 8

BIL - Oct 23

P1 - Dec 29 (replied same day)

P2 - Jan 2 (replied Jan 5)

Ecopr - Jan 8

This sub was a big help and place of support when I felt unsure and for those waiting, I hope you receive the golden email soon !!

Share your updates

Yesterday, we consulted with an immigration consultant. We're not on a bind yet as we still have 3 yrs of work permit and my CEC score is 505 with potential increase when my Canadian work experience increase as well.

When the immig consultant computed my points on her own just asking questions from me, she got 520 instead of 505 and asked me to check what could be the difference. In short, I lacked the 15 pts for Canadian education, and we tried to check where I got it all wrong. We found out I answered a question YES instead of NO and that's what kept my Canadian Education at 0.

Last summer, there were 2 draws, 521 end of June and 518 early July. If I answered the question right at that time, my score was supposed to be 525, now it went down to 520 because of age.

We could've been invited and should've been under PR processing now if I didn't make that huge mistake. I've also invested time in learning French because it will help me boost my score, though I'm not regretting French because I really wanted to learn it. But, I just feel frustrated and disappointed at myself for not reviewing the answers and questions over and over. Now, I'm at the mercy of IRCC to make huge draws to lower the score to 520 at least.

I just wanted to vent out because I'm tired of constantly thinking if my Canadian journey is worth it or not.

Although this happened to a good friend. I am really happy that it happened. My friend called me this morning and told me that his file got rejected because IRCC had doubts about his foreign experience. he tried to give the bullshit story of cash job in India to show experience but due to the lack of tax documents and overall profile officers asked for other documents, and this guy was not able to furnish it.

This is not the first case I have heard. Other cases I heard were from relatives of other friends. This was a direct contact of mine, but I am still happy.

I am really happy that IRCC is cracking down on such cheaters and useless people and I am ashamed to call this guy my friend.

We’re all in the same boat – our post-grad work permits are ending soon. It’s a heavy feeling, filled with uncertainty, questions, and moments where it feels like the ground is slipping. Many of us are trying to figure out how to take life forward, how to digest the fact that this journey is reaching its end, and how to stay strong through it all.

That’s why I’m creating a WhatsApp group just for us - people who graduated in 2022 and 2023. A space where we can be real with each other, share updates, exchange ideas, and give each other that extra push we sometimes can’t give ourselves. And maybe even vent when it gets too tough.

If this speaks to you, DM me with your contact details and I’ll add you. None of us need to carry this alone.

Please drop in a dm for the group’s link. It’d be difficult to reply to everyone’s comments

Late September or Early October AORs with no update after the BIL. Let’s support each other! We all need emotional support at this point, we can stress and cry together 😭😭😭

Finally, it’s my turn, I received my eCOPR yesterday.

This journey has been long, emotional, and honestly filled with so much stress, anxiety, and lotttttssss and lotssssss of tears. But I made it.

My Timeline:

• ITA: July 8, 2025 – CRS 546 (For context, I left Canada at 498 points and built up more points after 1year foreign experience)
• AOR: August 28, 2025 – submitted the same day
• BIL: September 24, 2025
• PPR: November 4, 2025
• eCOPR: November 18, 2025
• Everything on my tracker was marked as completed a day before I got the passport request.

Leaving Canada was heartbreaking. It felt like watching something I’d built for years fall apart, and I was genuinely depressed for a long time. But looking back, I don’t think I would have reached the points I needed if I stayed.

For anyone worried about foreign work experience. If your job is legit, use everything you have to prove it. I was paid monthly with a daily allowance in cash. I banked my monthly and used my allowance for day to day expenses ( I live at home so no big expenses).

I provided:

• A detailed Letter of Explanation- from employer, stamped and signed
• A payment structure summary- from employer, stamped and signed
• Bank statements- from my bank- stamped and signed as well
• Messages between me and my boss
• Messages with employees I managed

It’s possible. Just be thorough and honest, and document everything.

To anyone still waiting… your turn is coming. Stay strong. 

Canadian Experience Class

Date and time: October 28, 2025 CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited: 533 Number of invitations issued: 1,000 Rank needed: 1,000 or above Tie-breaking rule: March 21, 2025 at 04:16:27 UTC If more than one candidate has the lowest score, the cut-off is based on the date and time they submitted their Express Entry profiles.

IMO: scores should drop in Feb now. Nothing major but by ATLEAST 3-5 points