ARCHIVED – Operational Bulletin 219 - June 28, 2010

This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.

Ministerial Instructions and Canadian Experience Class applications

This Operational Bulletin has expired.

Purpose/Issue

On June 18, 2008, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act was amended to give the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration authority to issue instructions that would ensure the processing of applications and requests be conducted in a manner that, in the opinion of the Minister, will best support the attainment of immigration goals set by the Government of Canada.

The first set of Ministerial Instructions (MI) was issued on November 28, 2008. The second set of MIs was issued on June 26, 2010. The MIs have introduced a change to the requirements of the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). The full text of the Instructions can be found at:
http://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2010/2010-06-26/html/notice-avis-eng.html.

Requirements for CEC

CEC applications received on or after June 26, 2010, by the designated Citizenship and Immigration office must be accompanied by the results of the principal applicant’s English or French language proficiency assessment [ Note 1 ] in order to be considered for processing. Language test results must not be older than one year at the time of application.

The visa office will review applications for completeness pursuant to section 10 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. Applications received on or after June 26, 2010, that are not accompanied by English or French language test results from a designated testing agency, will be considered incomplete and will be returned to the applicant with fees.

Updates to the OP 25 manual are forthcoming.


1 Only test results from a third party language testing agency designated by the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism will be accepted (see section 9.6 of OP 25).

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