does my vacation count toward CEC?

[aa105942]

I work full time for my company and took 2 weeks off on August to go back home and meet my family. Based on my understanding if the vacation is paid, it can be counted for hours needed for completion of CEC. The concern with my situation is that I get paid vacation pay on each pay cheque, meaning that I get 4% additional on every cheque so I don’t have a separate pay cheque for that two weeks I took off. Does anyone know if this is OK and can still be counted toward 1 year completion of CEC? Can someone also tell what is the cumulative hours needed for CEC?

 

[canadavisa13]

Hi,

paid vacation counts towards the full time work experience requirement.
doesn't matter if its paid on every pay period or given as a one big sum when you take your vacation because you still can document it through your pay stubs.

 

[Dr_Midnite]

Hi

The issue is not paid vacation but whether you left Canada to take it. It was made clear to me that any time taken outside of Canada counts against the number of days required for CEC regardless of the reason.

Regards

Andrew

 

[jes_ON]

Can someone also tell what is the cumulative hours needed for CEC?

If you are full-time (30 or more hours per week), you don't count hours. You just need to work for one year (52 weeks).

If you are part-time (less than 30 hours per week), then, yes you count hours and divide by 30 to come up with the full-time equivalent in terms of weeks, (or 1560 hours over a period of more than one year).

 

[jes_ON]

The concern with my situation is that I get paid vacation pay on each pay cheque, meaning that I get 4% additional on every cheque so I don't have a separate pay cheque for that two weeks I took off. Does anyone know if this is OK and can still be counted toward 1 year completion of CEC? Can someone also tell what is the cumulative hours needed for CEC?

I agree with canadavisa13, your two weeks of vacation (regardless of how it is paid) is OK. And that arrangement is not uncommon. I haven't read anything like what Dr_Midnite says, if the good Dr could clarify the source of this information, that would be helpful.

But in any case, I always recommend that applicants give themselves a couple of weeks or a month of "extra time" before applying (if they can), just to make sure. Seen way too many people apply on the very first day they thought they were eligible, only to be refused because they were short a few days or weeks...

 

[MenicMonday]

Hi

The issue is not paid vacation but whether you left Canada to take it. It was made clear to me that any time taken outside of Canada counts against the number of days required for CEC regardless of the reason.

Regards

Andrew

This is for the Citizenship residency requirement.

 

[singh178]

Time spent outside of Canada will not count under CEC even if it is paid vacations. I was outside Canada for 3 weeks and it was not counted.

 

[Dr_Midnite]

Hi

You still need to demonstrate 12 full months of work experience for CEC application. Days outside Canada count against the 12 months.

Regards

A

 

[Nesa09]

Hi all,
What about business trips? My company has an office in US and I went there for meetings for one week.

Are those days counting in 12 months of work experience for CEC or not?

Thanks

 

[jes_ON]

This is what it says in the OP25A:
www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op25a-eng.pdf

An allowance for a reasonable period of vacation time will generally be made in calculating the period of qualifying work experience (e.g., a two-week period of paid vacation leave within a given 52-week period in which the applicant was engaged in qualifying work experience). An allowance for normal vacation time during a period of qualifying work experience cannot be used as a substitute or proxy for meeting the in-Canada element of the work experience requirement (i.e., work experience obtained outside Canada will not be considered as though the applicant had been on a period of vacation in order to be counted as part of the period of in-Canada work experience). While officers will account for a reasonable period of vacation time in calculating the period of qualifying work experience in Canada, each application is considered on its own merits with a final decision based on a review of all the information available to the officer at the time of decision.

I do not interpret anything in this language as saying you can't count your two weeks of vacation if you travel outside of Canada. But given that it is also a relatively new rule, and a tad convoluted, I would not be surprised if a VO did interpret it that way.

It does say you can't use "vacation" to cover for a work trip outside of Canada. So most likely, applicants have been trying to do that, reinventing work trips as "vacations," and VOs have become suspicious of those vacations (perhaps in singh178's case?). So in the better-to-be-safe-than-sorry category, you would be wise to work extra to cover ANY time spent outside of Canada.

For Nesa09, I think it's pretty clear that you cannot count that week in the USA.

But, AGAIN - if you're afraid that one week will make a difference in your application being accepted or refused, you are cutting it WAY too close. Work some extra time before applying...

 

[gepiner]

How about if i take a maternity leave? Will that be counted against the 12months requiremnet?

 

[PMM]

Hi

How about if i take a maternity leave? Will that be counted against the 12months requiremnet?

1. No, as you are not working.