CEC / FSW work experience and hours guide
Understand 1,560 hours, pay periods, and Canadian and foreign work.
Open the free calculator ↗Separate hour totals from program requirements
This calculator groups payslips by employer, totals Canadian and foreign hours, then separately estimates CEC and FSW work-experience milestones. Equal payslip totals do not mean both programs accept the same work. It does not determine full Express Entry eligibility or calculate a CRS score.
Does 1,560 hours equal one year?
IRCC uses a maximum of 30 hours per week and 1,560 hours as the full-time annual reference. Working 40 hours a week does not turn the extra 10 hours into a shorter qualifying year. Part-time hours can accumulate over a longer period: 15 hours for 104 weeks totals 1,560 hours. Program-specific continuity, lookback and work conditions still apply.
How do biweekly and semi-monthly differ?
Biweekly means every two weeks; this tool uses a 60-hour period limit. Semi-monthly means twice each month; it uses 65 hours. Monthly and weekly limits are 130 and 30 hours. These are simplified annualized limits based on 1,560 hours, not official IRCC per-payslip caps.
How should part-time hours and overtime be entered?
Enter actual hours for the work period on the payslip, without reducing them first. The tool takes the lower of actual hours and its period limit: 80 biweekly hours become 60, 42 remain 42, and 80 semi-monthly hours become 65. Use the dates the work covers, rather than the day the payment reached your bank.
Which work experience can count for CEC?
CEC uses eligible Canadian work within the three years before applying. It can span more than one job or NOC without requiring one continuous block. Foreign work cannot replace the Canadian minimum. Full-time student work, self-employment and work without the required Canadian authorization generally do not count; exceptions such as certain physician policies need separate review. Remote work also depends on physical presence in Canada and a Canadian employer.
Does FSW require a continuous year abroad?
FSW work experience may be gained in Canada or abroad. The minimum qualifying experience must fall within the previous ten years, match the primary-occupation NOC used for the application, and meet the continuity requirement. That year need not be abroad. Disconnected periods or different occupations cannot simply be joined into one continuous year.
How do I enter several employers or gaps?
Add each employer or role separately, with its own pay frequency. Enter only the dates each record covers, splitting unpaid gaps. The same employer cannot have overlapping records in this tool. An employer change need not interrupt FSW continuity, but the NOC and date continuity still need to match.
When is a closer review needed?
The tool does not apply a shared weekly 30-hour ceiling across employers or reconstruct weekly variation inside a payslip. Partial periods, concurrent jobs, zero-hour periods, paid leave, lookback boundaries and special work status can make the estimate differ from an official assessment. Daily averaging is used only for date-window and continuity estimates. Check payslips and employer evidence; an estimate is not an approval or full eligibility decision.
Are entries saved? Do I need an account?
The calculator is free and requires no account. It runs in your browser without saving employer names, dates, hours or results to a server or embedding them in share links. Refreshing or leaving may clear entries. Use Print to save a copy yourself; the website privacy notice covers hosting and advertising separately.
Sources and editorial note
Written by CloudDream Tech. to explain this tool and the official work-experience sources it references. This is not a Government of Canada website or a licensed-adviser opinion. Rules may change; consult current IRCC pages and individual evidence. Report corrections by email.