I'm studying and my spouse works on an open work permit β does their experience boost my EE score?
Yes, but only partly. Your spouse's Canadian work experience can add up to 10 CRS points to your score as an accompanying spouse. What it cannot do is count toward your CEC eligibility β the Canadian Experience Class requires your own 1,560 hours of skilled Canadian work. Mixing these two up is the mistake that wastes a year.
The two separate rules
Rule 1 β CEC eligibility is personal. To qualify under the Canadian Experience Class, the principal applicant must personally have, in the 3 years before applying:
- at least 1,560 hours (about 1 year) of skilled work in Canada, in TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3;
- done while holding temporary resident status with legal work authorization;
- in a paid job β self-employment and work done while a full-time student generally don't count.
Your spouse's open-work-permit experience, however impressive, contributes zero hours to this requirement. If you're the student and your spouse is the worker, you are probably not the right principal applicant.
Rule 2 β spouse factors add CRS points. An accompanying spouse's profile is scored separately, worth up to 40 points total:
| Spouse factor | Maximum |
|---|---|
| Education | 10 points |
| Official language proficiency (first language) | 20 points |
| Canadian work experience | 10 points |
The spouse work-experience scale is graduated: 1 year = 5 points, 2 years = 7, 3 years = 8, 4 years = 9, 5+ years = 10. Note the trade-off: listing a spouse as accompanying lowers your core human-capital maximums (e.g. 460 instead of 500), and the spouse factors are designed to roughly make up the difference β the spouse's experience only helps if it's genuinely strong.
The strategic question: who should be the principal applicant?
When one partner studies and the other works full-time on a SOWP, the worker often becomes the stronger candidate: they hold the Canadian work experience, possibly the better language score, and maybe a higher credential. A couple should compute the CRS both ways β spouse A's score as principal applicant vs. spouse B's β and pick whoever is stronger. The principal applicant is simply whoever qualifies under the immigration program being used; there's no rule that the student must lead.
Can your spouse even get that open work permit?
Since January 21, 2025, the spouse open work permit (SOWP) for partners of international students is restricted. Your spouse qualifies only if you hold a valid study permit and are:
- in a master's program of 16 months or longer, or
- in a doctoral program, or
- in a listed professional degree program (e.g. MD, JD, BEng, BScN, PharmD), or
- in another eligible program (e.g. the Francophone Minority Communities pilot).
Spouses of undergraduate, college diploma, and certificate students generally no longer qualify. If the permit doesn't exist, the work experience β and its CRS points β doesn't exist either.
One more trap: authorization
Only legally authorized work counts. Work done without a valid permit, or work while out of status, counts for neither CEC hours nor CRS points β and claiming it can raise misrepresentation concerns. Make sure the SOWP is valid for every month of work you claim.
Frequently asked questions
My spouse worked in Canada for two years on a SOWP. How many points is that worth to me?
As an accompanying spouse, two years of Canadian work experience = 7 points under spouse factors (5 for one year, 7 for two, 8 for three, 9 for four, 10 for five or more).
Can I combine my spouse's 6 months with my 6 months to make one CEC year?
No. CEC hours cannot be pooled across people. Each applicant's 1,560 hours must be their own.
What if my spouse doesn't accompany me to Canada?
Then spouse factors give you zero points β but your core human-capital maximums rise to the single-applicant levels (500 instead of 460). Run the numbers both ways before deciding.
Sources
- Express Entry vs PNP comparison (North Americans)
- IRCC (canada.ca): Help your spouse or common-law partner work in Canada β SOWP eligibility from Jan 21, 2025
- IRCC (canada.ca): Canadian Experience Class eligibility β 1,560 hours / TEER 0β3 / authorized work
- IRCC (canada.ca): Comprehensive Ranking System criteria β spouse or common-law partner factors