This came up for someone whose Express Entry score crossed the CEC threshold on the strength of 2 years of work experience being credited about 45 days before their actual 2-year anniversary in the role (which included a 2-month vacation in India during that window). The group offered two takes:
- One view: foreign time doesn't count, only short absences do. One member noted that time spent in your home country generally isn't counted as Canadian work experience for CEC purposes — only brief absences (cited as around 2 weeks) are typically tolerated within an otherwise continuous period of Canadian employment. A 2-month vacation is longer than that tolerance, which could be a genuine problem if IRCC scrutinizes the file.
- Another view: a law firm confirmed it should be fine. A second member reported checking directly with an immigration law firm (Canada Visa), who indicated the applicant should be good to proceed.
Practical takeaway: there's genuine disagreement here, and IRCC's system granting the points early (before the literal 2-year anniversary) doesn't guarantee it will hold up during file review. If you're in a similar situation — points credited a bit ahead of your actual anniversary, combined with an extended vacation abroad during the qualifying period — it's worth getting a professional opinion (immigration lawyer or licensed consultant) before paying the application fee, since the two most common views in the community actively conflict.