A candidate took unpaid leave for about a month (to visit family) during their second year of qualifying work experience, and wanted to know if this would jeopardize the CRS points tied to that year. Members' guidance:
- Paid leave is not considered a break in continuous employment for CRS/experience purposes — IRCC generally treats paid vacation as part of ongoing employment.
- Even discounting an unpaid leave period, you may still meet the minimum experience threshold. In this case, the member calculated that even excluding the month away, the applicant still had a full valid year of experience leading up to their ITA (Invitation to Apply).
- Add a Letter of Explanation (LOE) with your application, clearly laying out the leave dates and confirming your employment remained continuous (not terminated) through that period.
- Your employment letter should independently confirm minimum weekly hours (e.g., 40 hrs/week) so IRCC can see the role always met the full-time threshold, leave included.
This situation is common for people who take time off to visit family; the key is documenting it clearly rather than trying to hide or omit it.