There's a common misconception that Express Entry work-experience points can be claimed as soon as a rough estimate of one year has passed. Group members flagged two important nuances:
- The system may show "one year" slightly early — around 11 months in — but that doesn't mean it's safe to submit your Express Entry application at that point.
- Submit only after the full year is genuinely complete, including any time spent outside Canada on vacation, since IRCC counts continuous qualifying hours (roughly 1,560 hours for a full year of full-time work), not calendar-year proximity.
- Create your profile only after the full year is done. Submitting or creating a profile too early can create problems under the CRS tie-breaking rules, since your profile date and score need to accurately reflect completed experience.
Practical takeaway: if your spouse started full-time permanent work on a given date, don't count the year as "done" the moment IRCC's system shows it — wait until the full 12 months (and full qualifying hours) have actually elapsed, then create or update the Express Entry profile, factoring in any time away from work during that period.