Administrative Assistant NOC 2026: Will Your TEER 3 Status Impact Canada EE Eligibility?

If you are currently working as an Administrative Assistant, or are planning to gain relevant work experience, you might have recently seen discussions about "Administrative Assistants potentially being downgraded" or "no longer being eligible for Express Entry." It's natural to worry if your current experience will be affected. 😟

I. What does TEER 3 mean for immigration applications?

For example, in the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), eligible work experience must fall under TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3. Therefore, administrative assistant work experience, when other requirements are met, can still be used for application.

However, it's important to note: meeting the occupational classification requirements does not guarantee entry into the Express Entry pool, an invitation to apply, or permanent resident status. Work experience, language proficiency, and other application conditions still need to be confirmed individually. (canada.ca)

II. Is this NOC update merely a change in titles?

Not entirely.

Statistics Canada has confirmed that NOC 2026 will not only update titles, job duties, and related descriptions but also include "structural adjustments," such as adding new occupational groups and splitting or moving some occupations to other groups.

This means that the classification of some jobs may change, which is worth continuous monitoring. However, "structural adjustments" cannot be directly interpreted as "administrative assistants will be downgraded." (statcan.gc.ca)

III. Is the administrative category unaffected, so you can relax completely?

This statement is also not entirely accurate.

Official reports mention that some structural adjustments involve BOC 1, which is the major group for business, finance, and administrative occupations. Therefore, the entire administrative category cannot be considered unaffected.

However, an adjustment to a major group does not mean that every occupation within it will change TEER. To determine the specific changes for 13110, you still need to consult the official occupational entries and the new-to-old version comparison table. (statcan.gc.ca)

IV. When will things become clearer?

The official timeline currently states that NOC 2026 and the complete new-to-old comparison table are expected to be released in December 2026.

Furthermore, "the release of the new NOC version" and "how immigration applications will adopt the new version" are separate matters to be confirmed. IRCC's current occupational search guidelines still use NOC 2021; subsequent applicable versions and application arrangements should be based on official IRCC announcements. (statcan.gc.ca, canada.ca)

V. What can you prepare now if you're an Admin Assistant?

• Verify your actual job duties.

  Having "Administrative Assistant" as your job title doesn't automatically mean NOC 13110 applies. IRCC requires applicants to confirm that their main duties match those listed in the NOC. (canada.ca)

• Organize documents supporting your work experience.

  Gather employment letters, pay stubs, and any other evidence that clearly reflects your period of employment, hours worked, and responsibilities, to facilitate future verification and application.

• Evaluate your overall timeline.

  Beyond the occupational code, also check your language test scores, work experience accumulation period, and status validity, to avoid focusing all your attention on unconfirmed rumors.