If you have been planning on immigrating to Canada through a PR, one of the very first things that you need to get done is to get the ECA for Canada by getting your credentials evaluated and you need to zero in on an approved agency that would do it for you.
If you use the Express entry route, you can’t even start without this. And a lot of PNP streams use it as well.
When starting the ECA process for my credentials evaluation in Canada, I have done my homework on this. I have also talked to several immigrants to understand how the process went for them.
And I will keep on updating the article as and when I come across any new information.
So most of the times, no ECA = no Canada PR.
In a fair world, there would be no need for an educational credential assessment. But the thing is Canadian authorities have no idea whether what you have studied for in your college or university has an equivalent in Canada.
So they need to ensure that. And they need to ensure that whatever certificates and transcripts you have are legitimate and not from some phony university or something that you just bought from the internet.
Farmington university, anyone?
Now as an ECA compares your education to its Canadian equivalent, you don’t really need an ECA if you have studied in Canada. That’s obvious, right?
But if you have studied outside Canada, then getting an ECA is a must for your Canada PR.
There are many organizations that you can use for educational credentials assessment in Canada.
But no matter which organization you choose, the evaluation process will begin only after you make the payment and they receive the necessary documents from you or your university.
ECAs are not needed for Canadian credentials.
You can get ECA reports from multiple ECA agencies like bachelors from one and Masters from another one.
The credentials evaluation process itself can also take several weeks to several months.
For doctors, the Medical Council of Canada must evaluate their primary medical diploma. Pharmacists needing a license to practice, need to get credentials evaluation in Canada from the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada.
Another factor is that the evaluation criteria can change from time to time. So if you are expecting a certain kind of evaluation as per your credentials, you might apply with a different evaluating body, if you don’t get it from the first one you apply with.
At the end of the day, the ECA outcome depends on the evaluating body. While you can follow the guidelines and expect an outcome, no one can really predict it for you.
World Education Services – WES
ECA Fees:-
200 CAD for any number of credentials and 100 CAD for upgrade + Courier charges
Canada ECA Processing Time:-
35 days from the day all the documents are accepted.
International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS)
ECA Fees:-
200 CAD for any number of credentials and 100 CAD for upgrade + Courier charges
Canada ECA Processing Time:-
23 weeks from the day all the documents are accepted.
You or your educational institution would need the WES address in Canada when sending your official transcripts. Here is the address.
New Document Processing Address for all WES Applicants
As of January 10, 2022, the WES Global Documentation Centre for all U.S. and Canadian evaluation applications is in Canada.
WES will now accept documents in support of all U.S. and Canadian evaluation applications at the following locations:
Standard Post:
WES Global Documentation Centre (Reference Number _ _ _ _ _ _ _)
PO BOX 2008 STN MAIN
NEWMARKET ON L3Y0G5
Canada
Courier Post:
WES Global Documentation Centre (Reference Number _ _ _ _ _ _ _)
14 – 145 Industrial Pkwy South
Aurora ON, L4G 3V5
Canada
IMPORTANT:
Make sure to mention the WES Reference No. above the address when sending transcripts.
WES usually takes 35 business days or less to complete the credential assessment in Canada. And this is after the receipt, review, and approval of all documents, and payment in full.
If additional research, correspondence, or verification is required, the degree evaluation in Canada will take longer.
That being said, people have received it in a week or two as well.
ECA for Canada is valid for 5 years.
So there are some cases where WES can refund your evaluation fees, especially when they haven’t received the transcripts from your university and haven’t initiated the real evaluation.
For example, let’s say you thought they would give you Master’s equivalency for an MBA and you made the payment. Then you realized that you would get a Bachelor’s only and you are better off with CES or IQAS.
In this case, you might a successful refund from WES as long as they haven’t received the transcripts.
It is possible to upgrade your ECA to reflect a new degree. So for example, if you got your bachelors evaluated and then two years later, you did a Masters, you can upgrade your credentials assessment so that you get the CRS points for the Masters.
This will cost you extra and the university or you need to send the transcripts of the new degree.
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