The ECA (Education Credential Assessment) is an valuation of all your educational qualification(s) achieved from a country other than Canada. In this, the credentials which account for the academic scholarly pursuits of the candidates are evaluated against the parameters of the Canadian government education and it is formulated that whether the academic capabilities of the candidate is in line with the Canadian Standards or not.
Immigration to another country is a legal step thus there are different types of paperwork that are attached when you are filing for the Permanent Residency (PR) of Canada and the Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) is one such mandatory report which needs to be submitted to the authorities.
Further, ECA is also an important determinant in the calculation of the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) as well. The candidates are given the point for their educational qualification in their assessment and Educational Credential Assessment or ECA can increase the points of the candidate tremendously.
Surprisingly, on the evaluation of a Master’s degree from a renowned university in India, one will find that the degree is worth a Bachelors program degree in Canada and the candidate will have points equal to the bachelor’s program only after submission of the documents. Hence, it is highly essential that you undertake the Educational Credential Assessment for Canada immigration process with carefiully and under the mentorship of an expert Immigration consultant.
Let us look at some of the formidable aspects which highlight the Educational Credential Assessment Canada process in detail.
Remember that there is no evaluation needed for the tenth and twelfth grade certificates of the candidate. In that case, the certificates are considered to be just one single degree of high school. On the other hand, the other transcripts/documents required for ECA Canada evaluation are -
Irrespective of the program through which you are applying for immigration, Express Entry Program or Provincial Nominee Program(PNP) a candidate is required to file for the educational credential assessment for Canada in India. Also, IRCC (Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada) only accepts the evaluation done through authorized organizations only and at present, the following are the authorized bodies for evaluation:
👉 World Education Services (WES)
WES is a popular assessing authority of Canada for calculation of the educational documents of the aspirants in which over 2,500 universities, Institutes, colleges, government bodies are assessed and their educational stature is judged against the educational parameters of Canada. The cost for evaluation under WES is $217 CAD. An ECA that is done through WES has a validity of five years from the date of issue of the report. Hence, the same report can be used by the candidate while re-submission of the express entry profile when the candidate is not selected for immigration the first time. The current standard time for issuing a report is 35 business days.
👉 Comparative Education Service – University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies
The international degrees and qualifications are evaluated under Comparative Education Service – University of Toronto School of Continuing studies and through this you can have the evaluation done for general purposes and also for the immigration purposes. The estimated time of processing under this category is 14 weeks and the fee charged was 210 $CAD per application + the mailing charges
👉 International Credential Assessment of service of Canada
With the processing time of approximately 20 weeks, it is an authorized agency for the evaluation of educational credentials for immigration to Canada. The ICAS immigration report is valid for five years from the date of issue and the charge through this agency is 210 $CAD.
👉 International Qualifications Assessment Service
IQAS is an assessment agency of the Alberta government. It also grants the report which is valid for a five-year period. The processing time is approximately 15 weeks and the cost of processing is roughly 220 $ CAD.
👉 International Credential Evaluation Service
ICES is the assessment agency of British Columbia which provides educational assessment for academic qualifications. It will not evaluate your military training, second language training or your professional licensing. The processing time for this category can vary from four to seven weeks and the average cost is 230 $CAD
👉 Medical Council of Canada – (Professional body for Doctors)
It is a professional body for assessing the medical candidates and there is a two-part professional exam that needs to be undertaken by the aspiring candidates. The aspiring candidate’s valuation is valid for five years from the date of issue. The processing time of the application is generally 4 to 6 weeks with a cost of 290 $ CAD.
👉 Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (For Pharmacists)
It is a certificate body for pharmacists in Canada. There is an exam that is conducted under this category and fee of the exam is 825 $ CAD for part 1 and 1855 $ CAD for the part 2 of the exam. For the documents review the cost of 685 $CAD. The full process can take a time of 13 weeks.
Submitting the documents required for ECA Canada is not only helpful for the government of Canada, but it can also have a positive impact on the immigrants who will be living in Canada for the next few years.
Some of the core benefits of getting an ECA done entails-
Different agencies will have the different processing time for the Educational Credential Assessment ECA. The table provided below can help assess different agencies easily:
The below list includes ECA processing time and only the basic ECA Canada fees. It doesn’t include courier charge and other miscellaneous expenditures -
Agency | Processing Time | Fee |
World Education Services(WES) | 35 working days | $ 217 - 325 CAD |
International Credential Assessment of Service of Canada | 6-8 weeks | $ 210 CAD |
Comparative Education Service – University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies | 6-10 weeks | $ 210 CAD |
International Qualifications Assessment Service | 15 Weeks | $ 220 CAD |
International Credential Evaluation Service | 7 weeks | $ 230 CAD |
Medical Council of Canada – (Professional body for Doctors) | 12 weeks | $ 1,375 CAD |
Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (For Pharmacists) | 8 weeks | $ 685 CAD |
Remember an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) fees and the time of processing is subject to change at any time without any notice. Also, in the case of medicine related candidates the cost of evaluation will be higher than what is asked for from the other candidates.
In case you are married and immigrating as a couple or a family then it is wise to get an evaluation of your spouse’s education as well. If your spouse is highly educated, then it can guarantee additional points for immigration. This way you can claim points for your spouse education and enhance your overall Comprehensive Ranking System score as well.