Educational Credential Assessment

  • World Education Services (WES)
  • Comparative Education Service (CES)
  • International Credential Assessment of Canada (ICAS)
  • International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS)
  • International Credential Evaluation Service (ICES)
  • Medical Council of Canada (MCC)
  • Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (PEBC)

In order for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to assess the validity of your foreign degree, diploma, or certificate, you will have to submit to an Educational Credential Assessment or ECA.

  • In order to be eligible for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) as a principal applicant, you will need an ECA.
  • If you already possess a Canadian degree, diploma, or certificate, then you do not need an ECA.
  • If you wish to work in a regulated profession in Canada, you will need to be licensed by the provincial or territorial government’s licensing body in the province or territory in which you wish to live and work. This is in addition to having your degree or diploma assessed through an ECA. You should contact the relevant regulatory body in the province or territory you wish to live in as soon as possible to see what the requirements are for getting your foreign credentials assessed.

 

IRCC-DESIGNATED ORGANIZATIONS

There are 7 organizations currently designated by IRCC to provide Educational Credential Assessment or ECA report services. The  ECA assessment is valid for 5 years from the date they are issued by the following organizations:

World Education Services (WES)

WES is the most famous designated organization, authorized by IRCC to provide ECA reports. They are located at:

2 Carlton Street, Suite 1400
Toronto ON M5B 1J3

Their phone is only accessible from within Canada and they do not attend walk-in customers. They do not provide an email and must be contacted electronically by filling out the appropriate online forms at their website and by mail when you, or your educational institute, mail them the application packages with the appropriate documentation or the official documents. They have a 3-step application procedure:

  1. Complete the online application form by going here. You will receive a reference number which you must keep.
  2. Review the document requirements for your country of education.
  3. Download and print an Academic Records Request Form and if necessary a Doctoral Degree Conferral Request Form and send them to your educational institute in order for them to send the transcript directly to WES.
  4. WES will process your application and send you an electronic ECA report for you to send to IRCC. You will also receive electronic storage of your report and verified transcripts for future use. Upon payment of delivery fees, you may also receive a paper report. Standard processing times are approximately 20 business days.

Comparative Education Service (CES)

University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies

Based in Toronto, it was designated by IRCC on April 17, 2013 to provide ECA reports. That means any ECA done by CES before this date will not be accepted by IRCC. They are located at:

158 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario
[email protected]
416 – 978 – 2400
416 – 978 – 6666 Fax

There are 3 basic steps to obtaining an ECA report from CES, as well as the other organizations listed below, not including the Medical and Pharmacist Professional Bodies:

  1. Find your country of education on the link provided by CES and determine what documents from which department or agency in your country of education are required by CES for your ECA report.
  2. Download and fill out the Educational Credential Assessment application form. All transcripts, certificates, verification reports should be mailed directly to CES – the organization that prepares the ECA report not IRCC – by the educational or other institution in the country where you were educated.
  3. Include your fee payment with the package and mail the package to CES.

International Credential Assessment Service of Canada (ICAS)

Based in Guelph, Ontario, it has been providing credential assessment services since 1993. It is also designated by the IRCC. They are located at:

Ontario AgriCentre
100 Stone Road West, Suite 102
Guelph ON N1G 5L3
[email protected]
519 – 763 – 7282
519 – 763 – 6964 Fax

There is a 5-step procedure at ICAS for obtaining your ECA report:

  1. Review your documentation requirements. This is specific to each country of education.
    • Statements of Graduation & Marks Certificates for each year of study for the diploma or degree sent directly to ICAS by the University or Technical Education Board, not by the affiliated college. Reports sent by colleges will not be accepted.
  2. Complete the ICAS online application form.
  3. You will receive a confirmation email which you must print. There will be a Document Submission Form which lists the documents you must photocopy and send with your application to ICAS. These are not Official Documents which are those sent directly to ICAS by the education institution as shown above. The documents you must photocopy include: degrees, diplomas, or certificates; translations of each document; copies of abstract of thesis or dissertations if applicable; official change of name document if your name has changed from the one shown on the documents. The email will also contain an Official Records Request Form which you must print and send to your educational institution.
  4. Mail or courier your photocopied documents and Document Submission Form to ICAS in Guelph.
  5. Submit the Official Records Request Form to your educational institution. You are required to send a separate form for each qualification and each institution.

 

International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS)

IQAS is the Alberta government’s ECA service, designated and approved by IRCC in August 2015.

International Qualifications Assessment Service
9th floor, 9942 108 Street
Edmonton, AB T5K 2J5
Canada