This article will find out what is ECA, Its requirements, its process, and how to save money while applying for an Assessment. Let’s go forward to our guide to ECA (Educational Credentials Assessment).

Canada is a safe and welcoming country that provides surprising opportunities and career growth for people who want to have a better lifestyle. Over a year, more than 3,00,000 applicants have migrated to Canada. Applying for Canada PR, ECA (Educational Credential Assessment) is the first step not only for Canada PR but also for Canada Student Visa. It evaluates the Applicant’s degree, University, Accreditation, and other aspects of education.

What Is An ECA Report?

Educational Credential Assessment is a process that Canadian Authorities use to double-check an applicant’s education credentials. This might be a high school degree, a college degree, or a course certificate. 

Your educational history is verified by the ECA report, which also converts it into Canadian Equivalent. A one-year master’s Course that is only regarded as an additional certification program in Canada would serve as an excellent example of this. 

Your ECA report does not make note of any extracurricular involvement or post-school attendance. Consider that you are presently enrolling for any courses you took before moving to Canada. In that scenario, you could also be able to have it taken into account by your ECA report.

Do You Require An ECA Report?

You will not require an ECA Report if you have completed your education in Canada. However, if you want to migrate to Canada or plan to work in Canada you will need an ECA Report. 

While only your highest level of education should be evaluated (for example, if you have completed an undergraduate degree program as your highest level of education, just that should be evaluated), many people choose to have all of their post-secondary education evaluated.

When a person’s master’s degree is not found to be precisely equal in Canada, they receive the maximum number of points for their education if all of their post-secondary assessments are evaluated. In some instances, having all post-secondary assessments evaluated would make the individual’s educational background equal to having completed a Bachelors and Certification Program.

If your spouse is migrating with you and continues to work there they will also need an ECA Report. You will get an extra CRS point if you add your spouse’s ECA report to your application while applying for the program.

Choosing The Ideal Organization For ECA

There is a total of 7 specific organizations for ECA which IRCC accepts. The organizations are:

1. Comparative Education Services – University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies
2. International Credential Assessment Service of Canada
3. World Education Services
4. International Qualifications Assessment Service
5. International Credential Evaluation Service
6. Medical Council of Canada (Doctors only)
7. Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (Pharmacists only)

Your criteria for deciding on the best organization may vary depending on how much time you have before completing your ECA report. World Education Services assures that the procedure takes as little time as possible on its end and has the fastest processing time.

You must first create an account on their official website before submitting the application and regulations for receiving the Educational Credential Assessment report, which is nearly the same for all companies. You must wait until the designated time after submitting the necessary information and paperwork.

Each organization has a different cost structure as well. You will discover that all businesses charge anything from CAD 200 to CAD 220 for their services. Your employer could insist that you obtain your Assessment report from a certain organization if you intend to work for a major firm or in a particular profession.

Process Of Getting An ECA Report For Canadian Immigration

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) began designating organizations for individuals to use when they required an ECA report back in 2013. There are several organizations that individuals can choose from today when they’re beginning the process of attaining a report.

You must make sure that you choose to apply for a report expressly for immigration purposes when you submit an ECA report application. Although there are many different assessment reports, the IRCC will only accept ECA assessments that are provided exclusively for immigration reasons.

Whatever business you choose, they will need sufficient paperwork from you, including transcripts, other records obtained directly from the institution, and a copy of your degree, diploma, or certificate for verification.

The duration of the review procedure might range from a few weeks to several months or more. Plan your ECA verification properly once you know the programs you are applying to so you are not rushing at the last minute.

Save Money While Applying For An Educational Credential Assessment

There are particular strategies you may use to successfully reduce the costs of receiving the Educational Credential Assessment report because it is quite costly.

It is less expensive to choose an ECA application for IRCC than the standard option to acquire your report. For immigration purposes, most persons do not need the usual report. You simply need the PDF file of the ECA report to apply for your immigration procedure because of COVID-19. Since you won’t need the physical report documents for your immigration application, choose an ordinary courier service to acquire them.

Sending receivers and/or any other association simply the PDF document is more effective and ideal. Sending a tangible copy of your report will not only be expensive but may also not be necessary. In order to avoid future expenses, it is better to have all of your higher education reviewed at once.

Asking your company to submit the report to the IRCC is not a good idea because they don’t need the original paperwork. This is so that businesses may charge based on applications rather than degrees. Due to the fact that each application takes at least a few weeks to process, it may also end up saving you time in the long run.

ECA Report For Canada Immigration

All Canadian immigration programs, including the Provincial Nominee Programs, regional immigration programs, and even federal programs included in the Express Entry system, need an ECA report.

The Express Entry procedure is the quickest way to finish your Canadian immigration application. Although not all students are qualified under this system, you will need an ECA report to apply for the Federal Skilled Worker program through Express Entry.

Obtaining an ECA report might provide you with an advantage when applying for the Canadian Experience Class or the Federal Skilled Trades program by increasing your education category points.

Best Time To Get Your ECA Report

One of the most important papers when you want to apply for a number of Canadian immigration programs is the Educational Credential Assessment. It makes it easier for Canadian immigration officials to check your academic qualifications and their equivalents.

In certain circumstances, the report will be necessary when you start the immigration procedure; in other circumstances, you might not need the report at all, but it will still be helpful if you offer it.

Your ECA report must be prepared before you even begin the procedure for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and other specialized provincial and federal programs.

There are several resources online that can show you how many possible points you will be able to achieve as well as similar degrees, so check them out if you need to see your Comprehensive Ranking Score or what the educational equivalent of your existing degree would be.