Step by Step Guide to Educational Credentials Assessment (ECA)
Canada has undoubtedly become an appealing home for many people seeking better life and growth prospects. Every year, around 300,000 people move to Canada, with around 250,000 becoming naturalized citizens.
So, if you too are interested in relocating to Canada and want to apply for permanent residency in Canada, you need to get an ECA or Educational Credential Assessment. But what exactly is ECA? Let’s take a closer look at what an ECA is and what it covers.
What is an ECA Report?
An Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report is used to ensure that your international qualification, diploma, or certificate, issued by a country other than Canada, is genuine and matches the Canadian equivalent. Your degree, college, accreditation, and other components of your education are all evaluated as part of the Educational Credential Assessment. An ECA, for example, will decide if your abroad master’s degree is equivalent to a master’s degree earned in Canada. Various organizations offer a variety of ECAs that are specifically related to the following:
- Purpose of Immigration
- Education at the University Level
- License
- Employment
Why Do You Need an Educational Credentials Assessment? (ECA)
The Government of Canada does not recognize degrees, certificates, or certifications gained outside of Canada. As a result, in order to have your degree or degree validated in Canada, you must have it examined according to Canadian standards set by certain institutions.
Step by Step Guide to ECA
When you get an ECA, your Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS) will be increased by up to 150 points, based on your highest education. So, let us go through the step-by-step guide to completing your ECA.
- Choose the Best Organization
Choosing the right organization to acquire your ECA report is very crucial. So, spend some time to find the best organization that can help you get an ECA report. One of the most trusted organizations to get your ECA done for Canada is WES. You can head over to the website World Education Services Canada and familiarize yourself with the whole process.
The majority of your questions will be answered there. Before you start asking questions, look over the information on the website. Always double-check that you’re on the Canadian website, not the American one. This can be seen in the upper right corner of the page, where a flag is displayed beside the country name, or in the website address, which includes “/ca” in the address
Note: Please be aware that COVID has affected processing timelines for all organizations, and even the most efficient organization may take longer to respond than expected.
- Obtaining an ECA Report
When requesting an ECA report, make sure you specify that you want a report for immigration purposes. Various assessment reports are available, however only ECA assessments prepared for immigration purposes are accepted by the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada).
You will be expected to have the relevant documentation, including certificates and other documents straight from your school, as well as a copy of your degree/diploma/certificate for your evaluation, regardless of the organization you choose. The evaluation can take anywhere from a week or less. Sometimes it may get delayed. So, once you know which programs you’re applying for, plan ahead of time to complete your ECA verification on time and avoid rushing at the last minute.
- Spending on Your ECA
Obtaining an Education Assessment Report is fairly costly, thus there are a few strategies you can employ to make your expenditures more manageable. Using an ECA application for IRCC instead of the normal option will save you money on your report. For most people, the usual report isn’t required for immigration purposes. You will simply need the PDF document of the ECA report to seek your immigration procedure due to COVID-19. You will not need the physical report documents for the immigration application, therefore use a normal courier firm to get them.
To save you any additional costs, it is recommended that you do not ask for the organization to deliver the report to the IRCC directly because the original documents are not required.
- Requirement of Your ECA Report
When applying for various Canadian immigration programs, the Educational Credential Assessment remains one of the most crucial papers. It assists Canadian immigration agents in confirming your educational credentials. The Education Assessment report may be required when you begin your immigration process in some situations, but it may not be required at all in others. Nonetheless, having it by your side is advantageous.
So, before beginning the procedure for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and other particular federal and provincial programs, you need to have your ECA report ready.
- After Receiving Your ECA report
Your ECA report is valid for five years once you’ve completed it. You should begin the process as soon as you have made the decision to immigrate to Canada, without worrying about the report expiring. You can renew the report if your immigration process has lasted longer than intended, which is permissible in some cases. Prepare properly for your future life in Canada by having the ECA report on hand at all times during your immigration procedure.
Conclusion
Students and professionals should consider the ECA when preparing and planning their move to Canada. There may be many hurdles in your way to moving to Canada, but with the right research and the best overseas education consultants by your side, you’ll find that moving to Canada is pretty simple. So, if you are planning to move to Canada, get your ECA report today!
