Recognizing foreign credentials in Canada
There are 5 organizations currently accredited to evaluate a foreign credential and determine its equivalency compared to Canadian standards. These organizations are:
- Comparative Education Service (CES)
- International Credential Assessment Service of Canada (ICAS)
- World Education Services (WES)
- International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS)
- International Credential Evaluation Service (ICES)
ECAs are valid for 5 years and must be valid at the time an application for permanent residence is submitted. As a general rule, only the highest level of education should get assessed. In some cases, where an applicant has two credentials with one of at least 3 years, two assessments might increase the chances to be successful with their application for permanent residence in Canada.
While an international bachelor's degree usually translates to a Canadian bachelor's degree, a Master's to a Master's and a PhD to a PhD, the situation can be trickier with non-academic education like apprenticeships, college diplomas and trades certificates.
Furthermore, an ECA will typically only assess "academic" education. This means that schooling as part of an apprenticeship may be considered, but usually none of the practical work experience. An example: An applicant completed a 4-year apprenticeship outside of Canada which required 9 months of work experience and 3 months of schooling per year. Even though the apprenticeship took 4 years in total, the ECA would only count the 12 months of schooling and consider it equivalent to a 1-year college diploma. The applicant would lose out on the additional points they could get for their apprenticeship if it was considered a 2-year certificate or even a 3-year program. This is one of the reasons why it's often more helpful in these cases to get a Canadian trades certificate for additional points under Express Entry. Some provincial nominee programs (PNP) may also award additional points for a valid occupational license, for example as an Early Childhood Educator, Dental Assistant or Veterinarian Technician.
Depending on the application program for permanent residence under economic immigration, the ECA translates into a certain amount of points, for example for CRS (see calculator) or the selection factors of the Federal Skilled Worker Program of Express Entry.
However, the ECA itself does not guarantee that you will get a license to practice in a regulated occupation. Depending on the job, additional certificates in Canada may be required, like a red seal for regulated trades or extra training as a ski instructor.
Occupational Licensure
As a general rule, if your occupation is:
- regulated, the recognition of your qualifications will be determined by the appropriate regulatory authority of the province or territory;
- non-regulated, recognition is typically at the discretion of the employer.
To work in a regulated profession or trade and to use a reserved title, you must obtain a license to practice or a certificate of qualification.
The ECA for immigration purposes does not necessarily meet the requirements for a regulated profession or trade association. The regulatory body in the province where you plan to live can provide information if you need a licence to practice your intended occupation and how to obtain one.
Generally, the services are pretty similar between the five designated organizations that provide ECAs. However, if you are also looking to get licensed in your province in a regulated profession, like engineering, healthcare, social workers etc., the regulatory body might request a certain report from a certain institution. Some organizations offer different types of equivalency reports. In addition to the ECA for immigration purposes, there are course-by-course reports that contain all courses of your program, a Canadian semester credit and grade equivalent for each course as well as a Canadian grade point average (GPA). This is typically used for registration with a professional association rather than immigration. If you already ordered your ECA for immigration with that institution, you may be able to get a discount for your second assessment.
Architects, doctors and pharmacists
If your primary occupation falls under NOC 21200 for Architects, NOC 31120 for Pharmacists or NOCs 31100, 31101 or 31102 for Specialists and family physicians, and you need a license to practice in this profession, your ECA must be completed by the respective board or council. If you have a different primary occupation and/or do not need a license, one of the other designated organizations can assess your credentials.
The Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB) is the professional body for architects and was designated to offer ECAs earlier this year. If your primary occupation is Architect (NOC 21200), and you already have an ECA that was issued by another designated organization before October 31, 2024, IRCC will still accept it if it is valid.
If your primary occupation is
- specialist in clinical and laboratory medicine (NOC code 31100),
- specialist in surgery (NOC code 31101) or
- general practitioner or family physician (NOC code 31102),
you must get an ECA for your primary medical diploma from the Medical Council of Canada.
Lastly, the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada, as their professional body, offers ECAs for pharmacists.
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