Get your education assessed
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What is an ECA
If you don’t have a completed Canadian one-year post-secondary education credential or higher, you must get an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) from an approved organization.
An ECA is used to check that your completed foreign educational credential is valid and equal to a completed Canadian one-year post-secondary education credential or higher. This can be a degree, diploma, certificate or other proof of your education.
How to get an ECA
Choose a designated organization
You can get your assessment from any of these organizations:
- Comparative Education Service – University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies
- International Credential Assessment Service of Canada
- World Education Services
- International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS)
- International Credential Evaluation Service
Check the websites of the approved organizations or contact them directly to find out:
- what documents you need
- how much it will cost
- how long an assessment will take
Apply for your assessment
Make sure you:
- apply for an ECA for immigration purposes
- gather all the documents the organization needs to assess your education
- ask your school for multiple copies of your degrees, diplomas, transcripts, etc.
- follow any instructions given to submit the documents, and
- pay the fees
What your report means
Once you get your education assessed, the organization will give you an ECA report that will tell you if your foreign credentials are equal to a completed Canadian one-year post-secondary education credential or higher.
If your report shows that your completed foreign credential is equal to a completed Canadian one-year post-secondary education credential or higher, you can apply through the Home Child Care Provider or Home Support Worker pilot.
Your ECA report must:
- clearly state that your completed foreign credential is equal to a completed Canadian one-year post-secondary education credential or higher,
- be issued on or after the date the organization was approved by us, and
- be less than 5 years old on the date that we get your application
Your completed foreign credential doesn’t meet the education criteria, and you are not eligible to apply, if your report shows your credential is equivalent to
- a post-secondary diploma from a non-recognized institution
- years of post-secondary studies (instead of a completed post-secondary credential)
- For example, an ECA with “Secondary school diploma and 3 years of undergraduate studies”
What to include in your application
In your application, you must include:
- a copy of the ECA report
- copies of your degrees, diplomas, transcripts or other proof of your completed foreign credential
Keep a copy of the report for your records and future use.
We’ll check any ECA report submitted with an application with the organization that produced the report.
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