Similar to work experience and language ability, education is an extremely important factor for Canadian immigration.
An Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) is used by IRCC to evaluate foreign educational qualifications such as degrees, diplomas and certificates against Canadian standards.
Who needs to do an ECA?
If you completed your education outside Canada, you will need an ECA if:
The ECA is mandatory if you are applying under the Federal Skilled Worker Program. The ECA is not mandatory if you are applying under the Federal Skilled Trades Program or Canadian Experience Class. If you obtained your educational qualification in Canada, you do not need to undergo an ECA.
Regardless of the program that you are applying under, obtaining an ECA for your educational credentials allows you to claim points under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
Let's explore the relationship between education and the CRS in greater detail.
Typically, you only need to have your highest level of education evaluated (the credential that will award you the most points).
However, if you obtained more than one post-secondary credential (for example, a Bachelor's degree and a two-year diploma), you can claim CRS points by evaluating both credentials (see section highlighted in red):
Level of Education | With spouse | Without spouse |
|---|---|---|
Less than secondary (high school) | 0 | 0 |
Secondary (high school) | 28 | 30 |
One-year degree, diploma or certificate from a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 84 | 90 |
Two-year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 91 | 98 |
Bachelor's degree OR a three or more year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 112 | 120 |
Two or more certificates, diplomas, or degrees. One must be for a program of three or more years | 119 | 128 |
Master's degree, OR professional degree needed to practice in a licensed profession (For “professional degree,” the degree program must have been in: medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, optometry, law, chiropractic medicine, or pharmacy.) | 126 | 135 |
Doctoral level university degree (Ph.D.) | 140 | 150 |
Strong language proficiency in English or French combined with more than one post-secondary credential can also award you additional points under the CRS:
CLB 7 or higher and a post-secondary degree | Points for CLB 7 or more on all first official language abilities, with one or more under CLB 9 (Maximum 25 points) | Points for CLB 9 or more on all four first official language abilities (Maximum 50 points) |
|---|---|---|
Secondary (high school) credential or less | 0 | 0 |
Post-secondary program credential of one year or longer | 13 | 25 |
Two or more post-secondary program credentials AND at least one of these credentials was issued on completion of a post-secondary program of three years or longer | 25 | 50 |
A university-level credential at the master’s level or at the level of an entry-to-practice professional degree for an occupation listed in the National Occupational Classification matrix at Skill Level A for which licensing by a provincial regulatory body is required | 25 | 50 |
A university-level credential at the doctoral level | 25 | 50 |
If you obtained more than one year of Canadian work experience and have more than one post-secondary educational credential, you are awarded additional points under the CRS:
Canadian work experience and a post-secondary degree | Points for education + 1 year of Canadian work experience (Maximum 25 points) | Points for education + 2 years or more of Canadian work experience (Maximum 50 points) |
|---|---|---|
Secondary (high school) credential or less | 0 | 0 |
Post-secondary program credential of one year or longer | 13 | 25 |
Two or more post-secondary program credentials AND at least one of these credentials was issued on completion of a post-secondary program of three years or longer | 25 | 50 |
A university-level credential at the master’s level or at the level of an entry-to-practice professional degree for an occupation listed in the National Occupational Classification matrix at Skill Level A for which licensing by a provincial regulatory body is required | 25 | 50 |
A university-level credential at the doctoral level | 25 | 50 |
If your spouse or common-law partner is coming with you to Canada, you can also earn points for their education:
Level of Education | With spouse | Without spouse |
|---|---|---|
Less than secondary (high school) | 0 | n/a |
Secondary (high school) | 2 | n/a |
One-year degree, diploma or certificate from a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 6 | n/a |
Two-year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 7 | n/a |
Bachelor's degree OR a three or more year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 8 | n/a |
Two or more certificates, diplomas, or degrees. One must be for a program of three or more years | 9 | n/a |
Master's degree, OR professional degree needed to practice in a licensed profession (For “professional degree,” the degree program must have been in: medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, optometry, law, chiropractic medicine, or pharmacy.) | 10 | n/a |
Doctoral level university degree (Ph.D.) | 10 | n/a |
We strongly recommend reviewing how the CRS allocates points for education in the tables above to determine how you can claim the maximum CRS points for your Express Entry profile. In most cases, you only need to have your highest level of education evaluated.
Most ECA issuing organizations charge per application, not per credential. If you have more than one post-secondary credential, we recommend evaluating all your higher education at once. This will save you time and money, and (more importantly) allow you to claim CRS points for multiple credentials.
Given there are different types of ECAs, it is important to choose the one(s) intended for immigration purposes.