How to get an ECA for Canadian immigration

Before you start

• Your passport, with the exact spelling of your name as it appears there.
• The name of the institution, programme and the dates you attended.
• Any certificate, diploma or degree parchment you hold.
• The contact details of the office at your institution that issues transcripts.
• Documentation for any name change, if your records do not all match.

The fourteen steps

1. 1

   Confirm you need an ECA

   Only foreign education needs assessing, and only when you are claiming it.

   What an ECA is
2. 2

   Choose a designated organisation

   Use only an organisation currently designated by IRCC for your situation.

3. 3

   Create an account

   Each organisation runs its own portal with its own requirements.

4. 4

   Select an immigration-purpose assessment

   This is the report type Express Entry expects.

5. 5

   Enter your credentials

   Institution, programme and dates, matching your documents exactly.

6. 6

   Pay the assessment fee

   Fees are set by each organisation and change — check theirs before paying.

7. 7

   Note your reference number

   Every later step is tracked against it.

8. 8

   Read that organisation's document requirements

   They differ by country of study; do not assume another applicant's experience applies to you.

9. 9

   Arrange transcripts

   Most organisations require the institution to send them directly.

10. 10

    Send what you must send yourself

    Usually copies of degree certificates and identity documents.

11. 11

    Track the assessment

    Watch for requests for further documents — these pause everything.

12. 12

    Receive the report

    It states the Canadian equivalency of your credential.

13. 13

    Check the equivalency

    Read it before assuming which education level you can claim.

14. 14

    Enter the details in Express Entry

    The equivalency, the organisation and the report number all go in the profile.

    Where this fits in Express Entry

Common causes of delay

• Transcript requests placed late, or sent to the wrong address or portal.
• Institutions that only issue sealed paper transcripts by post.
• Documents in another language sent without the translation the organisation requires.
• Name differences between passport, transcript and application, without supporting documentation.
• Payment made but required documents never sent, leaving the file open and idle.

After you receive your ECA

• Save the report and reference number where you can find them for the next five years.
• Enter the equivalency in your Express Entry profile, not the original credential title.
• Recalculate your score with the confirmed equivalency rather than the one you assumed.
• If the result is lower than expected, look at what else moves your score before deciding anything.

Common mistakes

• Choosing an assessment purpose other than immigration.
• Assuming every organisation accepts electronic transcripts — many institutions cannot send them.
• Waiting for the report before starting language testing; the two can run in parallel.
• Discarding the reference number once the report arrives.

Frequently asked questions

Your next steps

Continue in the order most people find useful, rather than a list of unrelated pages.

• Language tests for Canadian immigrationRun this in parallel
• CRS calculatorEstimate with the confirmed equivalency
• Express Entry, step by stepThe whole sequence