The IQAS, or the International Qualification Assessment Service, was established by the provincial government of Alberta in 2006. The IQAS is one of the designated organizations that evaluates and compares an individual’s educational credentials to Canadian education standards. An Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report is evaluated by a designation organization and is used at the time of PR application filing or Express Entry profile creation. Thus, if you have completed your education outside of Canada, you’ll require an ECA report to prove that you meet the minimum educational requirements.
It’s the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that designates organizations, and there are five such organizations from which you can choose to get your education evaluated, the International Qualification Assessment Service (IQAS) being one of them.
The other designated organizations for ECA evaluation are:
- World Education Services (WES)
- International Credential Assessment Service of Canada (ICAS)
- International Credential Evaluation Service (ICES)
- Comparative Education Service (CES)
Download Free Immigration and PR Guide PDF
How to Apply for ECA by IQAS
For Canada PR applications, you must submit an ECA suitable for immigration purposes. Follow the below steps to obtain an ECA from IQAS.
Step 1 – Visit the official website of IQAS and apply online for the ECA. You must submit a complete application to the IQAS and only apply to get an ECA for immigration.
Step 2 – Now, you must upload all the educational credentials that you want assessed. If you are uploading a document for assessment, it must be completed. Incomplete credentials will not be assessed.
When you are uploading a document, you can use a color scan to upload the documents or digitally upload the pages of the documents for ECA.
Step 3 – Pay the application fee. You may do so through the following payment options:
- American Express
- Debit card
- Visa, MasterCard
Step 4 – Once you submit your application, IQAS will email you a file number and a PDF version of the application you submitted. In case you made the payment online, IQAS will also email you the receipt.
What After You Apply
- If the mailing address you provided is outside Canada, IQAS will mail you the evaluation package to your address. In case the address is in Canada, IQAS will mail the evaluation package to whichever Canada Post Office is nearest to you. Canada Post will notify you through a Delivery Notice Card about the arrival of the package, and will keep the package for 15 days. You can pick up the package within the time period.
- In case you want to make any changes in your application submitted, you can visit the IQAS application portal to do so.
- IQAS will contact you if it needs any more information to process your application. You must provide the requested information. If IQAS cancels your application, it will let you know.
- If you want a duplicate certificate, pay CAN$30 for each copy of the assessment. An additional fee of CAN$5 will be applied as courier fee.
Document Checklist
You do not need to send your original documents, unless it’s required.
You need to provide the following documents:
- Completed educational credentials
- Passport ID pages (if your passport is unavailable, you may use a government-issued ID as an alternative)
- Proof of changed name (this will be uploaded in case you have changed your name and the new name is not on educational credentials)
- Translations for non-English documents
- You must name the documents you are uploading
- If you are submitting a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, make sure that you upload a photo of the PhD degree as well as the cover of the thesis
Processing Time
IQAS takes approximately 8 weeks to process an assessment. This processing time is calculated once the application’s status is at “In line for processing”.
If there are more than one educational credential to be assessed, the IQAS may take at least 4 additional weeks. On top of this, the courier will take additional time.
Hence, you may be able to receive your ECA by IQAS in about 12 – 15 weeks. The processing time may be delayed if there are too many applications to be processed.
Fee
As of 1st April, 2024, the application fee to get an ECA by IQAS is CAN$260. Keep in mind that the fees provided here are for only one credential. In case you want to get more than one credential assessed, you must pay CAN$100 for each credential.
The courier fee is CAN$90 (as of 1st April, 2024) if you are living outside Canada, whereas CAN$25 if you are in Canada.
You must remember that if your application is canceled, you will not receive a refund for either the application or the courier fee.
Exempted Professions
There are some occupations that require a license to practice in Canada. An ECA is not a license for you to practice your profession in Canada. Hence, the designated organizations that evaluate your credentials do not license you.
Assess your qualifications through these organizations, if you:
- are a Physician- Medical Council of Canada
- are a Pharmacist- Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada
In case you are in a Regulated Occupation, you must get an ECA but then be assessed by the right professional regulatory body of whichever province/territory you would settle in.
How Talent Connected Worldwide Helps
Talent Connected Worldwide is a CICC-licensed Canadian immigration consultancy firm. With its headquarters in Mississauga, Canada, and back offices in India, TCWW has been helping clients achieve their potential since 2008. With over 15 years of experience,and being an award-winning company, TCWW is one of the best immigration consultants in India to handle your case.
Registering with us will ensure that you receive an ECA hassle-free. We’ll let you know how to get your foreign education credentials verified and assessed so you can immigrate to Canada worry free.
Remember to fill out the form below for some insights and advice from our experts!
