ECA for Canada from the UAE: WES, IQAS, ICAS, CES and ICES compared

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ECA for Canada from the UAE: WES, IQAS and ICAS compared

If your degree was awarded outside Canada, you need an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) before Express Entry will give you a single point for it. From the UAE, the ECA is usually the document that sets the pace of the whole profile, because no assessor starts work until it has received official records that come from your university or arrive in a sealed, institution-stamped envelope. (IQAS accepts a sealed envelope couriered by the applicant, so ‘sent to them directly’ by the university is not true for all five organisations; the comparison table already says this.) As at August 2026, IRCC designates five general organisations plus three professional bodies, and ICAS has published fee increases that take effect on 1 September 2026, so the choice of assessor is worth settling now rather than after language testing.

At a glance

  • An ECA is mandatory for foreign education in Express Entry; IRCC refuses applications submitted with an expired ECA, and the report must be less than 5 years old.
  • Five designated organisations: WES, IQAS (Alberta), ICAS, CES (University of Toronto) and ICES (BCIT). Architects, doctors and pharmacists who need a licence must use their professional body instead.
  • Published fees as at August 2026: WES C$264 plus HST, IQAS $260 plus $25 admin, ICAS $210 (some fees rise 1 September 2026), CES $241.50, ICES $200 per credential.
  • Published processing statements range from about 15 business days (IQAS) to an average of 20 weeks (ICAS), counted only from the day all official documents have arrived.
  • A master’s degree assessed as equal to a Canadian master’s earns 135 CRS points without a spouse; a bachelor’s earns 120.

What an ECA is and why Express Entry needs it

An ECA is a report from an IRCC-designated organisation stating what your foreign credential is equal to in Canada. You enter the report number in your Express Entry profile, and IRCC awards education points under the Comprehensive Ranking System according to the result.

The report must be less than 5 years old when you use it. If you apply with an expired report, IRCC refuses the application, and if the report will expire while you are still in the pool, IRCC’s advice is to ask the issuing organisation about a re-issue. The report must also have been issued for immigration purposes. A general-use evaluation ordered for a job application may need to be re-issued in the immigration format, and we see this catch applicants who had a report prepared years ago for an employer.

In most cases only your highest completed credential needs assessing. The points for two or more credentials (128 instead of 120 without a spouse) require a separate assessment for each one, and at least one must be for a programme of three or more years. You cannot submit more than one credential in the same field. If your post-secondary credential is not assessed as equal to a Canadian one, IRCC allows you to have your secondary schooling assessed instead.

The five designated organisations compared

The fees and processing statements below are quoted as published on each organisation’s own website as at August 2026. Every organisation counts its timeline from the day all required official documents have arrived, not from the day you pay.

Organisation Published ECA fee (CAD) Published processing statement Who must send the transcripts
WES (World Education Services) C$264, excluding delivery, additional fees and 13% HST; standard delivery C$14 Document verification typically 2 weeks, then evaluation typically 1 week (complex cases up to 2 weeks) Your institution, in a sealed envelope or through a WES digital partner
IQAS (Government of Alberta) $260 for one credential, $100 per extra credential, plus $25 administration fee; courier $90 to an international address; rush service $250 extra About 15 business days from “In line for processing” status Institution or applicant, in a sealed envelope signed or stamped across the flap; electronic delivery from an institutional email also accepted
ICAS (International Credential Assessment Service of Canada) $210 Canadian Immigration Assessment Package, plus mail or courier ($85 international courier); some fees increase on 1 September 2026 Average 20 weeks after all documents are received; no rush service Institution only; sealed envelopes from the applicant are not accepted
CES (University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies) $241.50 per application, covering up to two credentials 40 business days for an IRCC ECA; 7 business days when the institution delivers through an approved secure digital platform Institution, in a sealed envelope directly to CES
ICES (British Columbia Institute of Technology) $200 per credential, including two hard copies and IRCC electronic access Estimated 7 weeks from the date all required documents are received Institution only, by mail or email; documents handled by the applicant are not official

For a UAE applicant the transcript rule matters more than the headline fee. ICAS, CES and ICES accept only records that come straight from the institution, while IQAS also allows the applicant to courier a sealed, stamped envelope. WES takes a sealed envelope from the institution or delivery through one of its digital partners. Each organisation states that its processing times are estimates and can change with volume.

Special routes for doctors, pharmacists and architects

If your primary occupation needs a licence in one of three professions, IRCC requires the ECA to come from a designated professional body rather than a general assessor.

  • Doctors: the Medical Council of Canada (designated 17 April 2013) must assess your primary medical diploma if your primary occupation is one of the physician occupations IRCC lists on its ECA page.
  • Pharmacists: the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (designated 6 January 2014) must do the assessment if your intended job needs a pharmacy licence. IRCC’s example of a role that does not need the licence is a pharmaceutical-industry or government job.
  • Architects: the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (designated 20 May 2024) must assess you if your work will need an architect’s licence. An ECA for NOC 21200 issued by another designated organisation before 31 October 2024 is still accepted while it remains valid.

IRCC directs applicants to the provincial regulatory body to confirm whether the intended role needs a licence. If it does not, any of the five general organisations can issue the report.

How CRS education points work

The CRS awards education points according to the Canadian equivalency shown on your ECA report, not the name of your foreign degree. The figures below are from IRCC’s CRS criteria page as at August 2026.

Canadian equivalency on the ECA Points without a spouse Points with a spouse
Secondary school diploma 30 28
One-year post-secondary credential 90 84
Two-year post-secondary credential 98 91
Bachelor’s degree or three-year-plus programme 120 112
Two or more credentials, one of three-plus years 128 119
Master’s degree, or professional degree for a licensed profession 135 126
Doctoral degree (PhD) 150 140

The assessing organisation, not the applicant, decides where a credential lands, and IRCC’s ECA page lists the exact equivalency wording that maps to each level. Our CRS score guide for UAE professionals walks through the full grid, and the Canada PR points calculator lets you test how a different equivalency changes your number.

From the UAE: what this means for you

What every organisation asks for is proof that the records came from the institution. That is a different requirement from the attestation used for UAE employment visas, and an attested photocopy in your own hands is not a substitute for it.

Indian universities

IQAS accepts transcripts sent by either the university that issued the final degree or the applicant in a sealed, stamped envelope, and warns that a college-issued mark sheet is not accepted unless the college is autonomous. ICES states that since June 2022 it will not accept documents from any third-party transcript service, and asks applicants to have records sent directly by the awarding university. (Removes three named commercial services per the no-other-company rule; ICES’s rule is preserved.) WES requires applicants submitting an Indian master’s degree or postgraduate diploma to provide their bachelor’s degree as well, except where the highest degree is an M.Ed, M.Eng, M.Phil, M.Tech or PhD.

Pakistani universities

IQAS asks for copies attested by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), uploaded in the portal, and states that the HEC must confirm the attestation on its website. ICES publishes a list of Pakistani institutions whose credentials it will not evaluate, including Preston University (all campuses), so check that list before paying.

Filipino and Egyptian universities

For the Philippines, IQAS accepts transcripts from the institution or TESDA, or from the applicant in a sealed envelope, and does not assess National Certificate (NC) qualifications. For Egypt, IQAS accepts transcripts from the issuing authority or from the applicant in a sealed envelope. Electronic delivery is accepted only from a verifiable institutional email address or an approved digital platform; IQAS states that Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail accounts are not accepted.

Timing from Dubai

The published clocks start only when the organisation has everything, and the step with no published timeline is your university’s registrar posting the envelope. We suggest ordering the ECA before you book language testing, because the transcript step is the one you cannot control from Dubai. Budget for the international courier fee (IQAS $90, ICAS $85) if you want paper copies at a UAE address; IRCC reads the electronic report. The wider requirements are on our Canada skilled migration page and Canada overview.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to assess my bachelor’s degree if I have a master’s?

In most cases you do not. IRCC says you only need an assessment for your highest level of education. A separate assessment for each credential is needed only for the “two or more credentials” points, although WES requires the bachelor’s degree as a supporting document for most Indian master’s degrees.

My ECA was issued four and a half years ago. Can I still use it?

Only while it is under 5 years old at the point you use it; IRCC refuses an application made with an expired report. ICAS publishes a renewal process for expired immigration reports, and CES quotes 15 business days for renewals.

Which organisation is fastest?

On published statements, CES via a secure digital platform (7 business days) and IQAS (about 15 business days) are the shortest and ICAS (average 20 weeks) the longest. Every clock starts when the institution’s documents arrive, so your university’s speed matters more than the choice of assessor.

What to do next

Start with a free eligibility assessment, call our Dubai office on 04 357 7796, or book a 20-minute review with one of our consultants, who are individually registered with CICC. We do not promise outcomes; we set out the steps and the evidence each one needs. More Canada guides are in our guide library.

Sources

Cover photo: An Vuong via Pexels

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