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ECA for Express Entry: do you need both your bachelor's and master's evaluated, or just one?

Canada • Express Entry • immigration 0 views
By VisaBuddies Communityvia community — compiled from public visa forums

Documents Needed

  • Educational Credential Assessment (ECA)

    Requirement and scope (single vs. all degrees) depends on the assessing body — IQAS vs. WES, for example.

Step-by-Step

If you have both a bachelor's and a master's degree but have only completed an ECA for your master's:

  1. Check which ECA body you're using — requirements differ. Some assessing organizations (e.g. IQAS) allow you to submit just your highest degree's ECA if you only want to claim points for that credential, often at no extra charge to add more.

  2. Others (e.g. WES) may require ECA of all your post-secondary credentials, including the bachelor's, before they'll issue any assessment — check the specific body's current policy on their website, since there are exceptions.

  3. For Express Entry purposes, you can generally submit only the credentials whose ECA you have, along with your other education/experience documents, as long as the ECA itself meets IRCC's requirements from a designated organization.


Because ECA body policies change and vary, confirm directly on your chosen organization's (IQAS, WES, etc.) website before assuming which degrees need assessment.

Dos, Don'ts & Tips

  • Tip: IQAS and WES have different rules on whether all your degrees need separate ECAs — check your specific assessing body's policy.
  • Do: If you have multiple degrees, consider including all of them in your ECA application since some bodies don't charge extra.
  • Tip: You generally only need to submit the ECA(s) for the credentials you want to claim points for in Express Entry.

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