The Designated Assessment Organisations

Officers might come across applicants who list the following as the primary occupation in their applications:

• Specialist physician – NOC 3111 or,
• General practitioners and family physicians – NOC 3112 or,
• Pharmacist – NOC 3131

These individuals would need to submit an equivalency assessment (ECA report) issued by a designated professional body. At the time of publication, the authorities have specified the following designated professional bodies for equivalency assessments (ECA reports):

• Medical Council of Canada (MEC)
• Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (PEBC)

Similarly, officers might come across applicants who list any other occupation as their primary occupation in their application. These individuals would need to submit an equivalency assessment (ECA report) as well. However, these individuals would need to obtain the equivalency assessment (ECA report) from any one of the following designated assessment organisations:

• Comparative Education Service (CES), University of Toronto
• International Credential Assessment Service of Canada (ICAS)
• World Education Services (WES)

The Process to Follow Regarding Concerns with Respect to the Authenticity of Foreign Educational Credentials

Situations could arise where officers have concerns about the authenticity of the applicant’s foreign educational credentials. In this scenario, they would need to:

• Communicate these concerns to the applicant and,
• Provide the applicant with an opportunity to respond to those concerns and provide any additional information and / or documentation

This is in accordance with the principles of procedural fairness.

In addition, the officers would need to contact the Centralised Intake Office (CIO) first. This would enable them to obtain access to the online verification system of the designated organisation or institution. Obtaining this access would further enable them to validate the source documents assessed for the purposes of issuing the equivalency assessment (ECA report). 

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)