The Process for Awarding Points for Applications Received on or after May 04, 2013
Officers typically award points to the applicant for education. However, to receive these points, the applicant would need to provide evidence that they have earned a Canadian secondary or post-secondary educational credential. In addition, the applicant would need to submit their completed foreign educational credential and the equivalency assessment (ECA report). Applicants would be able to obtain this equivalency assessment (ECA report) from a designated organisation or institution. The equivalency assessment (ECA report) will need to indicate an equivalency to a completed Canadian secondary or post-secondary educational credential.
Applicants could submit evidence of more than one completed educational credential for obtaining the maximum possible points for education. However, they would need to submit any completed foreign educational credential along with an equivalency assessment (ECA report).
For instance, an applicant might have completed a Canadian post-secondary program and the equivalent of a Canadian post-secondary program of three years or more at an educational institution outside of Canada. In this scenario, the applicant would need to submit proof of:
- The completed Canadian educational credential
- The completed foreign educational credential and,
- The equivalency assessment (ECA report) (for demonstrating the equivalency of the foreign educational credential to a completed Canadian post-secondary program credential)
The officers would award points on the basis of:
- The completed Canadian educational credentials or,
- The equivalency assessment (ECA report)
Typically, applicants would submit these in support of the application for permanent residence. Therefore, the officers would award points on the basis of the above-mentioned credentials that result in the highest number of points. This is in accordance with the provisions specified in R78 (2) (b).
Officers would need to assess the application. Thereafter, they would need to award the applicant with up to a maximum of 25 points for education as the table given below indicates. This is in accordance with the provisions specified in R78 (1).
The Educational Credential Table |
|
The Educational Credential |
Points Assigned to Applicants |
If the applicant: |
|
Has a university-level credential at the Doctoral level (this is in accordance with the provisions specified under R78 (1) (g)) |
25 points |
Has a university-level credential at the Master’s level Or Has an entry-to-practice professional degree
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) only accepts those degrees issued in relation to an occupation listed at National Occupational Classification (NOC) Skill Level A and which requires licensing by a provincial regulatory body in one of the following fields of study, as an entry-to-practice professional degree:
|
23 points |
Has two or more post-secondary program credentials And Has received at least one of these post-secondary program credentials upon completion of a post-secondary program of three years or longer
This is in accordance with the provisions specified in R78 (1) (e) |
22 points |
Has a post-secondary program credential of three years or longer
This is in accordance with the provisions specified in R78 (1) (d) |
21 points |
Has a two-year post-secondary program credential
This is in accordance with the provisions specified in R78 (1) (c) |
19 points |
Has a one-year post-secondary program credential
This is in accordance with the provisions specified in R78 (1) (b) |
15 points |
Has a secondary school (high school) credential
This is in accordance with the provisions specified in R78 (1) (a) |
5 points |
It is worth highlighting that under the provisions specified under R78 (1) (e), applicants receive points for having two or more post-secondary educational credentials. However, under the provisions specified under R78 (2) (a), officers should not award points cumulatively on the basis of more than one educational credential.
For more details on this readers would need to go through the cross reference equivalency assessment (ECA report) outcomes and the education points grid available on the website of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).
Note:
- Situations could arise where applicant might wish to claim additional points for education after meeting the minimum education requirement
- In this scenario, these applicants would need to submit an equivalency assessment (ECA report) for those completed foreign educational credentials for which they wish to secure points
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)