Do you need an ECA for foreign education under Canada’s Atlantic Immigration Program?
If you rely on education completed outside Canada, you need an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) for immigration. Check the TEER category of the job offer and the Canadian equivalency on the assessment. The report must come from the designated organization appropriate to your case and be less than five years old when you apply for permanent residence.
Start with the education requirement for your job offer
For TEER 0 or 1, the minimum is a Canadian one-year post-secondary credential or its foreign equivalent. For TEER 2, 3 or 4, the minimum is a Canadian high school credential or its foreign equivalent. Some jobs require more education, and regulated occupations can have separate licensing requirements. If you are relying on Canadian education, follow the document checklist for the diploma, certificate or degree.
Suppose your offer is in TEER 1 and your overseas credential is called a professional diploma. If the ECA identifies its Canadian equivalency as high school, that report does not establish the post-secondary minimum. Check whether you hold another credential that could be assessed.
Check the NOC code before paying an assessment provider
Review the designated organizations on IRCC’s AIP page. Architects (NOC 21200), physicians in specified occupations (31100, 31101 and 31102), and pharmacists (31120) must use the corresponding professional body listed by IRCC. Check what the organization needs from you and what your school may have to send directly.
If you plan to enter a regulated profession, ask the regulator in the province where you will work about licensing. Keep that process separate in your timeline. The immigration ECA establishes educational equivalency, and the regulator decides what you need to practise.
Recheck an existing report against the filing date
Check its purpose, issuer, equivalency and issue date. If you obtained an assessment for study or another purpose, ask the issuing organization whether it can reissue it for immigration. If endorsement is pending and your report is approaching five years, check the renewal process early.
For example, a report issued in February 2022 could still meet the age requirement for a filing in late 2026. If filing slips past the fifth anniversary, update the report before submitting. For help reviewing the documents, bring your job offer’s NOC and TEER, credential, existing ECA and proposed filing date to 卓越移民 Premiervisa Group.
Sources checked 6 November 2026
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