Things To Do While Waiting for the Educational Credential Assessment Result

My readers had asked me about what is the best thing to do while waiting for the result of their Educational Credential Assessment (ECA).

First of all, an applicant should know how much points he or she have, even without the ECA.

To compute for the eligibility points, you can visit the eligibility section at the RESOURCES page. By doing so, you can see how much points you need to qualify for the FSW program.  This is a crucial step because if your points are below 67, you will not be eligible to apply.

If you insist and send your application with your low eligibility points, Canada will return your application and it's a waste of time, effort and money on your part.

What if your points depends on the result of your ECA?  

Let's say:  You have 45 points in other eligibility factors.  Then what you are hoping for is your ECA result,  to get either 22 or 19 points. (Check the eligibility factors)

• If you get the 22, then your total is 67 and you're eligible to apply.   
• If you get 19, a total of 64 points, then you can not apply for the program.

Assuming that your points are just enough if you get the minimum points for your ECA, which is 67, then you can proceed on preparing your documents in parallel while waiting for the ECA result.  Otherwise, you have to wait for the result or be optimistic about it.

These are the things that you need to prepare while waiting for the ECA result:

1. Your Relative's Documents - if you have a relative in Canada who is a Canadian or a Permanent Resident and is included in the list of relatives for eligibility points, then you can start calling and informing them about your plans in migrating to Canada.  Let them know that you need some important documents from them.  You can check the list of documents in the form IMM5612 at item#11.  Take note that you need to establish a connection between your relative, that is why you need to provide his/her birth certificate.  If it's your Aunt, you also have to provide the birth certificate of your parent related to her.
2. Certificates of Employment - request all your COE's  from your previous employers for the last 10 years or from your 18th birthday, whichever comes first.  The current employer will not be required by this time, ask for it if all your documents are ready for submission.
3. Passport Renewal - you need to consider renewing your passport if it will expire sooner than 1 year.  The reason is that Canada will reply for around 6-9 months after the submission of your application.  Once you are approved, your passport should still be valid or it may be too late for you for renewal.  Canada will require you to renew it and will take more time to stamp your visa.
4. Gather Certificates - prepare all the birth certificates, marriage certificates for you, spouse and children.

I think the four items above are enough to get you busy within the 20 days of waiting for your ECA result.

These documents takes time and money to process that is why you need to organize your resources well.  Ask your relatives and friends for their vacant time to help you.  

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If you have any questions regarding this post, you can leave a comment below or email me at benalagnam@yahoo.com.

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How much you need to prepare for the applications, visit EXPENSES.

Check on what are the documents you need to prepare and more info on RESOURCES.