“Essential WES Document Checklist: Step-by-Step Guide for a Smooth Credential Evaluation Process” 2024

WES accepts documents only through NSDC Trust or directly from Baba Farid University of Health Sciences. Documents sent by other methods will not be accepted.

WES is dedicated to providing a thorough and accurate evaluation of your academic credentials. After receiving and verifying the required documents from your issuing institution or examination board, the duration of the evaluation process will depend on the specifics of your evaluation.

If you’re planning to immigrate to Canada through Permanent Residency (PR), one of the first essential steps is obtaining an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA). This evaluation confirms the Canadian equivalency of your foreign education. Without an ECA, you can’t proceed with the Express Entry process, and many Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) require it too.

When I began my ECA process, I thoroughly researched and spoke with several immigrants about their experiences. I’ll continue to update this article as I discover new information.

In most cases, no ECA means no Canada PR.

What is WES?

World Education Services (WES) is a nonprofit organization that evaluates and authenticates international academic credentials. It’s crucial for individuals seeking to study or work abroad, particularly in the U.S. and Canada. For Permanent Residency (PR) in Canada, WES evaluation is often mandatory as it helps verify the equivalency of foreign education, which is essential for immigration points and job applications.

WES Required Documents

1. Degree Certificate (Final or Provisional)
2. Statement of Marks (University Issued and Attested)
3. 10th Grade Marksheet (Optional)
4. 12th Grade Marksheet (Optional)
5. Provisional/Final Degree Certificate
6. All Semester Marksheets
7. Additional Degrees (If Applicable)

Applicant:

• Complete your application: Place your order in your WES Account.
• Log in – WES.org
• Make payment: Payment is made through a secured platform after you have completed your application.
• Submit your documents: Submit the required documents to get your evaluation started.
• Required Documents – World Education Services (wes.org)

WES:

• All required documents received: WES receives your documents from your issuing institution or examination board.
• Documents reviewed and accepted: After all documents are received, WES team reviews and verifies their authenticity. Once approved, your order moves to the next step.
• Typically, 2 weeks (up to 6-8 weeks)
• Evaluation begins: Your evaluation begins immediately after your documents have been accepted.
• Evaluation complete!

Required Documents and Instructions

1. Degree Certificate (Final or Provisional)

• What it is: A clear, legible photocopy of your final or provisional degree certificate.
• What to do: Upload a clear and legible copy of this document to your WES My Account.

2. Statement of Marks (University Issued and Attested)

• What it is: An official document from the institution that conducted your exams (e.g., university or autonomous college). It lists all subjects/papers taken and marks earned for each year of study. Must include your university student ID number. Note: College-issued mark sheets are not accepted unless from an autonomous college.
• What to do:
  • Option 1:
  • Visit the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) Trust website and follow the instructions to share your electronic documents with WES.
  • Ensure you enter the correct WES reference number. You will receive a One Time Passcode (OTP) via email, so make sure your WES application email address is accurate and accessible.
  • Option 2:
  • Contact Baba Farid University of Health Sciences and request them to send your documents electronically to WES.
  • WES accepts documents only through NSDC Trust or directly from Baba Farid University of Health Sciences. Documents sent by other methods will not be accepted.

Important Notes:

• WES accepts documents only if issued and attested by the designated official (e.g., Controller of Examination or Registrar’s Office) from the institution that conducted the examination.
• Attestations from individual professors or external notary publics are not accepted.
• Do not send documents via post or courier if your institution can send them electronically to WES.
• Do not send original documents. WES does not require any original documents to process a credential evaluation report. Documents that you submit for evaluation will not be returned and will be destroyed by WES at its sole discretion.

How to Send Your Documents through NSDC Website:

Required Documents – World Education Services (wes.org)

Visit the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) Trust website and follow the directions to share your electronic documents with WES.

Please ensure that you input the correct WES reference number. You will receive a One Time Passcode (OTP) by email, so please also ensure that the email address used for your WES application is correct and that you have access to it.

Sign up / Login – Web Wallet – NSDC Trust X WES (nsdcindia.org)

Steps to Receive Your Digital Credentials

1. Enter “WES Number”

• Log in to your account.
• Go to “User Details” and input your “WES Number.”

2. Email Authentication via OTP

• A 6-digit One-Time Password (OTP) will be sent to the email address registered with WES.

3. Identity Verification – Aadhaar eKYC

• Enter your 12-digit Aadhaar Number to receive an OTP on your registered phone number.
• Enter the OTP to verify your Aadhaar.

4. 10th Marksheet Upload (Optional)

• Enter the required details under the 10th-Certificate section.
• Select the option to upload your 10th-grade marksheet.
• Upload a scanned copy of your 10th-grade marksheet in PDF format.

5. 12th Marksheet Upload (Optional)

• Enter the required details under the 12th-Certificate section.
• Select the file containing your 12th-grade marks and upload it.

6. Degree Upload (Provisional/Final Degree Certificate and All Semester Marksheets)

• Go to the section for uploading your degree proof.
• Upload copies of your degree certificate and marksheets for all semesters.

7. Add Multiple Degrees (If Applicable)

• If you have more than one degree, select “Add Another Degree.”
• Repeat the document upload process for each additional degree.

8. Review Uploaded Documents

• Ensure all uploaded documents are accurate and legible.
• Review the associated information for each degree.

9. Proceed to Payment

• After uploading all required documents, click the “Pay” button.
• Follow the prompts to complete your payment.
• Note: Prices may vary depending on the number of documents submitted and the graduating institution.

Procedure to apply ECA for Canada on WES.

1. Create an Account on WES Portal: Create your account on WES’s official website by visiting it. Make sure to choose Canada as the country where you will use your evaluation since WES also does ECA for the United States.

2. After choosing Canada, you would further be prompted to choose the purpose i.e. ECA Application for IRCC. This is the most common one used by people who want to immigrate to Canada using express entry or PNP route. IRCC Canada is the Government entity handling all these. Most of you would be choosing this option.

3. Provide Mailing Address to World Education Services: Once you create WES account, you would need to provide the mailing address and phone number. This address is where WES would send your ECA hard copy. While the hard copy is not necessary to have, it can be useful in many scenarios.

4. Provide Education for WES Evaluation: This is a crucial step where you’ll need to provide your educational details.

For most applicants, IRCC Canada requires only the highest completed credential for an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA). However, this rule has exceptions for Indian applicants. If you hold both a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree, you should generally evaluate the Master’s. But in India, if your Master’s degree is in Education, Engineering, Philosophy, or Technology, you don’t need to evaluate the Bachelor’s degree. In all other cases, the Bachelor’s must be evaluated as well.

Click on ‘Add Credential” to fill out your educational qualifications. Have your certificate in front of you when you do this step so that you don’t make any mistakes.

In my case, I had done a Bachelors only, so I chose that. I filled out the name of my institution, and name of the certificate as well as the years I attended the degree.

If your institute is not listed, you can enter it manually.

Name of Diploma/Certificate: The name of Diploma/Certificate should be exactly as your certificate says. Bachelor’s of Nursing

Confirm the Recipients for Credential Assessment in Canada: Once you finish adding your educational details for Canada ECA on WES, you can select the recipients who would receive the ECA. By default, WES would send the educational credential assessment report to

• you, the applicant
• IRCC Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)

Now if you want, you can add more recipients from the approved list of WES. For example, if you want the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program to receive your ECA, you can select it there. There are various state governments that you can choose as well.

So, if you plan to apply to a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) in Canada, do add the program as a recipient. In any case, you can also add PNP recipients later.

This will cost you extra.

Once you confirm the list of recipients, you can see what all WES would provide.

It will provide: Electronic storage for your report. A PDF soft copy of education evaluation for Canada immigration to you. ECA report for IRCC Canada electronically. Official paper report for you

WES Requirements for Evaluation of Degree in Canada:

All documents must be mailed to WES. WES does NOT accept documents delivered in person. Before making the payment, you can verify all your information and check the WES evaluation fees.

Pay WES Evaluation Fees: There are three ways to pay WES evaluation fees.

• Credit card
• Cheque/money order
• Western Union Money Transfer

Now, credit card is definitely the fastest way to make the payment.

Once you submit the payment, you would see the success message with the WES reference number. They will also send you a confirmation email.

Upload Documents for WES Evaluation:

For this, you would need to visit the ‘My Accounts’ section and upload it there.

Before you upload, here are the rules.

• Upload only PDF or JPEG files. Do not password-protect your PDF.
• The maximum file size is 10 MB.
• You can upload a total of 20 files. Please consider combining several pages into one file if they are related.
• Only upload correct, clear, legible documents. Your documents cannot be deleted once they are uploaded.
• Do not upload academic transcripts or mark sheets, upload is available only for degree certificates and translations.

Transcript Submission WES Degree Evaluation: WES sealed envelope

This is how a WES sealed envelope looks like. It should always have the WES reference number and the return address of your university and contain the official transcripts.

WES Receives Your Transcripts: Once WES receives your transcripts, the status of your application would change. And you will receive an email from WES on the same.

Receive the ECA from WES

WES Address in Canada

You or your educational institution would need the WES address in Canada when sending your official transcripts. Here is the address.

World Education Services
Attention: Documentation Center
102-2820 14th Avenue
Markham, ON L3R 0S9
Canada

Make sure to mention the WES Reference No. above the address when sending transcripts

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