WES Educational Credential Assessment from Cameroon: Timelines, Costs and Pitfalls
Without an Educational Credential Assessment, a Cameroonian degree is worth no points in Express Entry. The Educational Credential Assessment (ECA), often simply called WES after the most widely used organisation, is the document that tells IRCC what your bachelor's degree, master's degree or BTS is worth compared with Canadian credentials. Here is how to obtain it from Cameroon, what it costs, how long it takes, and the mistakes that cost applicants months.
What is the Educational Credential Assessment, and who needs one?
The ECA is a report issued by an organisation designated by IRCC: World Education Services (WES), ICAS, IQAS, CES, or the professional bodies for certain occupations. The principal applicant obtains one for their highest credential earned outside Canada; the spouse also obtains one if they want to bring points to the application. The report is valid for five years.
How much does the WES assessment cost?
The document-by-document assessment required by IRCC costs a little over 260 CAD, plus taxes and shipping fees. From Cameroon, budget 150 000 to 200 000 CFA francs all in, including having your transcripts sent by your university. Payment is made online, by bank card, on the WES website.
How long does the WES assessment take from Cameroon?
WES advertises processing within about ten business days once all documents have been received. The real delay happens before that: getting your university to send your transcripts directly to WES, in a sealed envelope, can take anywhere from two weeks to several months depending on the institution. Start there, and start early: the ECA is prepared at the same time as the language test, not afterwards.
The steps, in order
Create your WES account and select the assessment intended for IRCC. Declare each credential exactly as it appears on the document. Pay. Have your transcripts sent by the university, following the procedure WES indicates for Cameroon. Send your copies of your diplomas. Track progress in your account. The report arrives electronically; keep the reference number, as IRCC will ask for it.
The pitfalls that cost months
A name that does not match the passport (accent, order of names, married name): prepare a supporting document before you submit. A transcript sent by yourself when WES requires it to come from the university. A credential declared under an approximate title. A degree still in progress or a qualification not recognised by the Cameroonian state: WES will not assess it. And the most common pitfall of all: waiting for your language test result before starting, when the two steps are completely independent.
What the report changes in your CRS score
The report states the Canadian equivalent: bachelor's degree for a licence, master's degree for a master, one- or two-year diploma for a BTS or a DUT. That level feeds directly into the CRS score calculation and into the 67 eligibility points. A recognised master's degree is worth more than a bachelor's degree; two credentials are sometimes worth more than one. Our calculator shows you the effect before you even pay for the assessment: /admissibilite.html
What we do for you
At the firm, we check your documents before they are sent, we follow up with the university alongside you, and we read the report to enter it correctly in your Express Entry profile. The Educational Credential Assessment section of our Prepare my application page sets out the process in detail: /check-list.html#equivalence