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Express Entry study section: institution name from your ECA report and the country-of-study trap

Canada • Express Entry • immigration 0 views
By VisaBuddies Communityvia community — compiled from public visa forums

Documents Needed

  • ECA report (e.g. IQAS)

    Use the exact institution name shown as the issuing body on this report for the 'Name of school/institution' field.

Step-by-Step

An applicant whose degree was from a college affiliated with a larger university was unsure whether to list the college or the university name in the Study & Language section of their Express Entry profile, especially since their ECA report only names the affiliated university.

What group members advised:
  1. Use the institution name that matches your ECA report — in this case, the university name (the ECA-issuing body), since that's the document IRCC will cross-reference.

  2. Be careful with the 'country of study' field: it must reflect where you actually studied. If you list a foreign country as your country of study, this triggers a requirement to submit a police certificate for that country after ITA — so don't casually enter your degree-granting institution's home country if you physically studied elsewhere (e.g. an affiliated local college).


The practical takeaway: match your institution name to your ECA report's issuing body, and set 'country of study' to where you actually attended classes — getting this wrong can add an unnecessary PCC requirement to your post-ITA document list.

Dos, Don'ts & Tips

  • Do: Enter the institution name exactly as it appears as the issuing body on your ECA report.
  • Tip: Set 'country of study' to where you physically attended, not necessarily the degree-granting institution's home country.
  • Don't: Don't enter a foreign country of study casually — it triggers an extra PCC requirement after ITA.

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