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Bachelor of Law (LLB) ECA

NissyAnn

Member
May 7, 2019
10
1
Hi Loulou and Gessica, did you both select Professional Degree on your Express Entry profile, despite your WES report saying 4 yrs Bachelors Degree? My WES report says Bachelors 4 yrs and in the body it says Bachelors in Law. Will I still get points for a professional degree because in the body it says 'Bachelor of laws'? Who did you write the letter to, Gessica? Does anyone have contact details for CIC please?
Hi.I am in a similar situation. Did you get a reply?
 

Not_Your_Donkey_Kong

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Apr 19, 2019
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Hi.I am in a similar situation. Did you get a reply?
I can't say about him but I am in a simikar boat too.
I did B.A,LL.B (5 years integrated) and was given a dual bachelors (4 years) evaluation by WES.
It freaked me out originally because I expected my ECA to give me a 'professional degree' evaluation. So, what i did intialy was that i while applying through EE, i mentioned both my B.A, and LL.B as separate degrees (i.e both as bachelors). And though i made though eligibility, my CRS was lowered by 8 points.
Then i did some research and realised that a dual bachelors evaluation by WES doesn't imply that you have two degrees. So, that put me in another fix, because the EE profile doesn't give you an option to fill dual bachelors (unless you put them separately, which is not proper).

So, I did some more research and found out this.
No matter what WES evaluation says, if it gives you an assessment of Bachelors in Law, it will be considered as a professional degree. Thereby implying that it is not up to WES to give you a professional competency. It's up to CIC.
Also, WES is just an advisory body. There decisions are not binding on CIC.

And there by, I amended my education history section accordingly. I removed the two bachelor degrees and in their place just added LAW as a professional degree.

(I am currently waiting for the ITA, and most probably will get that in the next draw, my CRS post revision being 453.)

As a corroboration to what i said, I am attaching a link to the CIC chart which compares with ECA wordings with what they actual mean for CIC. (Just write bachelor of laws in filtering and you ll see what i mean.
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/documents/education-assessed/read-report.html

I hope that would clear the doubt in your mind.

Though i must agree, the lack of clarity on this matter is really annoying.

P.S - Once you receive ITA and start submitting documents, don't forget to write a simple letter of explanation, explaining the entire situation and why you have entered your law degree as professional (cite reason as the CIC chart.)
 

NissyAnn

Member
May 7, 2019
10
1
I can't say about him but I am in a simikar boat too.
I did B.A,LL.B (5 years integrated) and was given a dual bachelors (4 years) evaluation by WES.
It freaked me out originally because I expected my ECA to give me a 'professional degree' evaluation. So, what i did intialy was that i while applying through EE, i mentioned both my B.A, and LL.B as separate degrees (i.e both as bachelors). And though i made though eligibility, my CRS was lowered by 8 points.
Then i did some research and realised that a dual bachelors evaluation by WES doesn't imply that you have two degrees. So, that put me in another fix, because the EE profile doesn't give you an option to fill dual bachelors (unless you put them separately, which is not proper).

So, I did some more research and found out this.
No matter what WES evaluation says, if it gives you an assessment of Bachelors in Law, it will be considered as a professional degree. Thereby implying that it is not up to WES to give you a professional competency. It's up to CIC.
Also, WES is just an advisory body. There decisions are not binding on CIC.

And there by, I amended my education history section accordingly. I removed the two bachelor degrees and in their place just added LAW as a professional degree.

(I am currently waiting for the ITA, and most probably will get that in the next draw, my CRS post revision being 453.)

As a corroboration to what i said, I am attaching a link to the CIC chart which compares with ECA wordings with what they actual mean for CIC. (Just write bachelor of laws in filtering and you ll see what i mean.
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/documents/education-assessed/read-report.html

I hope that would clear the doubt in your mind.

Though i must agree, the lack of clarity on this matter is really annoying.

P.S - Once you receive ITA and start submitting documents, don't forget to write a simple letter of explanation, explaining the entire situation and why you have entered your law degree as professional (cite reason as the CIC chart.)
Thank you so much for explaining in detail. My law degree was a 5 years integrated course and I have also done a one year program in HR management from Canada. When I filled in my EE profile as I filled in the Education part I chose 'Masters degree' and ECA equivalency as 'Bachelors'. Thats why I missed 8 points. but how can i change it to 'masters or licensed profession' when my ECA report says Bachelors. Truly annoying and I am worried too.
 

Not_Your_Donkey_Kong

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Apr 19, 2019
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Thank you so much for explaining in detail. My law degree was a 5 years integrated course and I have also done a one year program in HR management from Canada. When I filled in my EE profile as I filled in the Education part I chose 'Masters degree' and ECA equivalency as 'Bachelors'. Thats why I missed 8 points. but how can i change it to 'masters or licensed profession' when my ECA report says Bachelors. Truly annoying and I am worried too.

Because as per the CIC comapricom table, if you get a bachelor in laws evaluation, you have to put it as a professional degree in that according to ECA column. Go to the link I provided earlier and check this for yourself.

Also be assured. A Bachelor in Laws is absolutely a professional degree. It's just that WES words it as a Bachelors, which is also right because professional or not, it is still a 'Bachelors' in Law.
But for EE, just select professional degree and you are set.
 
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NissyAnn

Member
May 7, 2019
10
1
Because as per the CIC comapricom table, if you get a bachelor in laws evaluation, you have to put it as a professional degree in that according to ECA column. Go to the link I provided earlier and check this for yourself.

Also be assured. A Bachelor in Laws is absolutely a professional degree. It's just that WES words it as a Bachelors, which is also right because professional or not, it is still a 'Bachelors' in Law.
But for EE, just select professional degree and you are set.
Thank Goodness. I feel so relaxed now. I shall then change the ECA equivalency column to 'Masters or Licensed profession' then. Thank you so much.
 

Mr_fabrizio

Star Member
Oct 18, 2018
171
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Thank you so much for explaining in detail. My law degree was a 5 years integrated course and I have also done a one year program in HR management from Canada. When I filled in my EE profile as I filled in the Education part I chose 'Masters degree' and ECA equivalency as 'Bachelors'. Thats why I missed 8 points. but how can i change it to 'masters or licensed profession' when my ECA report says Bachelors. Truly annoying and I am worried too.
You should have evaluated your degree with IQAS! They evaluate law degrees as Masters!
 

Not_Your_Donkey_Kong

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Apr 19, 2019
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You should have evaluated your degree with IQAS! They evaluate law degrees as Masters!
Even in one case they gave a Juris Doctor evaluation to one of my friends, which is quite surprising.

However as far as EE is concerned, the WES evaluation is also good. Many of my friends have succeeded in getting PR with only Bachelors in Laws evaluation from WES. :)
 

NissyAnn

Member
May 7, 2019
10
1
Even in one case they gave a Juris Doctor evaluation to one of my friends, which is quite surprising.

However as far as EE is concerned, the WES evaluation is also good. Many of my friends have succeeded in getting PR with only Bachelors in Laws evaluation from WES. :)
Sounds cool. Thank you very much once again.
 

Dee9191

Full Member
May 17, 2019
27
4
Hello. CIC is currently giving me a headache. I have an LLB which was assessed by ICES as a 4 year bachelors degree. I recorded it as a professional degree in line the education comparison chart. Ordered my GCMS Notes and got them today. What do I see? Eligibility not met as my CRS score was recalculated with a 4 year bachelors degree instead of a professional degree. Case Processing Agent at CIO recommended my application for refusal. Don’t know what to do. And I know lots of people who have gotten PR with their LLB assessed as a 4 year bachelors degree. Any advise on what to do?
 

Immigration_guru

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Apr 26, 2019
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Hello. CIC is currently giving me a headache. I have an LLB which was assessed by ICES as a 4 year bachelors degree. I recorded it as a professional degree in line the education comparison chart. Ordered my GCMS Notes and got them today. What do I see? Eligibility not met as my CRS score was recalculated with a 4 year bachelors degree instead of a professional degree. Case Processing Agent at CIO recommended my application for refusal. Don’t know what to do. And I know lots of people who have gotten PR with their LLB assessed as a 4 year bachelors degree. Any advise on what to do?
What does your ECA report says about the equivalence
 
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Dee9191

Full Member
May 17, 2019
27
4
So you can not claim points for a professional degree. Every College/University degree will have different equivalence. I know many people who got 3 years equivalence for LLB.
I don’t think that’s correct. If you read the responses above, you’ll have a better understanding of the issue. The government of Canada webpage expressly states that Bachelor of Laws degrees are equivalent to professional degrees. And I know lots of people whose ECA’s read 4 years bachelors degree but still received the points for professional degree.
 

Dee9191

Full Member
May 17, 2019
27
4
Hi,
I selected a professional degree and it was accepted.
What matters is the report be specific about "Bachelor Law".

Good Luck!
Hi. I did same but got GCMS notes and it says eligibility not met because my LLB was assessed as a 4 year bachelors degree. Do you have any update on your eligibility status?