Hello all, I did my ECA from Wes and the report mentioned my Doctor of Pharmacy 4- years bachelors degree while it's a licence professional degree it's not mentioned in my report??? What should I do know how I can claim 135 score on this as I'm Pharmacist with licence in pakistan
WES ECA for Pharmacy
- Thread starter muhammadqasim06
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The 135 is awarded based on what your ECA says your credential is equivalent to, not on what the degree is called. So the question is not whether you hold a PharmD. It is what the assessment concluded, and yours concluded bachelor's. The good news first. Pharmacy is on IRCC's list. Their own guidance sets it out: they accept as an entry-to-practice professional degree only those degrees issued in relation to an occupation in NOC TEER 1 requiring licensing by a provincial regulatory body, in one of chiropractic medicine, dentistry, law, medicine, optometry, pharmacy, podiatry, or veterinary medicine.
So the category is open to you in principle. The problem is the report, not the field. The likely explanation is the assessing body. WES is a general academic evaluator and maps foreign credentials to Canadian academic levels. A four year programme mapping to a bachelor's is exactly what a general evaluator produces, because they are assessing academic level rather than professional entry-to-practice status. For pharmacists, the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada is the designated organization. Physicians are directed to the Medical Council of Canada, architects to the CACB, and pharmacists to PEBC. A PEBC assessment is the one positioned to address the professional degree question.
Two things I would do.
Check the current designated organizations list on canada.ca for your situation specifically, and confirm whether a PEBC assessment is required or optional for your primary occupation. If your NOC is 31120, that matters.
And separately, if your programme was actually longer than four years, which PharmD in Pakistan usually is, that is worth raising with WES directly as a review. They do reconsider where the programme length on the report does not match the transcript. That would not by itself move you to 135, but it is worth correcting if the report is wrong on the facts.
One practical point while you sort this. At 120 rather than 135, you are 15 points down, and if you hold any second post-secondary credential, two credentials with at least one of three years or longer score 128. That closes about half the gap and needs only a second ECA rather than a reassessment.
What does your WES report state as the programme length, and what is your primary NOC?
Credentials Equivalency ( bachlors -years ) I already requested WES to review and correct the report because my PharmD was a 5-year program, but WES responded that no changes can be made to the report. Now what should I do with this WES report? Should I proceed with a PEBC ECA for the 135 points, or is there any other option?
I did Job as a pharmacist continue then switch to Marketing and sales but now I want to work there as a pharmacist.
I did Job as a pharmacist continue then switch to Marketing and sales but now I want to work there as a pharmacist.
If you can help me regarding this then plz share ur contact I don't understand what to do now I can share my report with you
On WES, their position is final, and that is standard rather than unusual. They assess against their own methodology, and a programme length dispute rarely moves them. So work from the report you have rather than fighting it further.
On PEBC, worth being precise before you spend the money. PEBC is the designated organisation for pharmacists, and it is positioned to speak to entry-to-practice equivalency in a way a general evaluator is not. But email them first and ask directly whether their report would state equivalency to a Canadian entry-to-practice professional degree in pharmacy for your specific credential.
Get that answer in writing before paying. If it would, the 135 is reachable. If it would only mirror what WES said, you have spent money for the same conclusion.
Now, the thing that concerns me more than the fifteen points, and it is in your last line.
You worked as a pharmacist, then moved to marketing and sales, and now want to return to pharmacy.
Category-based draws, including healthcare, require twelve months of full-time experience in a single eligible occupation within the three years before you apply. That requirement rose from six months in February 2026.
So the question is when your pharmacist experience actually was. If your last three years have been marketing and sales, your pharmacy experience may sit outside that window, and you would not qualify for healthcare category draws regardless of what your ECA says. Healthcare draws have been clearing at 467 to 475 this year, well below general rounds in the 500s. Losing access to them costs you considerably more than fifteen points does.
Two things to establish before deciding anything about a second ECA.
The exact dates of your pharmacist employment and your sales employment.
And which NOC your sales role falls under, because that is what you would currently be claiming rather than 31120.
If your pharmacy experience is within the three years, get the PEBC answer and proceed. If it is outside, the priority is returning to pharmacy work rather than paying for a second assessment.
When did you leave the pharmacist role, and how long have you been in sales?
Thank you for explaining. I understand that the PEBC evaluation itself is separate from the work experience requirement for the healthcare category.
Regarding my experience, I completed my PharmD in January 2024. After graduation, I started working in the Retail Pharmacy 7-8 months and later moved to the Sales/Marketing department, where I am currently working.
Regarding the PEBC evaluation, does PEBC require any specific amount of pharmacist work experience for the credential evaluation, or is it based only on my educational credential?
Also, I will contact PEBC first to confirm in writing whether my specific PharmD credential can be assessed as equivalent to a Canadian entry-to-practice professional pharmacy d
egree.
Regarding my experience, I completed my PharmD in January 2024. After graduation, I started working in the Retail Pharmacy 7-8 months and later moved to the Sales/Marketing department, where I am currently working.
Regarding the PEBC evaluation, does PEBC require any specific amount of pharmacist work experience for the credential evaluation, or is it based only on my educational credential?
Also, I will contact PEBC first to confirm in writing whether my specific PharmD credential can be assessed as equivalent to a Canadian entry-to-practice professional pharmacy d
egree.
Hi,
WES evaluates the academic credential itself, but Express Entry education points depend on how IRCC recognizes the credential and the type of completed education.
A Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) or professional pharmacy degree may be evaluated differently depending on the country, institution, and the exact credential. The fact that you are a licensed pharmacist in Pakistan is important for your professional background, but professional licensing and education points are considered separately in Express Entry.
If your WES report only states a four-year bachelor’s degree, you should first confirm whether the report accurately reflects your credential. You may contact WES and ask whether a review or correction is possible based on the documents submitted.
For CRS points, you should only claim the education level that matches your official ECA result. Your pharmacy license may help with eligibility or professional opportunities, but it does not automatically change the education points awarded by the ECA.
You may also want to check the exact wording of your WES report and compare it with IRCC’s education requirements before submitting your Express Entry profile.
That answers it, and unfortunately it's the part that matters most.
Seven or eight months as a pharmacist is under the twelve months of continuous experience in one occupation that category now requires. So the healthcare category isn't open to you right now, whatever PEBC says. And since it has to be continuous, those earlier months probably won't combine with a new stint later. Worth checking that on the category requirements.
That changes the order of things. Fifteen extra points from PEBC matter much less if you're competing in general rounds clearing in the 500s. The bigger move is getting back into a pharmacist role and building twelve continuous months.
On your PEBC question, as far as I know, the evaluation is based on your credential documents, not your work experience. Add it to your email so you have it in writing.
What NOC does your current sales role fall under? That decides whether you meet the basic Express Entry experience requirement at all right now.
That's useful. TEER 2 counts for Express Entry, so as long as you've got twelve months of continuous full-time work in that role, you meet the basic experience requirement, and you can be in the pool now.
So your position is this. You're eligible through the sales role, and you'd be competing in general rounds. The healthcare category stays shut until you go back to pharmacy and build twelve continuous months there.
Two things follow from that.
If you're staying in sales for now, the PEBC report buys you very little. Save the money.
If you're going back to pharmacy, do that first, then sort the ECA question while you build the twelve months. Healthcare draws have been clearing in the 460s and 470s against general rounds in the 500s, so it's worth far more than the points.
How long have you been in the sales role?
So, if I apply for Express Entry based on my pharmaceutical sales NOC, does that mean I would not be able to claim the 135 CRS points for education, even though my PharmD is a professional pharmacy degree? My current WES assessment shows it as a four-year Bachelor’s degree
Those are two separate things, and it's worth being clear about it.
The 135 comes from your education credential, not from the NOC you claim for work experience. So claiming 62100 doesn't block it. What blocks it is your ECA saying bachelor's.
IRCC awards the entry-to-practice professional degree points based on what the assessment concludes, and yours concludes a four-year bachelor's. Until you hold an assessment stating equivalency to a Canadian entry-to-practice professional degree in pharmacy, you claim bachelor's regardless of which occupation you enter the pool under.
So the PEBC question stands on its own. If they will issue a report stating that equivalency, the 135 is reachable whether you are working in sales or pharmacy. If they will not, no NOC choice changes it. That is why I said get their answer in writing before paying.
On the rest, July 2024 to now is over fourteen continuous months in 62100, so you meet the basic Express Entry requirement, and you can be in the pool today. You would be competing in general rounds clearing in the 500s.
Two paths from here, and they are different decisions.
Stay in sales, get the PEBC answer, and if it gives you the 135, it is worth having. Your CRS is what it is, and you wait for a general round.
Or go back to pharmacy, build twelve continuous months, and open the healthcare category, which has been clearing around sixty points lower. That is worth far more than fifteen points.
Dear Candidate,
PEBC cannot determine the eligibility of your qualifications before your Document Evaluation is completed. PEBC also does not provide specific information regarding approved programs because requirements and programs may change over time.
Please see the PEBC website for general information on the basic requirements for international pharmacy and pharmacy technician candidates.
Sincerely,
PEBC cannot determine the eligibility of your qualifications before your Document Evaluation is completed. PEBC also does not provide specific information regarding approved programs because requirements and programs may change over time.
Please see the PEBC website for general information on the basic requirements for international pharmacy and pharmacy technician candidates.
Sincerely,