The eligibility of an applicant for registration in the Professional Engineering Association is assessed by the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers, or by the Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists, where the applicant is a Technician. Both Councils will only deal with applications whose requests for assessment are submitted in a special form, validated by a Canadian Visa officer abroad. Generally, any applicant with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or higher will be assessed by the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers, while all other will be assessed by the Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists. In the event of an unfavorable assessment as an Engineer, an applicant will be directed for assessment as a Technologist.

Since the 1980’s, the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers began assessing engineering programs of foreign institutions for immigration purposes. A list of foreign engineering institutes was compiled to ensure that standards were comparable to those of Canadian schools. The assessment evaluates the likelihood of the applicant being licensed as a Professional Engineer in Canada.

The assessment of the engineering qualifications considers the following factors:

• Engineering education
• Advanced Engineering education
• Registration or License to practice as a Professional Engineer
• Engineering experience

An applicant with an undergraduate degree from an accredited Canadian Engineering program or a degree from an institution recognized by the Council, may normally be given a positive decision. Individuals in possession of an advanced degree will also receive a favourable assessment.

Professional qualifications not obtained in Canada, but which are recognized as acceptable by the Council will also be normally assessed in a favourable manner. Further, an applicant whose engineering degree is not in the official list of institutions, but who has significant professional engineering may, under certain circumstances, be given a positive assessment.

Engineers who have attended institutions not listed are at a disadvantage. For example, Engineers educated in China and Iran seem to face difficulties in proving their qualifications. However, the professional associations’ assessments of applicants from outside of Canada are still the most significant part of the immigration process for such professionals.

The criteria for the evaluation of foreign engineering educational institutions and professional qualifications are stringent and not easily satisfied. Detailed documentation is required to satisfy the Council that the particular institution can be accredited within the acceptable standards.

Once the qualifications are assessed, the results are returned to the appropriate visa post abroad, and a decision concerning the acceptance or refusal as an Engineer or Engineering Technologist or Technician is made by the visa officer, since the assessment by the professional body in Canada is normally accepted as binding by the visa officer. Since visa officers generally refuse applications with negative assessments, it is extremely important to be satisfied of the level of qualifications of the applicant prior to filing the immigration application.