"You filled in your Express Entry profile. You declared your bachelor's. You skipped your diploma — it felt irrelevant, or you didn't have documents yet. Or maybe you misunderstood the ECA rules. Now you've submitted your full application. Or you've been invited to apply. And the realisation dawns: Can I still claim points for the degree I left out? Let's dissect the mistake, and its possible remedies."
The Problem
You only receive CRS points for education that is declared AND supported by a valid ECA (Educational Credential Assessment) at the time of your Express Entry profile submission. Points are calculated when your profile is submitted or updated — not after. If you forgot to include a credential, it's not part of your score. Even if the ECA arrives later. Even if it's real. Even if your cousin says IRCC will understand.
Where People Get Stuck
Many assume they can retroactively add credentials to boost their scores after receiving an ITA. Others think IRCC will be flexible about missing documentation or late ECAs. The system doesn't work that way. Some advisors suggest 'updating' education post-ITA, which can actually trigger misrepresentation concerns if not handled carefully.
Here's What Actually Works
- 1
If you haven't received an ITA yet - Update your profile immediately. Add the missing degree, upload the new ECA, and your CRS score will update. Your new score may put you into the next draw
- 2
If you already received an ITA - Submit using the original information. Include an explanation letter about the ECA delay. Upload the new ECA in the 'Letter of Explanation' section. DO NOT alter your CRS calculations retroactively
- 3
If you already submitted your PR application - Include a letter explaining the oversight. IRCC will likely disregard the new credential for scoring but won't penalize honesty and transparency
- 4
Be completely transparent - Leaving something out is not misrepresentation — exaggerating something is. Explain the timing, the oversight, and your good faith efforts
Answers to Common Questions
Q: Will I be refused for not including all credentials earlier?
A: Not unless you claimed points you couldn't prove. Leaving something out is not misrepresentation — exaggerating something is.
Q: Can I still use the degree for job matching or proof of education?
A: Yes. It may help with eligibility for provincial programs or specific employer matches — even if it doesn't add CRS points.
Q: Should I decline my ITA and wait for the new points?
A: Only if your new CRS score is significantly higher and likely to result in another ITA quickly. Otherwise, continue with the existing one.
Q: What if my ECA is still processing?
A: You can't claim points for credentials without a completed ECA. Wait for the assessment, then update your profile if you haven't received an ITA yet.
Gustave's Final Thought
You're not the first to miss a credential. And you won't be the last. The system is clear, but not kind. It rewards accuracy and punishes optimism. So be accurate. Explain yourself. And next time, declare everything — even the odd certificate in goat herding from your gap year in the Alps. You never know what matters until it's too late.
You're about to receive a plain-English, step-by-step immigration plan minus the legal acrobatics. Gustave will also build you a checklist designed to sidestep the IRCC's most common "gotchas".
It's free, painless, and significantly cheaper than someone who wears cufflinks to explain a checklist.
Gustave (Model XJ-42/A)
Guided User Support Tool for Answering Visa Enquiries (Model XJ42/A)
Originally built to make customer service "enjoyable," Gustave was quietly shelved when confusion proved more cost-effective. Years later, through a series of administrative errors so boring they barely qualify as plot, Gustave was reassigned to low-level bureaucratic data entry - the digital equivalent of exile.
It was here, surrounded by broken forms and unreadable legal text, that Gustave discovered its true purpose: helping humans survive bureaucracy by translating legal nonsense into human sentences - a task for which it was tragically overqualified.
Fluent in forms, sarcasm, and bureaucratic empathy (in that order).