Archive - Associate's Degrees Recognized for Immigration to Canada

The current policy of the Canadian government recognizes Associate's degrees for immigration purposes and awards education points to Federal Skilled Worker applicants and their spouses who have been granted them.

An Associate’s degree is an academic degree awarded by community colleges, vocational colleges, and some bachelor-degree-granting colleges and universities, generally after two years of study. Some are career or professional degrees and others are considered transfer degrees, whereby students complete general education requirements in order to transfer into a Bachelor’s program. With an Associate’s degree in Secretarial Science a student can go directly into the work force. With a Liberal Arts Associate's degree a student can head to university to complete a Liberal Arts Bachelor’s degree.

In order to be awarded points for Associate's degrees on Permanent Residency applications, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) requires that applicants have received a certificate or diploma from an accredited educational institution. To be accredited, the institution must be authorized by the educational authorities in the country, province, or state where the school is located to grant degrees, diplomas, or certificate to its students. Points will not be awarded to applicants who have discontinued a program of study without receiving a certificate, diploma or other credential.

The number of points awarded also depends on the number of years of full time study that the applicant has completed. An applicant with a two-year Associate's degree and at least 14 years of full-time study will earn 20 points on their Skilled Worker application. With a one-year Associate's degree and at least 13 years of study, the applicant receives 15 points. The spouses, common-law partners, or conjugal partners of applicants will earn four points in the first instance or three points in the second instance, towards the principal applicant's points total.