Do You Need Separate ECAs for Two South African Qualifications?

A Durban engineer sits down with two folders on the kitchen table — a National Diploma from a decade ago, and the B-Tech she completed on top of it — convinced both need to go off to an evaluator separately. Before paying twice, it’s worth knowing that a separate eca for two south african qualifications is the exception, not the rule, for most Express Entry applicants.

What the rule actually says

Educational Credential Assessment bodies working the SA-to-Canada route confirm the general default plainly: in most cases, only your highest completed credential needs to be assessed. If a Diploma and a B-Tech sit on top of each other in a single academic ladder, the B-Tech — the higher of the two — is normally what goes to the evaluator. There is no requirement to have every certificate you’ve ever earned individually assessed, and does ircc require every qualification assessed is a question with a straightforward no as its default answer.

What a second report actually costs

Here is why that default matters for the wallet, not just the paperwork. Indicative 2026 fees for the bodies designated for Express Entry: ICAS charges roughly $210 CAD plus a mandatory delivery fee, but runs the slowest, at around 20 weeks with no rush option. WES sits around $264 to $267, quoted at four to six weeks after documents arrive, though six to twelve weeks is the more realistic figure once document transit from South Africa is factored in. IQAS runs $230 to $285 plus courier, with the fastest standard turnaround at roughly 15 business days and a paid rush option available. CES charges about $286.50, and can turn a report around in seven business days — but only if the issuing institution delivers records through an approved digital platform. Paying for two of these when one covers what Express Entry needs doubles both the cost and the wait, for no extra points on the profile.

When assessing more than one South African credential actually makes sense

One procedural rule is worth locking in before sending anything: transcripts cannot be hand-carried. Your institution has to send academic records directly to the evaluator, in a sealed envelope by post or through an approved digital channel, with your reference number appearing on every document. That single-institution flow is built around one core default, which is exactly why the eca highest credential only rule explained keeps coming up wherever South African applicants compare notes — it’s the normal case, confirmed by the evaluators themselves, not an edge case.

Genuine exceptions to that default exist — certain regulated occupations and specific evaluator or IRCC requirements can call for more than one credential to be verified — but nothing in the general guidance sets out a fixed list of when that applies, and getting it wrong wastes real money on a report you may not need. Before committing to a second ECA, check directly with the evaluator you plan to use and, if your situation is anything other than straightforward, run it past a licensed RCIC before you pay for a second assessment.