Is a three-year Indian degree accepted for Canada PR?
Yes. A three-year Indian bachelor's degree is accepted for Canada PR once an educational credential assessment confirms it, and Express Entry scores a three-year credential at the same level as a four-year bachelor's. The assessment body decides the equivalency, so which university awarded the degree and its accreditation can affect the outcome.
What the points grid says
The CRS education factor does not distinguish a three-year degree from a four-year one. The relevant level reads "bachelor's degree, or a three-or-more-year programme at a university, college, trade or technical school", and it scores 120 points for a single applicant. A BA, BSc or BCom from an Indian university lands in that band once assessed.
What the assessment body says
That is the part that varies. Every Express Entry applicant educated outside Canada needs an educational credential assessment (ECA) from a designated organisation, and World Education Services (WES) handles most Indian files.
WES generally assesses a three-year Indian bachelor's degree as equivalent to a Canadian bachelor's degree. For degrees from institutions with a strong accreditation grade from India's National Assessment and Accreditation Council, WES has assessed three-year degrees as equivalent to a four-year Canadian bachelor's. Either way the CRS points are the same; the difference matters more for provincial streams or licensing bodies that specify a four-year degree.
What can go wrong
- transcripts sent by you rather than directly by the university, which the assessment body will not accept
- a distance-learning degree from an institution the body does not recognise
- a name mismatch between your degree certificate and passport
- a diploma-plus-degree combination assessed as one credential rather than two
Master's on top
A two-year Indian master's after a three-year bachelor's is usually assessed as a master's degree and scores 135. Two or more credentials, one being three years or longer, score 128, which is why people with a bachelor's and a postgraduate diploma should have both assessed.
Have the assessment done before you enter the pool; an ECA report is valid for five years and it is the document IRCC checks first.
Sources
Checked against these on by Anu Francis, Head of Sales — Canada Migration. Immigration rules change without notice — if you are reading this much later, check them again.