Searching for Real Estate Licensing Requirements for Immigrants in Alberta? Here’s the Complete Journey from an Being an Immigrant to Becoming a Real Estate Agent in Alberta – SIMPLIFIED!

RECA is the governing body that defines the eligibility guidelines for anyone who wants to make a career in the Real Estate Markets in Alberta. To start with, there is a slight difference between eligibility requirements for somebody who went to school in Canada, and they were born in Canada to the one who is an immigrant. Let us look at, what are the eligibility requirements to get your Alberta real estate license if you are an immigrant in Canada.

Basic Requirements to get into Real Estate for Immigrants 

• A person must be 18 years of age,
• Should be able to lawfully work and study in Canada,
• Should have specific government-issued Identification,
• Should have a minimum of a Canadian high school diploma or equivalent,
• Should be Proficient in English.

So here, we will look at the Documentation Requirements for Immigrants. There are 3 main things we will be looking at here.

Identification

RECA needs two types of identification documents.

Source Documents

For the source document, you will need to provide proof of identity and ability to work in Alberta. So, there will be no substitute accepted for that. Things to keep in mind for your identification documents are that the document must contain a clear photo of you in a white background, your full legal name, your date of birth. Apart from this, the identification must be valid. And if your ID does not have an expiry date, then it must be issued within the last five years.

Examples of Source Documents

If you were born outside of Canada, they will be looking for the front and back copy of your Canadian Citizenship Card/Certificate, or you can provide a front and back copy of your valid Permanent Resident Card, or a copy of your Work Permit (if you are here on a work permit). The work permit must be without any study restrictions because you will be taking the courses so, the work permit should be without study restrictions, and it must be valid for the length of the program.

Note: The program is 18 months in length, so you need to have a work permit that will cover that period.

Supporting Documents

This could be a government photo identification, which could be a Canadian Passport, Driver’s License, Provincial Identification Card, Treaty Status Card, Canadian Forces Identification Card, or your Firearms Card. 

 

2. Proof of Education

If you are an immigrant but you did your education in Canada, then you can provide one of the following:

• Your High School Graduation Transcript (if you did your high school in Canada)

• Your GED Transcript (if you went through the GED Program)

• Your Post-Secondary Transcript from a Canadian University or Approved College (if you did your Post-Secondary Education here).

And it must show one of the following:

• You have gone through a minimum of a 2-year Program

• You got a degree from a Canadian University or College

• You have successfully completed a minimum of 3 for-Credit Academic Courses towards a Diploma or a Degree.

Now, if you are an immigrant but you have education from elsewhere, you will need the following documents with the Criteria listed below:

• You will need to provide an Assessed Non-Canadian Education Transcript which is equivalent to a minimum of a Canadian High School Graduation Diploma.

The education assessment must be completed by a member of the Alliance of Credential Evaluation Services of Canada, so ACESC, and education assessment must be mailed directly from the assessment service to RECA. So, you cannot provide RECA with your own assessment. It must be mailed directly from the assessment service.

What is NOT Accepted by RECA as a Proof of Education?

If you are just looking for an equivalency to grade 12 Canadian education. As proof of education, RECA will not accept the following:

• Any Trade or Vocational Designations
• Certificates, or Diplomas
• Any Apprenticeships or Fast-tracked or Condensed Educational Programs
• Any Professional or Occupational Memberships, Certificates, or Designations
• Any Non-Credit College or University Courses, Designations, Certificates, or Diplomas
• Any type of Work Experience.

All they are looking for is Grade-12 Equivalency.

Alliance of Credential Evaluation Services of Canada (ACESC)

ACESC, basically, it is a pan-Canadian organization which has six members. And they serve Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. So, you can go to any of these member agencies within ACESC to get your transcripts assessed.

If you are in Alberta, the best one to go to is IQAS, which is the Alberta one. You will put in an application to them, and you will send them your transcripts and they will evaluate them and will send a copy directly to RECA. If you are in Alberta, IQAS is the most recommended Institute. Or, if you have done this evaluation elsewhere, it is also acceptable from any of the 6 ACESC Members.

The 6 members that form the ACESC are:

• U of T (University of Toronto) Comparative Education Service
• International Credential Assessment Service of Canada (ICAS)
• British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT)
• International Credential Evaluation Service (ICES) in Quebec
• World Education Services (WES)
• International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS)

2.     Proof of English Proficiency

If you are an immigrant, you may also have to provide proof of English Proficiency.

Canadian Education

If your transcript indicates that you did your Grade-12 education from a Canadian High School, you do not need to provide anything additional.

Or, if you graduated from a minimum 2-year Diploma or a Degree Program from a Canadian Post-Secondary Educational Institution, you do not need to provide anything extra. But you do have to show that this was an In-class Program, it was delivered in English Language, and it led you to achieve a Diploma or a Degree. So, if any of these are valid, you do not need to provide anything additional. You are Okay!

Foreign Education

Now, if you are getting your foreign education assessment done, in that case, if the assessment is done by one of the ACESC Members.

Let’s say, you did your education in India and your mode of instruction delivery was in English Language. If your assessment shows that, then you do not need to provide any additional proof for your English proficiency. The only condition is your assessment must clearly indicate this message.

If you do not have any of those, you will have to provide proof of English proficiency. And there are various options, in terms of the different assessments that you can go through which are the following:

• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) – In this case, you’re looking for an overall score of 92 and minimum scores of 21 in listening, 26 in speaking, 21 in reading, and 24 in writing.

• International English Language Testing System (IELTS) – In this case, it should be academic assessment and minimum score has to be 6.5 in all areas i.e., a minimum overall score of 6.5 in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

• Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) – In this case, you need the general test with a minimum score of seven. And that should be the score in all areas for listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
• Canadian Academic English Language Assessment (CAEL) – In this case, you need to have a minimum score of 60 in all areas, and an overall score of 60 in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Other things to keep in mind in terms of English proficiency assessments is that RECA will only accept assessments given by the listed organizations. They will not accept anything else.

Note: ESL Courses are not accepted as proof of English proficiency. Also, any employment experience will not be considered as proof of English proficiency.

These are the documentation and education requirements listed by RECA to be followed if you are an immigrant and applying for Real Estate Licensing in Alberta. Always keep in mind that RECA does change their requirements from time to time, so it is very important to visit their website to confirm these requirements. 

I hope you find this article helpful and get a deeper understanding of what the requirements are if you are an immigrant to Canada and you are looking to get a real estate license in Alberta.

If you have any questions or would like to get further information, you can always call us at 587.936.7779.

Good luck with your Real Estate Studies!

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