Do I need to send marksheets? I read that WES won't entertain anything I send. Also what exactly are "transcripts" (never seen one) and are they enough for WES to confirm the accreditation for me?

So you will have typically a marksheet for each semester that you attend in college and give exams. That is something that WES will accept even if the candidate sends it.

A transcript on the other hand, is a consolidated statement of marks. It has the grades and marks of all the semesters in a single sheet. This is signed and stamped by the Controller of Examinations at your university. This document has to be sent to WES by the University only. The document should be dated, signed and stamped, sealed in an envelope which again should be stamped and signed across the seal.

Both the documents are required by WES for credential evaluation

Go ahead and you must. Remember, with every year of passing of age, you keep losing 5points. The earlier the better. I was 37 2yrs back when I got my PR. I bless myself for having gotten the PR last but latest and not late. Im very familiar with the Oz PR as well, Canadian PR is going the Oz way and trust me in another 18 months, the Canadian PR will be as impossible to get as the Oz PR is today. I close 33 months of my first entry in Jan next and thats when I move there.

As you are saying WES requires both the things, that is my problem here. I read on certain online pages (quora etc) that for marksheet copies, I need to connect with my college and preferably get 2 sets which will be sealed by the college in separate envelopes (one set is for my personal use for cross check purpose). I then need to take that set and head to Churchgate where Mumbai University office is there for these kind of affairs and apply for my transcripts there, then once I get both, I need to put both in single envelope, get it stamped / signed etc by University office and use one of the many guys there who will courier the thing for you for a fee (Rs. 3000 or so). These courier guys make sure the application from is University so WES knows that the envelope came from university only.

Each institution will have different SOPs for providing the transcripts. This is something that you can only get to know from your University.

But you can also adopt this approach :

1. Apply and get mark sheets from college, courier them to WES (the sealed envelope)
2. Take your set and get the transcripts from University and send the transcripts through courier(again the sealed envelope)

It does not matter that you send 2 different couriers for the same credential. That is totally ok.

Conversely, what you mentioned is also perfectly alright. Both options are valid.

When I applied for transcripts, my University did not have any SOP for sending transcripts. I sent it myself using DHL, but put in the University details as sender address (so that it seemed that it was sent from my University)

However a few months back I see that my University has defined a complete procedure to send the transcripts, all that without the alumni needing to even visit there once.

So those factors vary on a University level.

As I understand, the process has changed. The Uni has to send the transcript directly to WES. You cannot send it individually. The process has changed in the past year / year and a quarter apparently.

Yes. You are right. There is absolutely nothing that I send that will be accepted by WES I believe. Everything needs to originate from University. I am not sure but I guess we even need to get the marksheets obtained from college attested by university (they charge Rs. 10 per page or something).

That's what I have been saying. Transcripts have to be sent by the University, however semester wise marksheet/degree certificate can be sent by the candidate. This is only an option in case you need to take it.
Else if the University sends both the degree certificate and transcript, nothing like it

How would I know what my (Mumbai) university sends?

Anyone here from Mumbai University has done this? Please pitch in.

They wont send anything apart from 2 papers which have the entire history of your marks. Its just a concise version of your actual marksheets. I had done this from Pune long back (almost a decade back to enroll for my Masters) and it is no different for Mumbai. If you just want to kill the curiosity of what they will send, get 2 copies of the transcript - one for the evaluator and one for you, and check what is in it.

With the super high Express entry scores, it is extremely difficult for people on the wrong side of the 30s, unless your skill is in high demand in one of the provinces to get nominated.

There are lot of younger folks going to study in Canada and it works great for them, and I think those are the folks' government targeting as well.

The only way you can emigrate to Canada at age 35 and older up to 53 is if you have a job offer commensurate with your age/experience and also meet the other criteria in the application process. You can expedite this process if you have a friend or relative who can contact a local immigration lawyer after obtaining a job offer.

There are more manufacturing and teaching jobs in Canada over IT though nothing is impossible if one has the determination to achieve. Canada is a great country , a Monarchy which means continuity and stability but taxes are high due to the National Health and other social services/subsidies, housing prices and commuting costs like petrol etc. are on the high side and the job market is not robust like in the US. Good luck and i hope you find what you're looking for.

As someone who's been living in Canada for the last decade, I'm not sure where you go some of the above points. Clarifications below:

1. Manufacturing and teaching aren't great sectors to work in Canada. One faces the constant threat of automation, while the other faces low pay.
2. IT/Tech jobs are exploding, although my (partly naive) viewpoint is that it's much easier to get a technical job than a managerial role
3. Canada is not a monarchy - it's a democracy that's part of the Commonwealth, although provinces (states) hold a lot more power than what I experienced in India
4. The rest I don't disagree with - housing costs are high in the major cities, you pay more taxes than you would in India (comparable to many US states), but you get a much better social safety net than either India or the US

Not commenting on procedural considerations as I don't have that knowledge and others have already provided guidance. I'm making a presumption that you're seeking general move-related advice, and that you're from India; apologies if either of those is not the case.

Reflecting on my time here, I would suggest that if you do come here, come with eyes wide open. The easiest is to get a transfer through your company if they have operations here, and once you settle in see if you want to switch. Otherwise, there is only limited value placed on experience outside Canada, so you may need to take a step/steps back in your professional career for at least a 3-4 years till you settle in. It's harder to make Canadian friends as they're generally reserved, so a lot of people end up building social circles with people only from within their community, which defeats part of the purpose of moving to Canada.

Quality of life is comparatively great, though, especially for women and children. Almost no pollution, clean water, lawfulness, and easy (almost boring!) drives.

Well-articulated above. Canada is indeed a great nation with amazing safety and social systems in place- we broke even in circa 3 months of receipt of the famed Canada Child Benefits (CCB)- $600 per kid monthly is not a measly amount

As suggested aforesaid, it’d be prudent to seek a transfer from your employer, if at all possible. I was fortunate enough to gain a transfer within my employer from Kerala to Canada within the same team, and also with a promotion the following year. However, the only gripe I have is re: housing prices, where you sometimes will be priced out and have to move out of key markets like Toronto or Vancouver. I’ve also heard from multiple people horror stories on their health center experiences- as a result of the triage system. I had also experienced a similar situation in the UK when I finished my studies and began working.

Re:automobiles, this is a near heaven for those who would like to try out the newer beasts in town- I had a sub-optimal experience with a Bimmer back in India, and leased out a Lexus RX 350 here.

My advice to our Team-BHPians: Get here, acquire the passport, gain insights and skills, and return to your motherland (if at all possible).

P.S- I also beg to differ slightly with the comment alluded to driving. Witness a lot of erratic drivers here from the 401 to places like Brampton/Scarborough/Markham (albeit not as prolific as our motherland)

When you say "Get transfer from your employer". Are you suggesting it like a regular onsite opportunity or should one go through all the process of getting WES accreditation, gives IELTS and be ready with everything needed for EE application and then seek employer's go ahead to get a transfer (which is actually a job offer) ?
I am confused about how the transfer will be in this context, can you explain in detail ?
I am currently working for an employer in India who does have office in Toronto.