If you are a nurse residing outside Canada, you may be wondering: So what incentive is best for me to immigrate to Canada? Or if you are already here, your question may be: How can I practice my profession in this country and in what way can i apply for the post of a nurse in Canada.
Nursing is one of the professions that had its greatest boom during the pandemic. That is why Canada, to meet the demand for these professionals, created various ways to facilitate the arrival of these professionals in the country, offering them different ways to obtain permanent residence for foreign nurses.
Canada is the second largest country in the world and together with the US it will need around 711,000 nurses by 2022.
Nursing has always been a highly demanded discipline in the world. In Canada there has always been a lack of health professionals, especially nurses. For this reason, for more than 10 years, both the federal and provincial governments have promoted the immigration of professionals who want to settle and exercise this profession.
The advantages of choosing Canada are a great Health and Social Security system, a high level of education and the stability of the economy.
The biggest problem that nurses will encounter is, just like in the US, they will have to face the challenge of bilingualism in order to be able to practice and the process of Homologation of the title plus the exam that all nurses have to face in order to be able to exercise (CRNExam).
However, immigration programs have been changing and complicating the possibilities of these specialists.
The main role of a nurse is the comprehensive care of patients and their families in states of illness or vulnerability.
The trade can be exercised in many fields such as clinical, outpatient, administrative, management, teaching and research.
Job offers in nursing are wide, however, current offers for nurses abroad have restrictions.
For example: if you want to practice nursing in Canada, you have to register with the College of Registered Nurses of the Province you are interested in going to Canada is a bit like the United States in terms of the organization of the country, instead of states they have provinces, but in the same way each one has its own legislation.
Here we leave you a small summary, by no means exhaustive, of some paths for nurses in Canada, but you should keep in mind that if you want professional and specialized advice, you should turn to a certified immigration consultant in Canada to obtain the information you need.
As nursing is always considered a “skilled work,” nurses may be qualified for almost any program that has “skilled work” as a criteria.
Express Entry
This is an online system that manages immigration applications for the federal government. Hopeful Canadian immigrants submit their applications to the system and get a score based on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
Nurses may be qualified for Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
These two federal immigration programs are conducted by the Express Entry system.
Express Entry candidates earn points based on their skilled work experience, age, education, and official language ability, among other factors. The highest scoring candidates are invited to apply for permanent residence in bi-weekly Express Entry draws.
For more information on this topic, contact an immigration consultant in Canada.
Provincial Nominee Program
Although the federal government has the final say on who can immigrate to Canada, provinces can nominate certain candidates through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
Some PNPs are dedicated specifically to nurses, others only require skilled work experience. Sometimes PNPs will hold draws for immigration nominations specifically for nurses.
Many provinces in Canada have more than one program that accepts nurses. PNPs sometimes select candidates from the Express Entry system and invite them to apply for a provincial nomination.
If these candidates are selected, they get 600 CRS points added to their Express Entry score. This award is more than enough to qualify the nominee to be invited to apply for permanent residence.
Through the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
The IRCC will specify your qualifications using 6 nomination factors. After calculating your selection factor points, you will be scored based on a percentage. You are more likely to qualify for the FSWP if you have no less than 67 points.
The following are the criteria to work in Canada as a nurse through Express Entry
- Language proficiency test which includes: IELTS, TOEFL, CELPIP, TEF Canada, among others. Your English or French language proficiency will be assessed. Examinations are conducted for your speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. Your language levels will be graded using Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) for the English test and Niveaux de Compétence Linguistique Canadien (NCLC) for the French tests.
- Minimum of one year of work experience consisting of a job under National Occupational Classification Skill Type 0, Level A or B. Therefore, the work experience must not be more than ten years
- Job offer letter from a Canadian health care provider or company (optional). When you have received a job offer letter from a Canadian employer, you are more likely to be included among the applicants who would receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA).
However, you need a minimum CLB score of 7 or NCLC of 7.
- Result of a medical examination to show if it is medically admissible or inadmissible
- Police certificates indicating previous criminal records.
- Evaluation of Educational Credentials (ECA)
- Funds Test
Study-2-Immigrate Program for Nurses
Your Canadian education may help increase your chances to migrating to Canada, permanently when you graduate.
Even though you are not currently qualified for any of the immigration selections mentioned above, you may still be able to immigrate to Canada. as an international student, she can leverage her nursing degree to help advance her career while studying, living and even working in Canada.
Through the Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
CEC is ideal for temporary Canadian workers who have already gained extensive skills and work experience while working for a Canadian employer. CEC will establish a permanent residence in Canada.
Requirements you must meet if you want to immigrate to Canada as a nurse
- One year of working experience in an occupation classified in NOC Skill Type 0, Level A or B. In addition, the work experience must not have exceeded the previous three years.
- Nursing jobs under NOC Skill Type 0, Level A or B, you require at least CLB 7 or NCLC 7. Also, if you are a CEC applicant for a nursing occupation at NOC B, you need a minimum of CLB 5 or NCLC 5
- You may be required to present a letter of a job offer if available
