NURSES TO CANADA – IE4U Global Academy

HOW TO REGISTER AS A NURSE IN CANADA:

Any nurse planning to work in Canada must be deemed as qualified to practice as a Registered Nurse (RN) or Licensed/Registered Practical Nurse (LPN/RPN). To qualify, an applicant must register with either the Canadian Nurses Association (CAN) or the Canadian Council for Practical Nurse Regulators (CCPNR).

In Canada registration requirements are established by individual provinces and territories. To register with the CNA or CCPNR, nurses must first apply to the nursing regulatory body of the province or territory where they wish to work:

Nursing is usually categorized in two groups in Canada – Registered Nurse and Registered Practical Nurse. There are six classes of registration of nurses – General, Extended, Special Assignment, Temporary, Emergency Assignment and Non-Practicing.

Every province in Canada has a regulatory body for nursing practice in Ontario. They set requirements to enter the profession, assuring the quality of practice, establishing standards of nursing practice.

INTERNATIONALLY EDUCATED NURSES

If you are a skilled nurse registered outside of Canada (for e.g. in India) you will have to complete a bridging course meant for nursing registration. These programs will provide you with the clinical experience and knowledge necessary to meet the ‘evidence of practice requirements’ set by the regulatory bodies.

Upon completion of the bridging program, a verification of the course completion will be forwarded to the regulatory body as proof of practice and eligibility. This program may or may not be available on a part-time basis. Please check with your college to see which options they have.

BENEFITS OF THE BRIDGING COURSE

Any kind of bridging course is required for you to start with nursing practice in Canada. With it you will receive a recognized certificate stating that you are eligible to work as a practicing nurse. You will also be earning experience in typical Canadian hospital setting, which will ensure you are employment ready.

REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS TO BECOME A REGISTERED NURSE

To practice nursing as a Registered Nurse or Registered Practical Nurse in Canada, internationally educated nurses must hold a General Certificate of Registration. To become eligible for Registration, international applicants will need to meet the following registration requirements –

Proof of authorization to work in Canada
Completion of nursing program that is equivalent to a four year bachelors degree in nursing or practical nursing diploma.
Nursing practice in the category for which the international student is applying within three years prior to issuance of the Certificate of Registration.
Completion of the NCLEX-RN for those applying for Registered Nurse, or the CPNRE (Canadian Practical Nurse Registration Exam) for those applying for Registered Practical Nurse.
Proof of language proficiency in English (or French).

There are a lot of Canadian immigration options for nurses to choose from. As a nurse, you may be qualified to come to Canada as a skilled worker though one of the many economic immigration programs at both the federal and provincial level.

There are four major ways that you can come to Canada as a nurse:

Express Entry
Quebec Immigration
Provincial Nominee Programs
Study-2-Immigrate

EXPRESS ENTRY

Nurses can qualify for Express Entry under the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW) if they meet the program requirements. They need to score 67 out of 100 possible points based on factors like their education, age, work experience, and language proficiency.

If they meet the minimum pass mark, they can submit a profile to the Express Entry pool. Once they’re in the pool, they receive a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score out of 1,200. Periodically, the highest ranking candidates in the Express Entry pool are issued Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for permanent residence.

One of the greatest advantages to the Express Entry system is that there are no fees to submit your profile to the pool, and if you receive an ITA and submit an application for permanent residence, your application will probably be processed within six months.

The minimum IELTS score requirement for nurses in Express Entry depends on the individual’s complete profile. You need to score at least 6.0 in each of the four language abilities to be eligible for Express Entry, but you may need a different score to meet the 67 point pass mark. The two cases below show two different nurse’s profiles.

QUEBEC IMMIGRATION

Nurses may also be eligible for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSW) if they score at least 50 points on the Quebec selection grid. The QSW accepts applications from people residing in Quebec all year, but only opens up intake periods for international applicants a couple of times a year, with limited quotas. Recently, changes were also made to the Quebec selection grid that reduced the points that nurses, among other professionals, could claim for their education. That said, if you are eligible for QSW and able to submit an application, there are some advantages to the program compared to Express Entry:

There is no minimum required IELTS score. However, depending on your profile, you may need to have at least a certain score to qualify.
You don’t need an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) for your degree.
You don’t need settlement funds “show money”.

STUDY-2-IMMIGRATE

Even if you aren’t currently eligible for any of the immigration options above, you may still be able to come to Canada. As an international student, you can build on your nursing degree to help advance your career, while living, studying, and even working in Canada.

Your Canadian education may even help increase your eligibility to immigrate permanently when you graduate. Keep in mind that Canadian immigration programs change all the time, so it’s impossible to guarantee that the eligibility criteria of any of the existing programs will be the same by the time you would graduate. That said, under the current system, a Canadian degree can make a world of difference.

For example, let’s look at Case #2: Jayson. If Jayson is unable to improve his FSW score, he could benefit from coming to Canada to study first. The second degree would let him claim additional points for his education, and his language proficiency would likely improve from living and studying in Canada. He would also be able to claim 5 additional points under “Adaptability Factors” for his past study in Canada. Since he is already only 5 points below the minimum passing score, he would definitely qualify for Express Entry after graduating.

PROVINCIAL NOMINEE PROGRAMS

Another possible immigration option for nurses to immigrate to Canada is through a Provincial Nominee Program(PNP). PNPs are immigration programs run through a partnership between provincial governments and the federal government. Each province in Canada operates its own PNP with multiple streams, but every PNP leads to the same end result: Canadian permanent residence. Some PNPs are only open to candidates who are already in the federal Express Entry pool. Receiving a nomination from one of these PNPs grants you an additional 600 CRS points, virtually guaranteeing you will receive an ITA. Many PNPs require some kind of connection to the province operating it, like family residing there or having past experience studying or working in the province. Other PNPs are designed to address skills gaps in the province by accepting skilled workers with experience in occupations that are in-demand in the province. The Nova Scotia Demand: Express Entry category of the Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP), for example, is only open to candidates with an Express Entry profile who have experience in specific target occupations. Two of those targeted occupations are “Registered Nurses” and “Licensed Practical Nurses”. You can see a complete list of the targeted occupations here.

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