The migration of medical personnel to Canada has become more colorful due to the epidemic of the corona virus, and in the meantime, the migration of nurses to Canada has a special place. This is despite the fact that Canada needed nurses and medical staff before the Covid-19 disease and was facing a shortage of personnel in this field. Therefore, the Canadian government has considered several routes for the migration of nurses and medical staff to this country.
If you plan to continue your nursing activity in Canada and benefit from its advanced facilities, in this article you will get all the necessary information to immigrate to this country.
The immigration conditions of home nurses to Canada are different from those of hospital nurses.
Table of contents
Methods of immigration of nurses to Canada
- Through programs to obtain permanent residence in Canada such as express entry and provincial immigration programs
- Receive a job offer (job offer) From Canadian employers, then getting a work permit and Canadian work visa And finally apply for permanent residence in Canada
- Studying in nursingto catch Canadian study visathen getting a work visa after studying in Canada and finally applying for a permanent residence in Canada after studying
Procedures for nurses to immigrate to Canada
Before we talk about the necessary steps for nurses to immigrate to Canada, first you need to know the types of nursing job classifications in Canada:
In the National Occupational Classification of Canada or NOC, nurses are divided into two groups:
- official nurses (Registered Nurse-RN(and official psychiatric nurses)Registered Psychiatric Nurse-RPN):
These nurses study nursing in the 4-year university course. Psychiatric nurses graduate from the field of nursing and psychiatry. KDnock of these jobs 3012 and their job skill level A is. - licensed practical nurses (Licensed Practical Nurse-LPN):
These nurses usually completed a one or two-year nursing course in a college (not in a university) and received a diploma. These nurses have a lower skill level than the nurses of the first group. in classification NEk Canada has a code NOC 3233 and their job skill level B is
In order to choose the right migration path, you need to know your job code and skill level.
First step: Evaluation of educational qualifications through Organization for evaluation of nursing degrees in Canada
If you have studied nursing in Iran and now you plan to immigrate to Canada, the first step is to evaluate and equate your qualifications through the NNAS (National Nursing Assessment Service) organization of Canada. This assessment is to determine the validity of your nursing degree based on Canadian educational and academic standards.
When you apply for your credential evaluation online, you must specify your nursing category (RN, RPN, or LPN) as well as the province where you plan to practice later. Because each Canadian province has its own Canadian Provincial Nursing Regulatory body, which considers the provincial standards and conditions to determine the skills, experience and qualifications of nurses, and these standards are different in the nursing supervision bodies of different Canadian provinces.
Requirements for the evaluation of qualifications through NNAS
In order for NNAS to evaluate your documents, you must meet certain conditions:
- Get your university degree in nursing outside of Canada.
- Register in the nursing association of your country and have a nursing license.
- Have at least 5 years of nursing experience.
- Have the required score of one of the language tests:
- IELTS Minimum score of 7 (Speaking: 7 | Listening: 7.5 | Reading: 6.5 | Writing: 7)
- Selben test (CELBAN) (Speaking: 8 | Listening: 10 | Reading: 8 | Writing: 7)
- TEF test
(Speaking: 5 | Listening: 5 | Reading: 4 | Writing: 4 | Vocabulary: 4). This test is used for French-speaking provinces.
The second step: Registering with the Canadian Nurses Association or the Regulatory Council of Practical Nurses in Canada and getting the necessary license
In order to work in Canada and obtain the necessary qualification as a registered nurse RN or Canadian practical nurse LPN, you must register with CNA (Canadian Nurses Association) or CCPNR (Canadian Council for Practical Nurse Regulators) to be checked for the required conditions. But since the nursing qualification conditions are determined by the nursing board of each province, before registering for CNA and CCPNR, you must first register with the nursing board of your desired province.
After the results of the document evaluation are determined, NNAS sends its report to the designated provincial nursing board. At this stage, your documents and work records may be approved as a foreign nurse, in other words, you may be approved and licensed, or you may be asked to take more nursing courses in Canadian educational institutions. In this case, you cannot enter the next stage and you must meet the academic requirements first.
In the following section, you can see some of the nursing supervision institutions of the Canadian provinces. To register in any province, you can click on it:
British Columbia
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
- College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of British Columbia
- College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia
- Licensed practical nurses
- College of Licensed Practical Nurses of British Columbia
Ontario
- Registered Nurses and Registered Practical Nurses
- College of Nurses of Ontario
Quebec
- Registered Nurses and Clinical Nurses
- Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec
- Licensed Practical Nurses
- Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers auxiliaries du Québec
Saskatchewan
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
- Registered Psychiatric Nurses Association of Saskatchewan
- Licensed Practical Nurse
- Saskatchewan Association of Licensed Practical Nurses
Manitoba
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
- College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of Manitoba
- College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba
- Licensed Practical Nurse
- College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Manitoba
Alberta
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
- College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses Association of Alberta
- College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta
- Licensed Practical Nurse
- College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta
New Brunswick
- Registered nurses
- Nurses Association of New Brunswick
- Licensed Practical Nurse
- Association of New Brunswick Licensed Practical Nurses
Newfoundland and Labrador
- Registered nurses
- Association of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador
- Licensed Practical Nurse
- College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador
Nova Scotia
- Registered nurses
- College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia
- Licensed Practical Nurse
- College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Nova Scotia
Prince Edward Island
- Registered nurses
- Association of Registered Nurses of Prince Edward Island
- Licensed Practical Nurse
- Licensed Practical Nurses Association of Prince Edward Island
Nunavut
- Registered nurses
- Registered Nurses Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut
- Licensed Practical Nurses
- Department of Health, Government of Nunavut
Northwest Territories
- Registered nurses
- Registered Nurses Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut
- Licensed Practical Nurses
- Registrar, Professional Licensing, Department of Health and Social Services
Yukon
- Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses
- Yukon Registered Nurses Association
- Professional Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Government of Yukon
- Licensed Practical Nurses
- Professional Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Government of Yukon
The third step: Registering for the official Canadian nurses exam or the Canadian practical nurses registration exam
After you have been approved by the nursing board of one of the Canadian provinces (except for Quebec, which has its own nursing exam), you must participate in one of the CRNE (Canadian Registered Nurse Examination) or CPNRE (Canadian Practical Nurse Registered Examination) nursing exams and get a passing score in order to obtain a nursing license in Canada.
Step 4: Apply for Canadian residency through one of the immigration programs
There are three main methods for obtaining permanent residence in the immigration of nurses to Canada. After evaluating the documents and obtaining the necessary nursing approvals from Canada, you can apply for one of them:
Immigration programs for nurses to immigrate to Canada
- Express Entry – Express Entry
Express entry Canada’s immigration system allows nurses to obtain Canadian permanent residency through several programs such as the Federal Skilled Worker program (FSWP) or the Canadian Experience (CE).- program Canadian experience It requires one year of nursing work experience within Canada, so without this work experience, the Canadian experience program is not suitable for you. Instead, you can start your permanent residency process through the Federal Skilled Worker Program.
- program Federal Skilled Worker Canada It is based on a scoring system. That is, your score is calculated based on a set of factors such as age, work experience, English language proficiency level, educational qualification and other factors, and if you score at least 67 out of 100, you will receive an invitation from the Canadian government and enter the final stage.
- Quebec’s skilled workforce Quebec Skilled Worker
If you plan to work as a nurse in Quebec, you can Quebec specialist workforce program Use to get permanent residence in Canada. Quebec’s skilled labor admission program is different from other Canadian provinces, but its similarity is in the scoring system.
In the province of Quebec, your score is calculated based on a series of factors such as degree, field of study, level of language knowledge and work experience, and if you have enough points, you may be invited to an interview. Your minimum score in the selected network of Quebec must be 50.
- Provincial immigration programs Provincial Nominee Program – PNP
Apart from the Express Entry system and Quebec’s skilled workforce program, several Provincial immigration program There is also PNP for the immigration of nurses to Canada. Most Canadian provinces have more than one pathway for recruiting nurses. Some routes are only for nurses. Therefore, acting through any of the provincial immigration programs that suits you, can lead you to obtain permanent residence in Canada. Two examples of provincial immigration programs for nurses include the following:
- New Brunswick Internationally Educated Nurses (IEN)
- British Columbia’s Healthcare Professional
Note: None of these immigration paths require nurses to have a job offer or a job offer in Canada, but having a job offer significantly increases the chances of receiving an invitation or an ITA.
None of these immigration paths require nurses to have a job offer or a job offer in Canada, but having a job offer significantly increases the chances of receiving an invitation or an ITA.
Immigration conditions for nurses to Canada
If you studied outside of Canada:
- Obtaining approval for the evaluation of educational qualifications from the NNAS evaluation organization
- Registration with the Canadian Nurses Association and one of its provinces as a registered nurse RN
- Participating in the official examination of Canadian nurses and getting a nursing license
- Having an IELTS score of 7 or Selben test (Speaking: 8 | Listening: 10 | Reading: 8 | Writing: 7)
- Having relevant work experience
- Having the financial ability to support yourself and your companions for one year
- No bad background
- Having physical health
If you studied in Canada:
- No need to evaluate educational qualifications from the NNAS organization
- Registration with the Canadian Nurses Association and one of its provinces as a registered nurse RN
- Passing the official exam of Canadian nurses and getting a nursing license
- Having an IELTS or CLB/NCLC or TEF score (minimums differ for different immigration programs)
- Having Canadian work experience (at least one year) or non-Canadian work experience (at least one year) (depending on the chosen immigration program, the conditions are different)
- No bad background
- Having physical health
The things mentioned are among the basic conditions for immigrating to Canada. Whether you are outside Canada or inside Canada, when you want to apply for an immigration program, you must also meet the requirements for that particular program.
For exampleIf you have studied in Canada, after your studies you can get a post-study work visa or PGWP and then through one of the Canadian permanent residence methods such as the Canadian Experience CEC or the Federal Skilled Worker Canada FSW program or the Canadian provincial immigration programs. PNPs convert your temporary work visa to permanent residence.
Each immigration program has its own conditions. In this case, you must fully meet the requirements for each program you choose.
Canadian companion visa requirements for nurses
The Canadian government has also provided conditions for the immigration of nurses’ spouses and children. By obtaining a companion visa, they can accompany the main person to Canada and stay there. Depending on the immigration method you choose, the visa requirements for your spouse and children are also different.
For exampleIf you are applying through education, your spouse and child must show documents that prove, like you, that they do not intend to stay in Canada for a long time and only want to accompany you during your studies. These documents can be your wife’s job letter from the company where she is working and it is stated that she intends to leave for a short period of time, or if she has a company, she can provide the company registration documents and the insurance list of her employees to justify her return.
If you apply as a specialist through permanent residence programs, since these programs are based on a scoring system, your spouse’s conditions can also earn you points. Factors such as the spouse’s education level, his English or French language skills, and even his work history are influential in the scoring system.
Documents required for nurses to immigrate to Canada
Depending on the immigration method you choose, the required documents are different. We mentioned earlier that as a nurse, you can immigrate to Canada in three ways: study, work or permanent residence.
Documents required for short-term nursing visas in Canada
Canadian study visa and work visa are short-term visas, so you must submit documents to the Canadian embassy that show your departure from Canada after the visa expires. For example, documents such as a job offer from a hospital or clinic in Iran, as well as providing documents related to having strong affiliations in your country and any other documents that prove your return to Iran.
Documents required for long-term visas for nurses in Canada
Other types of visas for nurses are long-term and permanent, such as skilled workers or Canadian provincial immigration programs that lead to permanent Canadian residency. In this case, you do not need to prove that after entering Canada you will leave this country after some time, but you are going to stay in this country and get permanent residence. Therefore, depending on each immigration program, prepare its specific documents.
For exampleFor Canada’s Federal Skilled Worker immigration procedure, you must show IELTS with a score of 6 in all four skills or have an equivalent CELP score.
In addition to specialized documents, for both short-term visas and long-term Canadian visas, you need a series of general documents, such as identification documents, educational documents, work records and financial resources.
Is it possible for nurses to immigrate to Canada without a language certificate?
The answer to this question is negative. Whatever method you apply to immigrate to Canada, you must have a language score.
As it was said at the beginning of this article, nurses are classified in the skill worker category in Canada’s healthcare system, and the skill level of one group of them is A and the other group is B. Both of these skill groups must provide a valid English or French language certificate obtained within the last two years. Therefore, one of the necessary qualifications for you as a nurse is to have a degree in English or French.
- If applying through the Federal Skill Worker program, you must have at least a CLB 7 score in all four English language skills or an NCLC 7 score in the four French language skills.
- If you are a certified RN with job skill A, you must have a minimum score of 7 CLB or 7 NCLC.
- According to the official website of the Canadian government, a CLB score of 7 is equal to a score of 6 in all four skills of the IELTS General test.
- If you are a licensed practical nurse LPN with job skill B, you must have at least CLB/NCLC 5.
- A CLB score of 5 is equal to a score of 5 in Writing, Listening and Speaking skills and a score of 4 in Reading skills. We have specified these items in the image below:
How much does it cost to immigrate to Canada?
At the beginning of the article, we talked about three immigration methods for nurses, which include immigration through job offers, immigration through Express Entry immigration programs, provincial immigration, and immigration through education. Each of these methods has specific steps and their costs are different.
The costs that are considered here are only the costs related to the evaluation of the documents and the review of the case. Other costs, such as the amount of funding for the Canadian Embassy, living expenses and the cost of translating documents or the cost of traveling to another country for the fingerprinting process, are not included.
- The cost of evaluating nursing qualifications and registration in the Nursing Association of each Canadian province
The cost of document evaluation is the same for all foreign nurses, but whichever province you choose for your future nursing activity and register with the nursing board or nursing association of that province, you must pay a different registration fee for each province. Here we point out the cost of registering nurses in the two provinces of British Columbia and New Brunswick:
| Evaluation of documents in NNAS | $650 |
| Register with the Nursing Association of New Brunswick NANB | $460 |
| Register with the British Columbia College of Nursing and Midwifery as a BCCNM Registered Nurse | $600 |
- Case review fee in immigration programs (Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience, Provincial Immigration Programs or PNPs)
| The main applicant (case review + right of permanent residence) | 1325 dollars |
| Spouse or legal partner (case review + right of permanent residence) | 1325 dollars |
| Dependent child under 22 years of age or child over 22 years of age (in case of mental problems and lack of financial support) | $225 per child |
- The cost of reviewing the case in the job offer method
When you receive a job offer or job offer from one of the medical service centers, clinics or hospitals in Canada through a Canadian employer, you must apply for a work visa or work permit and pay for it yourself.
If your job offer requires a Canadian Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), the cost is the responsibility of the employer. Or if your job offer does not require an LMIA, the employer only has to pay the employer’s compliance fee.
| Work Permit – Work Permit | $155 per person |
| Canadian Labor Market Impact Assessment – LMIA | 1000 dollars |
| Employer compliance fee | $230 |
- The cost of examining the case in the academic method
If you apply through education and get admission in the field of nursing from one of the Canadian universities, you must pay the fee for the study visa:
| Study Permit | $150 per person |
As a nurse, whichever immigration method you want to use to immigrate to Canada, you must do the fingerprinting or biometric process, which costs $85 per person.
What are the age requirements for nurses to immigrate to Canada?
As mentioned earlier in this article, Express Entry immigration and Canada PNP provincial immigration is based on points and age is one of the important factors in it. None of the Canadian immigration programs for nurses has an age limit, but in order to obtain the minimum points required for one of the methods, it is better to be under 35 years old.
Up to the age of 35, you can get a high score for the age factor, but after the age of 35, the score decreases relatively. You may be at an age where you don’t score well for your age, but don’t despair. If you score high on other factors such as education, work experience and language level, your age score problem will be solved to a large extent.
for example, In Canada’s Skilled Worker program, the maximum number of points for age is 12, and if you are between the ages of 18 and 35, you will get all 12 points. But no points are awarded for ages 47 and older.
Work migration of nurses to Canada
As mentioned earlier, one of the methods of immigrating nurses to Canada is through obtaining a nursing work visa. After providing the basic conditions that we explain below, you must receive a job offer for nursing from one of the Canadian medical centers and from a Canadian employer.
The fact is that this method is one of the most difficult methods for nurses to immigrate to Canada. Because, on the one hand, nurses must obtain a license to practice nursing in Canada, and on the other hand, Canadian employers, who are mostly doctors or directors of nursing associations in Canada, prioritize hiring nurses who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada and hardly offer jobs to foreign workers.
Of course, due to the very high demand of the Canadian government in the recruitment of medical personnel in recent years, the chances of foreign nurses to get a job offer have increased.
Conditions for obtaining a nursing work visa in Canada
- Having an approval to evaluate educational qualifications from the Canadian NNAS evaluation organization
- Registration in the nursing association of one of the Canadian provinces as a registered nurse (RN)
- Passing the official Canadian nurses exam called CRNE or CPNRE and getting a nursing license
- Having high proficiency in English or French (for French-speaking provinces)
- Receive a job offer in one of 40 jobs related to health and treatment in Canada from a Canadian employer
- No bad background
- Having physical health
- Doing fingerprint or biometric process
Procedures for obtaining a nursing work visa in Canada
The first to third steps in the section Procedures for nurses to immigrate to Canada It was said that it is common with the process of obtaining a nursing work visa in Canada. But instead of the fourth step, you need to get a job offer from a Canadian employer, and then apply for a work visa. After submitting all the documents and reviewing the case, you will receive your nursing work visa.
The duration of obtaining a Canadian nursing work visa
Canadian nursing work visa is a type of temporary residence visa. Depending on whether you are applying for a work visa from within Canada or outside of Canada, the processing time will vary. Also, depending on the conditions of the Canadian embassy, the work visa review time may change.
- If applying from outside Canada – 14 weeks
- If you apply from within Canada – 87 days
Answers to your questions
Which Canadian province needs more nursing staff?
The province of Manitoba needs more specialists than other provinces in Canada and is currently supporting nurses in hospitals and medical centers due to the Covid-19 disease.
What are the best Canadian provinces for nursing jobs?
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Manitoba
How much do nurses earn in Canada?
The average income of Registered Nurses in Canada is $70,853,000 per year or $36.33 per hour. Rookie nurses earn an average of $57,029 annually, compared to $81,638 for experienced nurses.
Which cities in Canada have the highest and lowest nursing salaries?
Calgary in Alberta pays nurses the highest ($46.39 an hour) and Montreal in Quebec the lowest ($33.50 an hour).
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