Canada, a leading global community, offers a highly advanced environment for nursing professionals like you. With nursing being one of the most in-demand professions in Canada, the country is projected to require approximately 60,000 nurses by 2020, a number that is expected to grow in the next decade. This high demand not only ensures job security but also presents a unique opportunity for career growth and development.
As a trained nurse, your skills and qualifications are highly valued in Canada’s healthcare system. You could find employment in various roles such as an enrolled nurse, supervisor, allied primary health practitioner, certified practical nurse, dental nurse, nurse assistant, and psychiatric nurse. Your expertise as a skilled nurse assistant could earn you a salary of nearly $41,438, while as a skilled registered nurse, you could potentially earn up to $128,700, reflecting the recognition and respect Canada accords to healthcare professionals.
To relocate to Canada as a Nurse, you must be certified in your home nation. Furthermore, you will need to ascertain your competence and that you are eligible to get employed as a nurse at the same status as eligible nurses in Canada.
Table of Contents
The Different Types Of Nurses In Canada
Registered Nurses (RN) in Canada: Registered Nurses who have completed a university nursing program and are therefore eligible to become general registered nurses.
Registered Psychiatric Nurses (RPN) in Canada: Registered Psychiatric Nurses are nurses who have concluded a bachelor’s program in psychiatric nursing or have a certification in general nursing and a post-graduate program or extra research in psychiatric nursing. Registered Psychiatric Nurses are regulated to work in British Columbia, Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Canada or Registered Practical Nurse in Ontario: Licensed Practical Nurses have concluded a post-secondary diploma course in nursing.
Step By Step On How To Immigrate To Canada As A Nurse
Relocating to Canada as a nurse may seem like a complex process, but rest assured, there are clear and well-defined steps to follow. You may be eligible to migrate to Canada as an experienced employee through one of the several economic immigration schemes at the federal and regional levels. This structured approach ensures that you are guided and supported throughout your relocation journey.
There are three significant immigration alternatives obtainable to potential immigrants who desire to relocate to Canada as a nurse:
- Express Entry System
- Provincial Nominee Program
- Quebec Skilled Worker
Before we continue, you must specify your National Occupational Classification (NOC) code, which varies depending on your career narration.
Step One
The first step is assessing whether your educational certifications satisfy the needed measures for practising as a nurse. This step is compulsory, and your certifications will be evaluated by World Educational Services, an institution endorsed by the government of Canada to execute academic reviews and confirmation.
The next step is to get your nursing certifications identified in Canada. This procedure is supervised by the National Nursing Assessment Service (NNAS), and you would need to develop an online account. Fundamentally, NNAS changes your certification to a North American style then approximates and assesses it to see if it satisfies Canada’s standard.
The National Nursing Assessment Service evaluation procedure costs about $650 and is the first compulsory step in acquiring your Canadian Visa and Nursing Registration in Canada.
Step Two
With your National Nursing Assessment Service evaluation carried out, the next thing to do is the NNAS application by developing a profile on the NNAS application website.
During this period, you would need to:
If you enjoy this article, don't miss out on the valuable insights and information available in our other related posts:
- Present two pieces of evidence of identity documents. Evidence of Identity documents must be notarised, duplicates of original papers which are signed, dated, and stamped, conclude with your signature and could be your certificate of birth, certificate of marriage, driver’s license, foreign passport or any other administrative-provided identification. Notarised documents are required to be ready by an administrative-endorsed officer.
- Present your Nursing Education form. You would be required to download the form from your profile account online, then sign and forward it to the institution where you interned as a nurse. The form must be concluded by each school official and forwarded directly from the school official to the National Nursing Assessment service by mail or courier, together with duplicates of your educational history, transcripts documents, nursing program curriculum/ program narrations and program syllabi.
- Present Nursing Registration Form. Download, print out and sign this form, then forward it to every nursing certifying administration where you were certified or enrolled outside Canada. NNAS will only approve your Nursing Registration Form if it is forwarded directly from your certifying authority. If you have a diploma that authorised you to operate as a nurse in your nation, request the school that provided the diploma to forward an official copy, however, not the original of the certificate in its authorised language, to NNAS.
- Present your Nursing Practice/ Employment form. Sign and forward this form to every one of the employers you have worked for in the previous five years. The recent year represents year one. NNAS will only approve your Nursing Practice /Employment form if it is forwarded directly from your employer.
- Present your IELTS language exam result. You must conclude language exams and have the outcomes forwarded directly to the National Nursing Assessment Service from your endorsed language exams agency. If your first language is English or French, you may not have to conclude language exams if the primary language where you reside and work is English or French, and your Nursing studies course of directions was in English or French.
When the National Nursing Assessment Service has obtained all the papers, present your request and select the regional association and nursing team you are applying to. You would first be recognised in a Canadian region where your experiences, eligibilities and skills as an internationally eligible Nurse align with the region’s particular conditions.
Step Three
After the National Nursing Assessment Service evaluation, you would apply to the nursing council in your selected region or territory. NNAS will forward concluded files to the regional regulatory entities to ensure they can make a conclusive determination concerning your qualification to work as a nurse in Canada.
Every region will use the NNAS account to benchmark a candidate’s foreign nursing experiences, proficiencies, and eligibilities against those placed by their separate nursing boards. You will be requested to begin enrollment once your selected regional regulatory entity gets the report from NNAS.
Below is a list of regions and their regulatory entities engaged in Nursing practice all over Canada:
- British Columbia College of Nursing Professionals (British Columbia)
- College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta, and College & Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta (Alberta).
- College of Nurses of Ontario (Ontario)
- Nova Scotia College of Nursing (Nova Scotia)
- Saskatchewan Registered Nurse Association (Saskatchewan).
- College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba, and Practical Nurses College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Manitoba (Manitoba)
Step Four
After you have concluded your Nursing enrollment with the Provincial regulatory entity and acquired a certification, the next step is to select the immigration program that suits you. Potential immigrants who desire to relocate to Canada as nurses have three significant immigration choices.
Express Entry System
Nurses can be eligible for express entry under the Federal Skilled Workers Program if they satisfy the conditions. They usually need to score 67 out of 100 feasible points depending on their studies, age, work skills, and language skills. IELTS score conditions for nurses in Express Entry are based on the person’s complete profile. You are required to score a minimum of 6.0 in every of the four language capacities to be qualified for Express Entry.
Quebec Skilled Worker
Nurses may qualify for the Quebec Skilled Worker (QSW) program if they score at least 50 points on the Quebec Selection Grid. The Quebec Skilled Worker program does not need a least needed IELTS point. However, based on your profile, you may need a minimum of a particular point to be eligible. Your program does not require an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA). And you are not required to provide evidence of funds for this immigration alternative.
Provincial Nominee Program
Provincial Nominee Programs are immigration schemes processed via an association between provincial and national administrations. Every region in Canada runs its own Provincial Nominee Program with several streams; however, every Provincial Nominee Program results in permanent residence in Canada. Most Provincial Nominee Programs are only available to applicants already in the national express entry pool. Several provincial nominee programs need a relationship with the region operating it, such as family living there or having previous skills in studying or working there. Other Provincial Nominee Programs are formed to deal with skills in professions that are in demand in the region.
