Canada has several attractive immigration pathways for nurses. According to a CIHI report, the health sector in Canada is struggling to keep up with the increasing demand for workforce and this is especially true for nurses. This demand is notably caused by an aging population and several other factors. Due to this mismatch of need and availability of healthcare professionals, Canada needs more working population and relies on the immigration system to bring in more health workers in the country. This is also reflected in the category-based draws under the Express Entry immigration system, where candidates in healthcare occupations are frequently invited under category-specific invitation rounds to apply for permanent residence.

To qualify for category based selection in healthcare occupations, the candidates are required to have full-time, continuous 6 months of work experience (in Canada or abroad) in a qualifying occupation within the last three years. Qualifying for a category-based draw gives you an edge in the Express Entry system as the CRS cut-off of lowest ranking candidate invited is generally lower for a category-based draw than a general draw.

It is pertinent to note that to enter the Express Entry pool, the applicant must meet requirements of one of the three programs, Canadian Experience Class, Federal skilled worker program or Federal Skilled Trades program. All three programs have some minimum eligibility requirements such as having minimum 12 months work experience in or outside Canada, depending upon the program. For most healthcare occupations, the candidate would likely need to take an approved language test and score minimum CLB level 7 and must also get their education credential evaluated for its Canadian equivalency. There are certain designated authorities that one can apply for an ECA (Education Credential Assessment).

Let’s take an example. A single, 28 years old nurse with three years of work experience outside Canada, holding a Bachelor of Nursing and a one-year diploma and IELTS score of 8 bands in listening and 7 bands in all other three sections, will have an approximate CRS score of 462. Certain factors can usually increase one’s score such as high language test scores, younger age, having more than one education credentials and so on. However, achieving high test scores in a language test is a bit challenging for most candidates. Low score in language test can significantly impact the total CRS score.

On July 5th 2024, 3,750 candidates from healthcare occupations were invited for permanent residence under the category-based draw and the CRS score of lowest ranking candidate was 445. Meaning, the nurse in the example above would have qualified for the draw. However, if she scored low in IELTS, her CRS score would be heavily impacted and she would not meet the cut off requirement of the draw.

Does that mean a CRS score below 445 mean no permanent residence? Certainly no. There are other options you may consider such as provincial nomination. Provinces regularly nominate candidates based on their economic goals. Depending upon the province and the program you are nominated under, you can either directly apply for permanent residence through PR portal or if it is an Express-Entry linked stream, you will get 600 additional points under Express Entry which means you will likely get an invitation to apply for PR in the next general or PNP specific Express Entry draw.

One such option for Nurses could be Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program. Nurses are frequently invited under the OINP Human Capital Priorities stream. Applicants from outside Canada can also apply and a job offer is not required for this stream. This is an Express Entry linked stream, which means, the candidate must be in the Express Entry pool as the province directly sends invitation to apply for nomination within Express Entry. The CRS cut-off of the province’s invitation rounds is generally lesser than the CRS cut off of category based draws in Express Entry. In the most recent draw, candidates who had CRS between 425-444 were invited in healthcare occupations under OINP HCP. That means if you CRS score is less than 445, you may still have this option.

Now let’s see how the trajectory to permanent residence might look like for a nurse who came to Canada as a student. In this example, we have a 23 years old nursing graduate who came to Canada as a student after completing 3 years Bachelor of Nursing in her home country and completed a one year diploma or certificate in Canada. She does not have any work experience so far. In this case, she will need to first pass qualifying exam/s to become licensed to practice as a Nurse in the province she lives in. Once qualified, she must gain 6 months of experience as a Nurse to qualify for the category-based Express Entry draws. However, there is a catch. The minimum requirement to enter the Express Entry pool under Canadian Experience Class is 12 months of work experience. Therefore, she will wait for one year before she can enter the pool. Or she could explore other immigration options.

For instance, let’s assume this student came to Ontario. She may then apply for Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program as well. Not only through HCP stream, but others as well. Most other OINP streams require a job offer (LMIA approved or exempt), therefore being in Canada opens these additional pathway.

The Nurse in Ontario with a job offer, can apply to International Student Stream under OINP (no work experience required) or she may apply to Foreign Worker Stream with two years of work experience anywhere in the world, or In-demand skills stream if she finds a job offer in an occupation that falls in the list of in-demand occupations under this stream, such as a home support worker. The in-demand stream requires 9 months of work experience with the employer. There are additional requirements for each of these streams. This blogpost is just to provide a general idea as to what options a Nurse can explore for immigration to Canada.

Other provinces also have targeted nomination streams/draws for nurses. These are not linked to Express Entry, meaning you can either apply directly for nomination or be invited in the provincial pool for nomination. Once nominated, you apply through the PR portal.

Nova Scotia has an in-demand skills stream that includes Nurse Aides in occupations. This stream requires one year of experience in the occupation anywhere and a job offer from a Nova Scotia employer in the same occupation. For International students who have studied in Nova Scotia, the province has International Graduates in Demand stream which includes occupations such as Nurse Aides, Pharmacy technicians, paramedical occupations and early childhood educators. This stream requires job offer in one of these occupations and requisite license from the regulatory body. No work experience is required.

Another such option is the Health Authority Stream in British Columbia for nurses and physicians, no experience required. Candidate needs a job offer in the province and have support from the Health Authority. As job offer in BC is required, the candidate must be licensed to practice in the occupation in the province.

Similarly, other provinces also have similar programs such as Saskatchewan has a sub-category for nurses that requires job offer in the province from a qualifying employer and 6 months work experience with the same employer.

Overall, due to shortage of nurses in Canada, this occupation is likely to remain in focus in many immigration pathways. Therefore, if you are a Nurse or a healthcare professional, you may consider immigrating to Canada as the occupation has a good outlook.

We hope the readers find this information useful. If you are wondering which pathway is best for your Canada immigration journey, please reach out to us at info@northworldimmigration.com or contact us on +1-647-807-7335 (available on WhatsApp).