In Canada, the process of bringing a foreign nurse to work at a healthcare facility as a temporary worker (work visa) is relatively simple and fast. It takes approximately 8-10 months, and there is no nursing exam involved before the start of an actual employment. Foreign nurses apply for a temporary permit (interim licenses) for which no nursing exam is required, only credentialing verification (licensure, education and work experience) as well as a passing score on the English language exams.

In short, the process of obtaining temporary licenses for foreign nurses is the following:

Opening of a file with the provincial College of Nurses – this can take between 2 and 8 weeks, depending on the province. The nurse fills out the required forms and collects all the required documents, such as educational certificates, valid nursing licenses, references from previous employment, etc, etc. The nurse is also required to attach processing fees which are usually in the amount of approximately $200 Canadian dollars. The College assesses the application and if all requirements are met, issues a Letter of Eligibility for Temporary registration (the name of this letter varies from province to province). If further information is required or some of the requirements are missing, the College notifies the nurse and makes recommendations as to what courses are missing, etc, etc. This takes 3 - 4 months or more, depending on the circumstances. Having obtained a job offer from the prospective employer, a foreign nurse forwards this job offer back to the College. The College at this stage issues a Temporary Registration to the nurse. At this stage, TOEFL and TSE language scores are mandatory. This process takes another 1 month or more. Once the nurse receives a temporary registration from the nursing College, a prospective employer (or their recruiting agent) will apply to the Canadian government, namely to the Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) for approval. Normally, the process of receiving a clearance from HRDC takes 2-3 weeks. It is advisable to focus recruitment on nurses specializing in the following 12 particular areas (see 'Nurses going to Canada'). Having all three documents on hand, i.e. the job offer, temporary registration, and HRDC clearance, a nurse applies for work visa at the Canadian Embassy/Consulate in her home country. The Embassy requires that the nurse passes a medical exam and obtains police clearance from the local authorities. This can take 1-3 months, depending on the circumstances. The employment authorization (work visa) is issued for the duration of the contract, as it is specified in the job offer. Usually, the contract is for 1 or 2 years; the contract can be renewed upon completion (work visa will need to be extended as well). Once the travel arrangements have been finalized, the nurse comes to Canada and starts working, under the supervision of Canadian registered nurses. The temporary registration is valid for 12 months after issuance, so the nurse will need to prepare and pass the Canadian RN qualifying exam in order to obtain permanent registration/licensing.

Note: The passing rate for this exam for the foreign nurses already residing in the province of Ontario but with no Canadian work experience is 33-40%. However, given that the foreign nurses you hire as temporary workers will have had at least 3 months of local work experience by the time the exam is scheduled, the exam does not present a serious problem. To avoid delays, many Canadian healthcare employers prefer to provide additional training to foreign nurses to help prepare for the nursing qualifying exam.

Please note that if the nurse decides to work for a different employer before her contract with you expires, she/he will have to go through the whole process of getting a job offer and work visa on her own again. This fact usually provides a great degree of comfort to our clients.

Time & Cost:

Canadian facility - 8 - 10 months from start to end.

If nurses have previously passed the English language exams, the process can be shortened by 6 months. If nurses have in addition previously passed the CGFNS or NCLEX-RN exam as well, then the process can be shortened by 9-12 months.

Please note that the indicated time limit should serve as a guideline, and not as an exact number. Depending on the circumstances of a particular case, it may require 24 months or even more to immigrate a foreign nurse to work for a U.S. facility. This may seem like a long time. However, many U.S. healthcare facilities are looking ahead and turn to recruitment of foreign nurses as a long-term solution to the rising shortage of nurses throughout the country.

Having all three documents on hand, i.e. the job offer, temporary registration, and HRDC clearance, a nurse applies for work visa at the Canadian Embassy/Consulate in her home country. The Embassy requires that the nurse passes a medical exam and obtains police clearance from the local authorities. This can take 1-3 months, depending on the circumstances. The employment authorization (work visa) is issued for the duration of the contract, as it is specified in the job offer. Usually, the contract is for 1 or 2 years; the contract can be renewed upon completion (work visa will need to be extended as well).
Once the travel arrangements have been finalized, the nurse comes to Canada and starts working, under the supervision of Canadian registered nurses.
The temporary registration is valid for 12 months after issuance, so the nurse will need to prepare and pass the Canadian RN qualifying exam in order to obtain permanent registration/licensing.
Note: The passing rate for this exam for the foreign nurses already residing in the province of Ontario but with no Canadian work experience is 33-40%. However, given that the foreign nurses you hire as temporary workers will have had at least 3 months of local work experience by the time the exam is scheduled, the exam does not present a serious problem. To avoid delays, many Canadian healthcare employers prefer to provide additional training to foreign nurses to help prepare for the nursing qualifying exam.

Please note that if the nurse decides to work for a different employer before her contract with you expires, she/he will have to go through the whole process of getting a job offer and work visa on her own again. This fact usually provides a great degree of comfort to our clients. This process is in place in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan. Other provinces have slightly different rules, but the core structure remains the same:

Assessment of eligibility by the provincial College of nurses

Job offer

HRDC approval

Temporary registration/license

Work visa (medical exam and police clearance)

Arrival and start of employment, and finally

Nursing exam required for permanent licensure.

A couple of provinces in Canada make it impossible for foreign nurses to work at their facilities on the basis of temporary employment (work visa), only as landed immigrants/permanent residents.