American RN wanting to move to Canada

[whiteorchid81]

Hi everyone,

I'm a US citizen. Graduated nursing school September 2016 with an ADN (associate). My family and I would like to move to Canada and possibly become dual citizens. We were thinking of living in vancouver, BC. I have family living there. It would be nice to live near family.

I understand that Canada requires BSN and I would still have to go through the application to be allowed to work in Canada.

My questions are:

For BSN requirement, does it have to be an actual 4 year school or can I do the rn to bsn route that usually takes 6 months to a year (depending on school). And of course the school must be accredited with the nursing board. Does Canada have a list of US approved schools? Or is it as long as the school is approved with the nursing board?

Also, I looked into the process of applying for RN license in Canada. I'm a bit confused with the terminology used. I've read that I need to be assessed first but I don't understand what that entails.

Also, what comes first? Applying for the visa or applying for the license?

And I haven't taken the NCLEX just yet. Still have a few more weeks of studying to do. And if I passed the NCLEX here, is it true that I wouldn't have to retake the exam to get a license in Canada?

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. And please excuse my ignorance with Canadian immigration policies.

Thanks

[RN_Pro]

Does anyone know if there's an age limit for this job in Canada?

An age limit to be a registered nurse? No age limit in Canada. As long as you are fit to practice.

[TravelBuffRN]

Hi!

Jumping in on this conversation. I am a US BSN RN looking to work in B.C. for 6 months. I understand the licensure process (complex and consuming to say the least); however I can't find information on time frames for this process. I have 2.5 months before I move to Vancouver.

Also, do you know anything about work visas? Companies I've called for information on travel nursing in B.C. state I need my visa before they will work with me, but in order to obtain a visa you need an offer of employment. Catch 22!

Any insight would be magical.

Thank you! Rebecca

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Hi!

Jumping in on this conversation. I am a US BSN RN looking to work in B.C. for 6 months. I understand the licensure process (complex and consuming to say the least); however I can't find information on time frames for this process. I have 2.5 months before I move to Vancouver.

Also, do you know anything about work visas? Companies I've called for information on travel nursing in B.C. state I need my visa before they will work with me, but in order to obtain a visa you need an offer of employment. Catch 22!

Any insight would be magical.

Thank you! Rebecca

If you haven't started the process by now then I can honestly say you will not get a license in 2.5 months. On average you are looking at anything up to 12 months at that is going through NNAS and the provincial college and not having issues meeting requirements and is only an approximation on time but doubt it will be much less than that.

Work permits aren't given as much unless there is absolute proof that the company has tried to hire locally and Canada wide which costs $$ plus most employers even for NAFTA requires proof that you have a license or meets requirements

[RN_Pro]

Hi!

Jumping in on this conversation. I am a US BSN RN looking to work in B.C. for 6 months. I understand the licensure process (complex and consuming to say the least); however I can't find information on time frames for this process. I have 2.5 months before I move to Vancouver.

Also, do you know anything about work visas? Companies I've called for information on travel nursing in B.C. state I need my visa before they will work with me, but in order to obtain a visa you need an offer of employment. Catch 22!

Any insight would be magical.

Thank you! Rebecca

Sorry Rebecca, you won't be working as a RN in Canada in 2.5 months. There is absolutely no way to make this happen so you will want to change your plans. Licensing is likely to take around 18 months. Around a year to complete the NNAS process (they are backlogged and have no desire/manpower to meet any deadlines--and nobody is forcing them to). Then around 6 months for the licensing body to receive your NNAS Advisory Report, look at all of your documents, and assess whether or not you have met the education requirement. If yes, then you need to apply for a license and they need to go through the process of granting one. Licensing bodies are also backlogged. There is not a need for nurses in Canada so they don't have any incentive to speed up the process for Internationally Educated Nurses, especially when they have so many Canadian educated grads applying for a license.

Also, travel nursing isn't really a 'thing' here in Canada.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but better to know now than 10 weeks from now.