to apply in ontario as immigrant.nurse conflicted on provincial nominee or student

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Mar 23, 2013

There are several threads here discussing the difficulties IENs are having with all aspects of immigration and registration. You might want to read them. Be aware that the Canadian economy is seriously depressed these days and there are hundreds of locally-educated nurses who haven't found jobs anywhere in Canada. Ontario, Alberta and BC are all under hiring freezes that aren't likely to resolve any time soon. Your best bet? Stay where you are for the foreseeable future. You have a job and a place to live. There are no guarantees you'd have either here.

itsmejuli · Mar 24, 2013

I'm sure the consultancy agency will tell you there are jobs here in Canada because you are paying them.

There are no jobs here in Canada.

Read all the threads related to international nurses, can't find a job, new grad unemployment.

arielle17 · Mar 24, 2013

Well that's quiet depressing..thank you for the advices.. I have read some of the threads and it really conflicted me. The situation that got me encouraging to land in canada is way to different from the present scenario that you mentioned. Are you saying it is a waste of time and money if I will apply as student of PNP? IF I push my immigrant application ,can I get jobs other than being a nurse ? Are they linient if I will have other jobs? Thanks again

Silverdragon102, BSN · Mar 24, 2013

What is PNP you are talking about? PNP I am aware of is Provincial Nominee Program and I know there are changes afoot. As a immigrant you can work anywhere as long as any requirements are met ie RN = RN ie professional requirements. Immigrant visa allows you to live and work in Canada. Jobs may be hard but as long as you are prepared and willing to work at it I see no reason if Canada is really where you want to be then go for it. Just keep yourself aware and up to date with immigration and jobs

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Mar 24, 2013

The provincial nominee program is entirely employer-driven. To apply for PNP as a student you would need to have graduated from a Masters or PhD program through an ONTARIO university and have an offer of employment. To apply for PNP through the general stream, you would need an offer of employment. The criteria, as per the Ontario government provincial nominee program website are:

1. Your prospective employer has first applied for pre-screening of a position. Investors need to have their investment endorsed.

2. The position has been approved.

3. Your prospective employer sends you the employer’s approval letter, Joint Verification form signed by your prospective employer, and Pre-screen Position form.

There are eligibility requirements for PNP that include a minimum of 2 years full-time, verifiable, relevant paid work in the field you're applying to, an offer of permanent full-time employment in a skilled occupation and legal status in Canada.

So, as you can see, you will not be able to apply through the PNP because there are no jobs available for nurses that cannot be filled with Canadian applicants.

You could still apply for immigration - there's nothing stopping you from doing that. Jobs that you might be applying for would be for serving coffee at Tim Horton's, selling burgers at McDonalds or sandwiches at Subway, cleaning office buildings, planting trees or any number of other service-type jobs that pay minimum wage... which is not enough to live on in Ontario.

arielle17 · Mar 24, 2013

Is it true that even though Canada demands higher taxes, the payback is very satisfactory such as free education, healthcare support? As a nurse ,can i work there as a caregiver? Is the pay enough to live as An immigrant there while processing my papers to become RN there?

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Mar 24, 2013

Free education is only available through high school (Grade 12) and the quality of that education varies quite a lot. Health care is not free, it's tax-payer funded. BC and Ontario also charge health care premiums on top of the tax money collected.

You can work as a caregiver if that's what you want. You still require a labour market opinion that the caregiver job cannot be filled by anyone already living in Canada, a firm written job offer, education equivalent to the Canadian Grade 12, fluency in English or French and a work permit. Under this visa you have to live with the family that hires you. These jobs typically are low-paying, since they're providing you with a roof over your head and food. They're also open to exploitation of the worker. Pay in Ontario is currently $10.77 an hour, and no overtime accrues until you've worked 44 hours in one week. Room and board costs are deducted from this amount, to a maximum of $85.25 a week. You will also have deductions for income tax, Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance and other standard deductions. You can only work for a single employer, meaning that you're essentially indentured to the family that employs you. And don't forget that you cannot perform any nursing skills that would be beyond the scope of an unregulated caregiver. TFWP Live-in Caregiver Program

As I say, you can do it. However, it's not a very good way of getting your foot in the door so that you can then apply to be considered under the skilled worker category. All the time that you're working as a caregiver puts you that much further from your last experience as an RN. That puts you at a disadvantage when it's time to submit your application for registration because the College of Nurses is going to want evidence of recent practice to assess competence against. It also will put you at a disadvantage when applying for employment as an RN because your skills will be rusty and your knowledge base will have stagnated. Others who have pursued this route have had a lot of difficulty and some were forced to abandon their plans to work as nurses.

arielle17 · Mar 25, 2013

Now that is not something I would want.How about applying as IEN and taking up LPN or RN? I Know most of my colleagues first took the LPN then applied as RN . Which package is better for me. I'm planning to get the LPN Package because the application fees are affordable compared to the RN package.. What is the situation in ontario on the job market of LPN? Is it okay to apply on this program while my immigration papers are being processed?

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Mar 25, 2013

The job market is extremely poor all over Canada at the moment. It's likely to be that way for at least a year or two due to budget constraints. The easiest way to manage cash-flow problems in the health care system is to cut down on payroll, so vacant positions will remain vacant, new vacancies will be ignored and those already working will just be expected to work longer and harder. You are NOT likely to find a job in Ontario as a nurse no matter which designation you decide upon; having permanent residency and a nursing license is not a guarantee of employment anywhere in the country.