How long will the CRNBC application process usually take?

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i am a msn and have 4 yrs icu experience in the states. since my boyfriend got a job offer in vancouver, i've been working on my bc rn application. i submitted my application on end of oct. the crnbc received my application on nov-9, and i got my registration no. on nov-22. i kept checking my status online, but crnbc still hasn't reviewed my application. finally, i connected my registration officer, but she told me due to the current back log in international applicants pre-assessments are being processed in approximately 12 weeks once received (dizzily.....).

all the people i talked in crnbc were very nice and friendly, but the process is just..... so slow. how long does it usually take from your experience? is there any way the process can be speeded?

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Hi,

Yes, i agree. i think the only thing to speed up the process is by submitting everything all at the same time, which i know u did. In my case it took three months too. By then ull definitely get it.

take care

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It is a long slow process - I am about midpoint right now. It took about 9-10 weeks for me to get back my approval for testing/temporary license. The I found out about the work permit process. You have to have a job offer to get a work permit, and processing the work permit application takes about 4-6 months (coming from the US). I'm working on the job offer right now.

Good luck!

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You are able to work there with a TN Visa, just the same as for Canadians wishing to work in the US. You could have saved yourself months of waiting.:)

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You are able to work there with a TN Visa, just the same as for Canadians wishing to work in the US. You could have saved yourself months of waiting.:)

No, it is not the same - it is MUCH easier for workers to come into the US from Canada than the other way around. All the info is on the Canadian Immigration website, and there is also an organization (for those of us oving to BC) called Healthmatch BC which helps you through the process. The hospitals up there are all familiar with the process and have no problem offering you a job and then waiting 6 months for you to get there.

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Ghostcat, do you mind to say something more about the visa? I am an US citizen. All I know is to get my temporary license --> job offer --> TN visa at border --> Canada. Do I miss anything here?

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yxj124 you might want to contact healthmatch bc (they havde a website) - I thought from what I had read on the immigration website that it went sort of like that. Somewhere I missed the part about the work permit. Healthmatch will walk you through the process after you have been "approved" by CRNBC.

"The nonimmigrant NAFTA Professional (TN) visa allows citizens of Canada and Mexico, as NAFTA professionals to work in the United States." (http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1274.html)

"The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) established a TN nonimmigrant visa category for Canadian and Mexican citizens. The TN category enables Canadian citizens (not landed immigrants) and Mexican citizens to be admitted to the United States to temporarily engage in "business activities at a professional level" in certain fields, for one or more specific employers." (http://web.mit.edu/scholars/administrators/tn.html)

"When a foreign-trained Registered Nurse or Registered Psychiatric Nurse has received an offer of full-time employment with a British Columbia health employer, the employer and nurse will fill out the necessary application forms for Immigration. A nurse may come to Canada to work under a temporary work visa for a period of one year or apply for a permanent resident visa through the B.C. Provincial Nominee Program with the support of the employer.

After making every reasonable effort to hire a qualified and available Canadian or Permanent Resident, the employer will submit an application on your behalf to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC). If the employer's application is approved, your employer will provide you with a validation letter. At that time you may apply to your nearest Canadian Consulate for a temporary work permit.

Foreign-trained nurses governed under an international trade agreement with Canada (such as NAFTA) may apply with their job offers directly to the CIC at their nearest Canadian embassy, high commission, or consulate for a temporary work permit without the need for HRSDC validation.

A medical examination will be required for all foreign-trained nurses before a work permit is issued. A temporary work permit is usually renewable annually. From the time of application to CIC to the issuance of the work permit, the processing time will vary, but usually takes a minimum of four months.

If you have a partner who would like to work in British Columbia, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will issue a temporary work permit to your spouse because you are a highly skilled temporary foreign worker in demand in Canada. More detailed information can be obtained from the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website at www.cic.gc.ca." (http://www.healthmatchbc.org/hmbc_nurses.asp?pageid=630)

In other words the only benefit NAFTA gives us, as US citizens going to Canada, is that we don't have to wait for the process of having our job offer approved by HRSDC. The process to get the temporary work permit is still 4-6 months though.:icon_sad:

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With the changes in US immigration rules, Canadian nurses face about the same wait time (thanks to the visa screen). I went to school in BC and found them to be ridiculously slow about getting me my lisence, so I can only imagine the frustration of foreign nurses.

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