RN from the US moves to Canada

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Hi, I am an RN in the States and recently married my Canadian husband and moved to Canada Ontario. (nationality: South Korean)

I am planning to change my license to Canada license, and I heard CNO/NNAS thing takes forever. How long the process usually takes?

Also, I live in Canada where it takes 15 minutes by car from the US border. At first I thought about not changing my license, but I only have work permit here (in the process of obtaining PR card) Is there any hospital in Detroit (or any other places) sponsoring people who have Canada work permit?

Lastly, compared to the States, what are the benefits working in Canada? I heard getting an RN position in Canada is harder than finding one in the States.

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Specializes in Medical - Surgical/ General Surgery/ICU.

Hi. My situation is kinda the other way around. My application is on the way to the US. But I will be keeping my Ontario RN license & paying the yearly renewal fee if that time comes.

See NNAS

See CNO

It takes some time. My friend applied for NNAS and it took a while as you said. As per CNO:

Quote

Completing the registration process can take from anywhere from 3 - 18 months, but this is a guideline only. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure the timely delivery of all documentation and other information that NNAS and the College request.

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that's true US is im a hiring frenzy right now. Canada I don't know maybe there a lot of nurses. I know a lot of RPN still working as a psw

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On 3/25/2019 at 10:27 AM, soljhs said:

Hi, I am an RN in the States and recently married my Canadian husband and moved to Canada Ontario. (nationality: South Korean)

I am planning to change my license to Canada license, and I heard CNO/NNAS thing takes forever. How long the process usually takes?

Also, I live in Canada where it takes 15 minutes by car from the US border. At first I thought about not changing my license, but I only have work permit here (in the process of obtaining PR card) Is there any hospital in Detroit (or any other places) sponsoring people who have Canada work permit?

Lastly, compared to the States, what are the benefits working in Canada? I heard getting an RN position in Canada is harder than finding one in the States.

You can get sponsored if you have a few years of Work experience. It doesn’t have anything to do with your status in Canada unless you are a Canadian citizen.

Same thing for your NNAS/license transfering, it will take you a long time to transfer your license because they only take account of your education background in Korea. If you did your nursing education in the US, it will be much easier to get a Canadian license. Many Korean nurses end up taking refresher programs in Canada. I’m Korean too and many of my peers spend average of 3 and up to 5 years getting their Canadian RN license. This is including the refresher program

If you worked in the USA, working in Canada is very different and you get paid less so it’s something you will have to get used to. I have many Korean nurses who moved to to the USA after immigrating in Canada because the pay is better, the license transferring is easier, and getting agency sponsors/work permit for USA is really easy at this time

p.s. I went to nursing school in USA and immigrated to Canada when immigration situation wasn’t so good in the states years ago

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On 3/26/2019 at 11:47 AM, hypnotizer90 said:

Hi. My situation is kinda the other way around. My application is on the way to the US. But I will be keeping my Ontario RN license & paying the yearly renewal fee if that time comes.

See NNAS

See CNO

It takes some time. My friend applied for NNAS and it took a while as you said. As per CNO:

Hi can you keep 2 licenses? From what I know you should change your lincse

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Specializes in Medical - Surgical/ General Surgery/ICU.
15 minutes ago, soljhs said:

Hi can you keep 2 licenses? From what I know you should change your lincse

Hi. All I know is as long as I pay my yearly license renewal in Ontario then I am still good. But, I needed to declare/ provide proof that I have practiced nursing within 3 years. "However, I must be registered in the jurisdiction in which I am practising for CNO to recognize it as evidence of practice." I could switch my license to non-practicing but it's not mandatory. Also, I am Canadian citizen and Ontario is still my primary residence except that my employment as a nurse is in the US.

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14 minutes ago, hypnotizer90 said:

Hi. All I know is as long as I pay my yearly license renewal in Ontario then I am still good. But, I needed to declare/ provide proof that I have practiced nursing within 3 years. "However, I must be registered in the jurisdiction in which I am practising for CNO to recognize it as evidence of practice." I could switch my license to non-practicing but it's not mandatory. Also, I am Canadian citizen and Ontario is still my primary residence except that my employment as a nurse is in the US.

Oh ok! If you get a job in USA, what would be your status? I heard about TN visa thing, is that what you are going to get?

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Specializes in Medical - Surgical/ General Surgery/ICU.
3 minutes ago, soljhs said:

Oh ok! If you get a job in USA, what would be your status? I heard about TN visa thing, is that what you are going to get?

Yes. I have posted (previous postings) that I am going to Maine. My CGFNS - Visa Screen is in process. (It will asses my credentials if comparable to the US). The Maine State BON application for RN licensure is ongoing as well. After I get my Visa Screen report & Maine license then I could apply for my TN VISA.

I already got a hospital job offer in Maine. The hospital lawyer told me to prepare these things to apply for TN visa via border/airport.

Quote

1. Company supporting letter

2. Original and photocopy of your diploma, transcripts, and license (in case the officer wants to inspect the original – you should not turn over originals for filing)

3. Copy of visa screen from CGFNS

4. Copy of Maine nursing license

5. Original Passport valid for more than six months after entry-date; and

6. Copy of your resume.

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23 hours ago, soljhs said:

Hi can you keep 2 licenses? From what I know you should change your lincse

You can. I have WA state license and BC license.

I pay about 750 dollars per year to keep both licenses... Canadian nursing license is expensive compared to the US

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6 minutes ago, dayandnight said:

You can. I have WA state license and BC license.

I pay about 750 dollars per year to keep both licenses... Canadian nursing license is expensive compared to the US

Oh wow ok thank you. I already have a license in the States and I got married and live in Canada, and I am in the process of getting Canada Permanent Residence card (nationality: south korea). Do you think while I have license in the US at the same time I can go ahead and apply for Canada RN license as well? (Since the process thru CNO takes forever) I don't know keeping 2 license thing is just for Canada citizens or not. I heard anything regarding nursing from Canada to US is easy, but the other way around is quite difficult.

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On 4/20/2019 at 7:13 PM, soljhs said:

Hi can you keep 2 licenses? From what I know you should change your lincse

You can have as many as you can afford. Canadian licenses aren't cheap, that's why few nurses do.

Example, one year I was licensed in both Alberta and British Columbia due to moving.

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1 hour ago, soljhs said:

Oh wow ok thank you. I already have a license in the States and I got married and live in Canada, and I am in the process of getting Canada Permanent Residence card (nationality: south korea). Do you think while I have license in the US at the same time I can go ahead and apply for Canada RN license as well? (Since the process thru CNO takes forever) I don't know keeping 2 license thing is just for Canada citizens or not. I heard anything regarding nursing from Canada to US is easy, but the other way around is quite difficult.

It doesn’t matter. I didn’t have a green card in the USA, and I didn’t have a permanent residency in Canada at that time (I’m Korean) and I had 2 licenses no problem.

like I mentioned in my first comment for this post, your USA license doesn’t matter for obtaining a Canadian license. Only your education matters. If you got educated in USA for nursing your process will be smoother. If you did your nursing in Korea, it will take a long time and will be a hard journey for sure

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