student visa in canada for a newly RN board passer

Silverdragon102, BSN · Feb 1, 2010

In what capacity are you looking at coming to Canada in? If you plan on coming in as a nurse then you wouldn't need a student visa unless you have to do some courses. You really need to be a bit clearer on what you want and would also suggest you do a search as there are a few threads discussing Canada

dreamerkid · Feb 3, 2010

thank you silverdragon102 for the reply.

first, id like to apply as a nurse but unfortunately i when i attended the migration seminar and have my resume assessed, i did not reach the points required to be qualified as a skilled worker in canada since i do not have any hospital experience. (i just passed the local board last june 2009). my first degree in not listed among the federal skilled worker released by the Canadian govt . so i cannot use it for my application. however, they suggest that i could apply as a student and get a course related in nursing and work in a part time basis as well. is it possible in canada? is this the same with australia?

Silverdragon102, BSN · Feb 3, 2010

Although nursing experience is sometimes required by the province each one is different and I have seen newly qualified nurses make the move to Canada with little or no experience.

Which province are you looking at applying to? Have you checked out that provinces college of RN requirements? Which route would you like to apply through TWP (Temp work permit) or PR (permanent residency)? If PR then work experience is required (12 months) and this is something that you could work towards whilst you are getting sorted with the college and obtaining eligibility to sit CRNE. Beware that you may be required to sit some sort of assessment like SEC before you get eligibility.

if you come as a student then as far as I can tell you need to be a full time student so not sure how you plan on working part time? there are restrictions on how much you can work when on a student visa and you also need to be able to meet requirements as set out here on the CIC website to obtain a student visa

CIC study in Canada Study permits

this explains requirements for a Work permit whilst on a study permit

CIC Work permit for students

Fiona59 · Feb 3, 2010

Students from overseas face high tutition fees. Usually double what a legal resident pays.

dreamerkid · Feb 9, 2010

thank you again silverdragon102 for the infos.

i just like to know what province in Canada you can recommend on me to apply even if i haven't had work experience? honestly, I'm really confused right now. i wanted to pursue my nursing career but there is no available/vacant position here in the Phils. that is why I am trying to look for opportunities abroad and maybe for a greener pasture. (i think most second coursers who took nursing feels the same way). thank you and i hope you could enlighten me more.

Fiona59 · Feb 9, 2010

We can't recommend a province for you. Ours is a huge country with different climates and lifestyles.

Canadian new grads are having a hard time finding employment and several provinces have hiring freezes. We are hardly the ideal place to migrate to at this point in time.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Feb 9, 2010

Like Fiona mentioned we can't recommend a province for you to apply to as we don't know what sort of person you are and what sort of things you want out of your move to Canada. You may want the coast or you may want mountains. Either way you need to do your research as well as look at what the job opportunities are as things are looking rough for Canadian nurses in many provinces with nurses moving for jobs especially if their spouse/other half etc is having to move to work

dreamerkid · Feb 13, 2010

sorry it took sometime for me to think about what you have said Fiona and Silverdragon102. I really appreciate your response with all my queries. Honestly, I'm a bit sad knowing about the situation there right now. Its really hard to look for a nursing job here in the Phils and yet opportunities abroad is getting lesser for us new nurses as well. Maybe like what you have said I should do more research and pray harder... really hard..........

Haoyin · Feb 13, 2010

Yeah times are getting harder and harder for nurses nowadays. Anyway, to Fiona and Silverdragon, I guess what dreamerkid means to say when he was asking for recommendations as to which province you can suggest is more of which province would accept nurses without experience. For Filipino nurses who dreams to work overseas, it isn't a question of lifestyle or climate, it is more of the possibility to acquire work. We are very much enduring in terms of work situations/conditions. Don't get me wrong, of course if there's a way for better work environment who wouldn't want that right? If there's a chance to work in a better climate without the need to suffer extreme cold/hot temperatures then that would be awesome. That said however, Filipino nurses take these circumstances secondary to the opportunity for work with better salary and a chance for citizenship or permanent residency status. We will take for granted pride and ego for the opportunity of a better life ahead.

@dreamerkid:

It is good if you can check out the threads under Canada. From the time I last looked into it, I read that they are having trouble finding nursing related jobs as well, unless you have some specialization that is in demand. Still, I recall that some forumers would say that freeze hiring doesn't apply everywhere, just in some major places I guess. You might want to read those threads and get an idea as to how you can sit the CRNE and qualify as a licensed nurse in Canada.

I know if you approach agencies here, they will require from you at least 2-3 years of working experience and some would even demand specialization from you or a Master's degree. They require this because they want to process applicants which have higher chances for them to find placement abroad and also make money from. I know your predicament of finding it impossible to land a nursing job around Manila. It may be possible though if you are willing to work in the provinces. Yet, I know as a fellow 2nd courser, you wouldn't want to waste further time in finding jobs and wasting precious moments getting experience here with meager salaries. I strongly urge you to read back into some threads and get info from people's experiences and then if you have spare funds, you can go to Canada and check the situation for yourself. You can go ask hospitals and stuff, for all we know, you just need to act upon it instead of just waiting around. Unfortunately for us, we have to keep spending after passing the Boards, just to land us a job.

I only have a vague inkling when it comes to how they process overseas nurses in Canada. But if it helps, I think you have to undergo some trainings before you can qualify to take the CRNE exams. And if I am not mistaken, say for instance you have work experience, you may be qualified to take the CRNE exam right away but if you fail then you have no option but to take a 1 year course before you can sit another CRNE. On one hand, you can always apply for a bridging program, go there under student's Visa and finish the course, take the exam and get your license.

Good luck.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Feb 13, 2010

Yeah times are getting harder and harder for nurses nowadays. Anyway, to Fiona and Silverdragon, I guess what dreamerkid means to say when he was asking for recommendations as to which province you can suggest is more of which province would accept nurses without experience. For Filipino nurses who dreams to work overseas, it isn't a question of lifestyle or climate, it is more of the possibility to acquire work. We are very much enduring in terms of work situations/conditions. Don't get me wrong, of course if there's a way for better work environment who wouldn't want that right? If there's a chance to work in a better climate without the need to suffer extreme cold/hot temperatures then that would be awesome. That said however, Filipino nurses take these circumstances secondary to the opportunity for work with better salary and a chance for citizenship or permanent residency status. We will take for granted pride and ego for the opportunity of a better life ahead.
@dreamerkid:
It is good if you can check out the threads under Canada. From the time I last looked into it, I read that they are having trouble finding nursing related jobs as well, unless you have some specialization that is in demand. Still, I recall that some forumers would say that freeze hiring doesn't apply everywhere, just in some major places I guess. You might want to read those threads and get an idea as to how you can sit the CRNE and qualify as a licensed nurse in Canada.
I know if you approach agencies here, they will require from you at least 2-3 years of working experience and some would even demand specialization from you or a Master's degree. They require this because they want to process applicants which have higher chances for them to find placement abroad and also make money from. I know your predicament of finding it impossible to land a nursing job around Manila. It may be possible though if you are willing to work in the provinces. Yet, I know as a fellow 2nd courser, you wouldn't want to waste further time in finding jobs and wasting precious moments getting experience here with meager salaries. I strongly urge you to read back into some threads and get info from people's experiences and then if you have spare funds, you can go to Canada and check the situation for yourself. You can go ask hospitals and stuff, for all we know, you just need to act upon it instead of just waiting around. Unfortunately for us, we have to keep spending after passing the Boards, just to land us a job.
I only have a vague inkling when it comes to how they process overseas nurses in Canada. But if it helps, I think you have to undergo some trainings before you can qualify to take the CRNE exams. And if I am not mistaken, say for instance you have work experience, you may be qualified to take the CRNE exam right away but if you fail then you have no option but to take a 1 year course before you can sit another CRNE. On one hand, you can always apply for a bridging program, go there under student's Visa and finish the course, take the exam and get your license.
Good luck.

The thing we are seeing more of is due to families within Canada relocating because they have to move for jobs so this is having an impact on some of the provinces. I live on the East coast and have definitely noticed a drop in jobs being advertised and many want eligibility to sit CRNE and state so in their job application. It is a catch 22 situation as a lot of employers require work experience as do some of the provinces. One of the reasons why we can't recommend a province is because things are so diverse and spread out here. It is a large country with lots of different lifestyles and would be better to do your own research both as lifestyle and what you want out of your new life in Canada as well as whether jobs are available. Would also suggest some other things to take into consideration is public transport especially if you do not drive as public transport may be limited. You say that Philippine nurses will work anywhere which is good but you still need to look at other things. If you plan on sending money back to the Philippines you need to look at lifestyle and see what you can afford and some provinces are more expensive than others.

Not everyone has to undergo some training before getting eligibility as a lot will go on what your transcripts state. However I have not seen anything that indicates if you get eligibility to sit CRNE and fail it you have to do a bridge program for a year once you have eligibility to sit CRNE you have 3 attempts to pass and only then are there further requirements

Haoyin · Feb 13, 2010

Hey dreamerkid

Silverdragon has once again shared some very good info to consider. Thanks Silverdragon for always sharing very good insights and information.

I guess it would be a hard decision for any overseas nurse to jump into Canada with how things are going on right now. I just hope that there would come a time in the near future for jobs to open up for nurses especially for the newly grads. It's really saddening that the nursing profession has come to a stand still with so many nurses ending up jobless considering that we took a very decent job, and pledged an oath to take care of those who are in need.