does australian nurse need ECA

[BKL]

Hi. My husband is in the early application stages for applying as a family physician to work in Canada. We are both Australian. We understand his application process. We are going to be seeking permanent residency express entry. I am an Australian trained Registered Nurse. I completed my bachelor of nursing in Australia in 1995 and have been constantly employed as a Registered nurse in Australia for the last 21 years. We will be seeking residency in Canada primarily under my husbands application, but I will eventually be seeking work as a nurse in Canada once we are settled.
My question is do I need to get a ECA for my Bachelor of Nursing Degree I achieved in 1995 before we make our express entry application or can this wait until i am seeking registration over there, and how is the best avenue to achieve this. I know i have to complete the IELETS general training test. We will also be applying with 2 children aged 10 and 8. Is there anything else i need to do in preparation for our express entry application.
Thank You

 

[TheMaze]

If you are claiming the degree on your application, and it was earned outside of Canada, you need an ECA.

 

[Yoda24]

Hi. My husband is in the early application stages for applying as a family physician to work in Canada. We are both Australian. We understand his application process. We are going to be seeking permanent residency express entry. I am an Australian trained Registered Nurse. I completed my bachelor of nursing in Australia in 1995 and have been constantly employed as a Registered nurse in Australia for the last 21 years. We will be seeking residency in Canada primarily under my husbands application, but I will eventually be seeking work as a nurse in Canada once we are settled.
My question is do I need to get a ECA for my Bachelor of Nursing Degree I achieved in 1995 before we make our express entry application or can this wait until i am seeking registration over there, and how is the best avenue to achieve this. I know i have to complete the IELETS general training test. We will also be applying with 2 children aged 10 and 8. Is there anything else i need to do in preparation for our express entry application.
Thank You

If you are going to claim points for your qualification, then you need to get the ECA. Please check the requirements if you need to practise in Canada, do they need your qualification to be assessed before getting registered as practise nurse ?

 

[jes_ON]

My question is do I need to get a ECA for my Bachelor of Nursing Degree I achieved in 1995 before we make our express entry application or can this wait until i am seeking registration over there, and how is the best avenue to achieve this. I know i have to complete the IELETS general training test. We will also be applying with 2 children aged 10 and 8. Is there anything else i need to do in preparation for our express entry application.

The ECA is not required for spouses. And since you will have to have your credentials assessed by the National Nursing Assessment Service (http://www.nnas.ca) to get licensed in Canada (which is not yet a "Designated Organization" for ECAs), it won't really benefit you down the road...

However, the ECA does give a few extra points on the Comprehensive Ranking Score. Suggest assessing your husband's score and then deciding if you need the points. So far, CIC has been issuing invitations to people with scores that exceed the 450 mark.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/crs-tool.asp

(Also note that depending on your ages, you might want to see if YOU score higher on the CRS, as either one of you could be the PA...)

 

[BKL]

After some research My husbands CRS score will hopefully be high enough to allow us to enter without much input from my score. In this case do both the PA and the spouse need to sit the IELETS test if his CRS score is already high. Or does the spouse need to sit the IELETS test regardless to be eligible for entry? English is my first and only language, so it's not the test I'm worried about. Just trying to save unnecessary expenses in this costly quest. Thank you

 

[Yoda24]

After some research My husbands CRS score will hopefully be high enough to allow us to enter without much input from my score. In this case do both the PA and the spouse need to sit the IELETS test if his CRS score is already high. Or does the spouse need to sit the IELETS test regardless to be eligible for entry? English is my first and only language, so it's not the test I'm worried about. Just trying to save unnecessary expenses in this costly quest. Thank you

I understand it may sound ridiculous but , yes, IELTS is compulsory for native English speakers for Canadian PR.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/language-testing.asp
The above link does provide any exception like other countries does.

You may also check this link
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/any-native-english-speakers-who-have-taken-the-ielts-t48688.0.html

 

[jes_ON]

After some research My husbands CRS score will hopefully be high enough to allow us to enter without much input from my score. In this case do both the PA and the spouse need to sit the IELETS test if his CRS score is already high. Or does the spouse need to sit the IELETS test regardless to be eligible for entry? English is my first and only language, so it's not the test I'm worried about. Just trying to save unnecessary expenses in this costly quest.

The language exam is required for the Principal Applicant, regardless of first language. It is optional for the spouse if you don't need the spouse's points, then you could skip it - I know it's not cheap.

But do take into consideration that many people have languished for a year with CRS scores that are just a few points under the CRS score for each draw...

Take a look at the CRS scores for each draw over the past year..
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/express-entry/past-rounds.asp

As for preparing to apply in the future, note that you will be applying through the Federal Skilled Workers (FSW) Program, but this may help you prepare.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/perm/express/intake-complete.asp