Is it easy to get an lmia as a nurse?
- Thread starter pxc3110
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May work full time in part time jobs at different hospitals or long-term care homes. At the hospital I work at (not a nurse) all postings for nursing positions are casual, full-time or part-time, not permanent. You need a LMIA for a permanent, full-time position plus be licensed. Look at the Atlantic provinces as believe they have a program for RNs. Assume you are a RN, not a LPN.
To get a LMIA, most likely private not public care funded by the province. Most physicians who immigrate to Canada never practice again because of the qualifications for licensing
Yes unfortunately many are under that false impression. Although there is a nursing shortage it is actually quite hard to find a permanent position. s already indicated many work on a casual basis, short contracts, work in multiple locations, etc. which allows institutions to not have to pay for things like benefits, pension plans, more job security, etc. There will hopefully be some pressure put on the system due to Covid to provide more permanent job opportunities. Given Covid shortages if you are licensed to work in Canada there is a good chance you will be able to get a job offer an LMIA somewhere in Canada as a nurse. For physicians they get hired with LMIA in some specific situations. They are already licensed and working in the US, UK, Australia, South Africa, Ireland or NZ and as long as there are many jobs going up filled in that speciality available in Canada they should get an LMIA.
my wife was a registered nurse in the UK with a good nursing degree from a good UK university and so far has not managed to get licensed in Ontario as the College of Nursing Ontario basically believe that a nursing degree from outside of Canada is inferior and therefore they are demanding that she completes additional courses (all of which were covered in her UK degree)
Thanks for sharing your experience. It helps for somes that only believe in information given by people who had the experience. (instead of offical info on websites, news articales, numbers and reports. )
Surprised. For physicians who are licensed from the UK the transition is quite easy. Normally health professionals from US, UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ and sometimes South Africa usually have an easy time. Just shows how screwed up the system is for nurses.
Yeah we thought it should be easier after all there’s a huge shortage of nurses here. In fact she got a job offer within 2 weeks of arrival but without the license, she can’t take it up but the hospital are keeping the position open for the time being.
Like physicians I’m surprised it isn’t easier because the training is similar. Can see that there may be more skill verification if it is advanced nursing like surgical nursing, ICU nursing, etc. Guess it is due to the fact that NCLEX is the standard in North America.
There is some movement to make things easier. I would see if her potential employer is willing to cover the costs of the tests. They may be willing to pay for at least one attempt as part of a signing bonus. No harm asking.