The only applicants who are allowed to do the IENCAP are those who have nursing experience in the country they are licensed in. Applicants who were educated outside of Canada but have not worked as a nurse yet are unable to do the IENCAP. They must either gain nursing work experience at home before applying through NNAS or go back to school in Canada.
I can only speak for Ontario. Up until around September, almost all applicants who had nursing work experience and received "somewhat comparable" or "non-comparable" were asked to do the IENCAP. Since College of Nurses of Ontario is now starting to realize the NNAS does not do a good job of capturing applicants' skills and knowledge, they have begun treating "somewhat comparable" the same as "comparable" by not requiring those who were "somewhat comparable" to do the IENCAP. Although, this is on a case-by-case basis so they still can require it if they choose. They sent letters out to a bunch of applicants who were previously instructed to take the IENCAP and told them they no longer had to take it and would be refunded the $400 fee for the exam. Instead of the IENCAP, they asked them for documentation which outlines their current nursing role/job description. Since it is highly likely your result will be "non-comparable", count on having to take the IENCAP if you are wanting to settle/work in Ontario. You must come to Toronto, Ontario for the exam as it is only available at Touchstone Institute.
