Health care professionals can immigrate to Canada through the Health Care Professional category of the B. C. provincial program.
British Columbia needs a great number of healthcare professionals. The Health Care Professional category of the British Columbia Immigrant Nominee Program (BCINP) helps doctors, nurses, and other health care workers to get permanent residency in that province.
Requirements
To be able to immigrate under Skills Immigration — Health Care Professional category, the applicant has to meet the following requirements:
- Have a full-time, indeterminate job offer in one of the eligible occupations (see the details in the section “Categories and Occupations of Applicants”)
- Qualify to work in the occupation in British Columbia
- Have at least 2 years of directly related work experience
- Show the ability to support oneself and dependent family members
- Provide certificates or licenses issued in British Columbia if they are required for the given occupation
- Have been offered a wage no lower than wage rates for similar occupations in British Columbia
- For those working in an occupation classified under NOC Skill Level B: demonstrate English or French language proficiency at Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 4 in each of the four competencies: listening, speaking, reading, and writing
Categories and Occupations of Applicants
Only professionals working in certain occupations may apply under Skills Immigration — Health Care Professional category:
- Clinical pharmacist
- Diagnostic medical sonographer
- Medical laboratory technologist
- Medical radiation technologist
- Midwife (must have a letter of confirmation from an established practice group in British Columbia confirming the acceptance into the group for at least 6 months)
- Nurse practitioner
- Occupational therapist
- Physician
- Physiotherapist
- Registered nurse
- Registered psychiatric nurse
- Specialist
Find out about other BCINP streams in the article “Immigration to British Columbia“.