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Canada Needs More Healthcare Heroes: How Express Entry Plans to Help

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Canada desperately needs more healthcare workers. Express Entry healthcare draws were implemented in 2023 as one of the tools at the Government of Canada’s disposal to attract and retain these critically needed nurses, physicians, dentists, and other healthcare workers.

Express Entry, as the name implies, expedites immigration applications. Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in Canada seeks to process the majority of applications within six months, implying that the time between application and approval for permanent residency should be no more than six months, though this cannot be guaranteed.

Why is Healthcare a Priority for Canada?

Canada has been battling with doctor and nurse shortages for quite some time. Hospitals have been forced to close emergency rooms overnight or permanently due to a lack of staff.

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Over 180 emergency room doctors in Calgary published a public statement outlining how bad things have gotten.

To make matters worse, healthcare job openings reached a record high last year. Over 143,000 healthcare jobs remained vacant in the latest quarter alone. Immigration has traditionally helped fill healthcare jobs; around one-third of doctors and one-fourth of nurses in Canada were born elsewhere.

Foreign healthcare experts, on the other hand, frequently experience difficulties in obtaining work permits in the country. The government aims to make it easier for skilled doctors, nurses, and others from outside to become licensed and begin working in Canada’s healthcare system immediately.

How Many Healthcare Staff Does Canada Actually Need?

According to government statistics, nearly 330,000 new healthcare workers will be needed in Canada during the next decade.

Specifically, around 155,000 new registered nurses, 49,000 family doctors, 30,000 specialists, 16,000 pharmacists, and several other positions will need to be filled.

The numbers are clear. Canada is in desperate need of healthcare professionals and welcomes competent immigrants to help fill those vacancies.

How to become eligible for the Express Entry healthcare draws

To be eligible for healthcare draws, you must first be eligible for an Express Entry-managed program.

To clear up a widespread misperception, Express Entry is not a standalone immigration program. Officially, it is an immigration application management system that uses an expression of interest intake approach for some Canadian immigration programs.

To immigrate, you must first submit your profile to the candidate pool so that Canada is aware of your intent to immigrate.

Then, if you meet specific standards, such as a total of points depending on several characteristics, Canada will invite you to apply for permanent residency. You cannot apply for immigration through Express Entry until you get an ITA (Invitation to Apply) from IRCC during an Express Entry draw.

IRCC will only accept your profile into the Express Entry pool if you are eligible for any of the following immigration programs:

  • Federal Skilled Worker (FSW)
  • Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
  • Federal Skilled Trades (FST)

Based on the documents and information you submit demonstrating your work experience, education, age, and official language proficiency, you will be assigned a score on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).

Your CRS score determines whether you obtain an ITA in a round of invites, often known as a draw. When IRCC holds an Express Entry draw, it invites the top-scoring candidates.

In an all-program draw, IRCC only invites the top candidates from the pool. In a category-based draw, IRCC invites the top-scoring candidates who meet the category’s eligibility requirements.

Healthcare Express Entry draws are category-based. To qualify for the health worker category, you must have completed at least six months of full-time work in a suitable occupation during the previous three years. Please see the list of eligible vocations in the section below.

To put them in simple steps:

Submit your profile to the Express Entry pool.

Make sure you can verify that in all your qualifying job experience, you have at least six months of eligible experience in healthcare (within three years of being given an ITA and IRCC receiving your application).

Wait for an ITA (or enhance your points total and hence your chances of acquiring an ITA).

Respond to the ITA with your application for permanent residence.

Following that, you will await a decision from an IRCC official. If approved, you can become a permanent resident of Canada.

Conclusion

Canada’s workforce shortages could present you with an opportunity. Express Entry Healthcare prioritizes healthcare workers for permanent residency, which includes the freedom to live anywhere in Canada without being linked to a single employer. Accompanying family members may also settle in Canada with the primary applicant.

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