From the Desk of our Canadian

Immigration Specialist
Marc Laforce !!!

Nursing Opportunities in Canada

Canada’s “Green Card”: Nurse*

If you’re an RN or licensed practical nurse (LPN/LVN)

either in the US or abroad, you and your family members may qualify for a Canadian “Green
Card”!

Similar to the US program, a Canadian “Green Card” allows both you and your spouse, as well
as dependent children, to work or study in Canada for indefinite periods as long as you meet
the residency requirements.

There’s more. Under the Canadian program, permanent residency, or “PR”, may be obtained
without having to find a sponsor or employer. If your English is good and you have at least one
year of work experience as a LPN/LVN or RN, you can obtain permanent residency based on
your own merits under Canada’s renowned “67-point assessment” program.

“Unlike the US system”, says Marc Laforce,( Licensed Canadian immigration practitioner with
offices in the US and Mexico), “you don’t need the patience of a Buddhist to obtain lawful
permanent residency in Canada.” There’s no “priority date” to worry about, no quotas and no
“country profiling”. Anybody in the world can apply if they are licensed in their home or
resident country .. The assessment t is heavily skewed on your education, language proficiency
and experience. Assuming a candidate has a bachelor-level degree (like a BSN), has good
command of the English (or French) language and at least two years of experience within the
last ten years, there’s a good chance that he or she will obtain PR.

Because this is a priority program, all applications are filed directly in Canada as opposed to the
Canadian Embassy or consulate overseas. If professionally prepared, a decision by Citizenship
and Immigration Canada (CIC) will take approximately twelve months, which includes
interviews, background checks and medicals. Upon obtaining a permanent resident visa, the
applicant and his family members then have one year to settle in Canada.

As opposed to the US H1-B or H-1C visas, PR is not a non-immigrant or temporary visa. As a

permanent resident of Canada, you may obtain Canadian citizenship within four years of
settling in Canada. Upon reaching Canadian citizenship, you become eligible to work as a nurse
in the US on a Trade NAFTA (TN) visa for indefinite periods. TN visas, unlike their H1-B/H-1C
counterparts, may be obtained at the US border and take only about an hour to process! (You
need to be a Canadian or Mexican citizen to qualify for a TN visa.)

Be Proactive: Have a Backup Plan

While the majority of immigrant nurses are likely content with their US employer, they will
inevitably face the reality that their immigration process is extremely lengthy. Even if you come
on H1 visa still their immigration status is temporary.
*
While the majority of participants are registered nurses and licensed practical nurses
(LPN/LVN), the program is also eligible to doctors, radiologists and occupational therapists, to
name a few. Please turn to page 4 for a complete list of eligible health occupations under the
Canadian permanent resident program without a sponsor.

Given the uncertainty of visa renewals here, Alda Staffing has partnered with immigration
practitioners like Marc Laforce to offer the ultimate backup plan in the event lawful status is
not extended in the US. “Because a sponsor is not required in Canada”, reports Alda Staffing,
“We urge all our US clients to have a professional like Laforce put a permanent visa in play
within six to twelve months on the job”. What is there to lose? If worse comes to worse in the
US, a client will at least have secured Canadian PR.

Five Tips before Signing Up

There are a number of items you need to check before thinking about Canada. We have put
together five important points to consider before applying for PR.

1. Licensing Issues. Obtaining lawful permanent immigration to Canada, while a good first
step, does not necessarily mean you will be able to practice as a nurse – it only means that
you and your family members can legally settle and therefore study or work in Canada. It is
important to appreciate that if you are working in a regulated occupation, such as an
electrician or radiologist, you may need to first obtain a permit from the relevant
association to obtain a salary as a full-fledged electrician or radiologist. Fortunately, the
majority of occupations such as a marketing manager don’t require registration. For safety
issues, the majority of health occupations, however, do require registration.

Internationally trained nurses are required to register and hold a valid practice permit with
the relevant nursing association of the province – oddly called a “nursing college” even
though it is more of a regulator than a learning institution. . In some cases, you may be
able to practice in an interim capacity under the supervision of a LPN/RN prior to taking the
collegiate exam at a reduced salary. To obtain a practice permit(RN License )and
membership with a college, contact your employment agency who can guide you in this
process.
 If you’re a trained LPN/RN US practitioner, the process of “equivalency” should be relatively
straightforward given that the U.S. and Canada have similar requirements, with one
important exception as described in our next point.

2. BSN. Similar to the European Community, a US associate degree in nursing is not an eligible
diploma that can be used to register at a nursing college. Rather, a four-year BSN is
required in all provinces with the possible exception of Alberta. (Contact your employment
agency for details.)

3. English Proficiency. Before considering Canada’s “Green Card”, ask yourself if your English
proficiency is on par with resident Americans. If it is not, chances are that you will not
obtain a high enough score in the assessment test and you will not meet the permanent
resident requirements. Moreover, you will not be able to meet the collegiate requirements
if your English (or French if in Quebec) is not at the same level as a native resident.

Under the skilled worker program, permanent resident applicants who did not receive their
high school education in the US, UK or Australia must be able to prove their English (or
French) skills in reading, writing, understanding and speaking by passing a proficiency exam.
The preferred English exam was developed by the British and is called the International
English Language Testing System (IELTS). The British and Australian Councils have IELTS
centers not only in every major US city but practically in every large market in the world,
making it convenient to provide proof of proficiency documents.

4. Is your immigration practitioner lawful and duly licenced? According to Canadian law, only
an authorised representative can charge a fee to file an immigration application on your
behalf. An authorised immigration practitioner in Canada must be one of the following:

- A member in good standing of a Canadian provincial law society (Attorney)

www.flsc.ca/en/lawSocieties/websites.asp

- A member in good standing of the Chambre des notaires du Québec (Quebec Latin
Notary)
http://www.cdnq.org/fr/

- A member in good standing of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants (CSIC)

http://www.csic-scci.ca/en/find/

Members of the above entities are trained professionals that can assist you in
understanding the various stages of the immigration process. To maintain their licences,
representatives must obtain errors and omissions’ insurance. In our opinion, CSIC
members are the best entity to assist you on immigration as they deal only with
 immigration law, and it is the only group that requires passing professional development
courses on an annual basis to keep up with changes in the Immigration and Refugee
Protection Act. Attorneys and Quebec notaries, on the other hand, may get involved in
several branches, such as wills or corporate law.

Because immigration is not easy, we urge every health practitioner to choose an

authorised representative to handle your application for Canadian permanent residency;
this is especially true in light of the recession where the supporting documentation and
legal cover letter are considered critically important. By last count, about 25 per cent of
non-professionally prepared applications are returned due to incomplete forms alone, to
say nothing of the cover letter or supporting documentation.

In addition to confirming the status of a Canadian immigration practitioner, by visiting the

links provided here, one must also ask before choosing a representative if their area of
specialization is right for your case. For instance, Marc Laforce, himself a CSIC member
and one of the very few to be stationed in the United States (one of only twelve out of
1,400 members), opted to partner with the Dallas-based firm given their knowledge and
expertise of the US immigration process. Moreover, Mr. Laforce, Canadian-born, lived in
both English and French Canada, making him well qualified in a variety of provincial
programs as well. (Unlike the United States, Canadian immigration has shared jurisdiction
with Federal and Provincial/State levels.)

Eligible Health Practitioners

In addition to RN and LPN/LVN nurses, the following health occupations are also eligible to
apply for Canada’s “Green Card” as a skilled worker without having to secure an
employer/sponsor:

Physicians including General Practitioners

Head Nurse / Supervisor
Registered Nurse
Licenced Practical Nurse
Radiologists / Radiation Technologists
Occupational Therapists
Physiotherapists

Should you or someone you know have at least one year of experience in any of the
occupations above, contact your employment agent. If prepared and filed professionally, you
may be able to obtain permanent residency in Canada within one year.
How Do I Sign Up?

The easiest way to begin the process of obtaining Canadian permanent residency is to contact
Alda Staffing.LLC by phone, 972-202-9946, or by e-mail at info@aldatech.com.

Alda Staffing not only sources health practitioners in a variety of Canadian hospitals and health
networks but works with well-qualified and licensed immigration practitioners right here in the
United States.

Alda Staffing is also a registered agent of the offices of Marc Laforce, CCIC, a licenced Canadian
immigration practitioner with US offices in Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas.

“We Aim to exceed your expectations:

Experience the Difference"

Alda Staffing, LLC, 6108 Palomino Drive, Suite # 2024, Plano, TX 75024, USA.
Phone: (972) 202 9946 Fax: (972) 370 2542 :
E-mail: info@aldatech.com Web: www.aldatech.com