lana21

Hi there I was wondering if anyone would be able to help me! I am currently half way through my nursing training here in the UK! And I am looking to come to Canada with my partner after I Graduate, what are the chances of me getting a visa? What is the lifestyle like in comparison to the UK? Also which area is appropriate for my career choice ? I have visited once and it has been my dream ever since, to ultimately emigrate? Thank you

colchar

Welcome!

We cannot answer your questions about lifestyle and career without knowing which area you are considering going to. Canada is the second largest country in the world and covers 9,984,670 km2 (3,854,085 sq mi). To give some perspective on that the UK is the 80th largest country in the world and covers only 243,610 km2 (94,060 sq mi). In other words, the entire United Kingdom would fit into Canada 40.98 times! Heck, the entire UK would fit into just the province of Ontario 4.41 times and the GTA (Greater Toronto Area - the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Toronto and including Toronto itself) has a larger population than all of Scotland or Wales. Because Canada is so large the range of lifestyles is enormous, even within the individual provinces, so knowing which area you want to move to, or which areas you are considering, would help us answer your question more accurately. Even knowing what kind of lifestyle you would prefer, or might like to try out for a while, would help. Are you more urban than rural? Are you more rural than urban? Do you like the suburbs or do you prefer to be right downtown in the thick of things? Do you like to do outdoorsy stuff? Do you prefer cultural pursuits (museums, at galleries, etc.) or something else? Having some idea of your preferences would help us to provide better answers to your questions.

The same would go for career prospects because labour trends will be different all across the country. It would also help to know if you are pursuing a specialty within nursing (pediatrics, etc.) as that might help us to propose areas that are in need of nurses with those particular skills.

I think a good place for you to start would be to check out the Wiki articles:


http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Catego...an_Immigration


http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Catego...dian_Lifestyle


http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Catego...da_City_Guides



Once you have read over the info there, you might be in a better position to ask more specific questions which will enable us to provide better answers rather than just generalizations.

dbd33

The conclusion here is is simply not true. Canada is a large country but culturally homogenous and largely unpopulated. It doesn't offer more diversity than Lancashire.

Of course, it doesn't matter that it's not diverse and is largely uninhabited if you like the places where work is available. The way to go is to see where you might find a position by searching the forum on "nursing".

colchar

I have seen you make this claim here more than once and, to be perfectly frank, it is patently ridiculous. For example, the culture in Calgary is nothing like the culture in Newfoundland and the culture in Toronto is nothing like the culture in Quebec City. I don't know why you persist in making that ridiculous claim as it certainly isn't helpful to someone looking to emigrate here.

dbd33

Calgary, Newfoundland, Toronto, English speaking regions with a fast food culture; Tim Horton's is in all of them. The primary spectator sport in all of them is iced hockey. All of them have television and radio stations based in the US and some Canadian ones that are regulated to broadcast the same songs. Quebec City, I grant has a different language and a different look to the built environment. There is, of course, more squiddly diddly music in Newfoundland and more country in Calgary but that's a marginal difference, Stompin' Tom could play in either.

What would you say is the primary cultural difference between Calgary and Mississauga?

Oh, and I think the homogenity is helpful for an immigrant, if there's no work in Halifax but there is work in Victoria then no matter, it's all much the same, it's not like choosing between Prague and Paris.

Siouxie

I believe dbd was joking, lol - he does that a little bit.

dbd33

Er, I do but I wasn't. colchar even started a thread today saying that three Canadian cities rank similarly in the Economist list of things important to the Economist; that wouldn't be the case if they were wildly different. The Punjab vs. Kerala is difference within a country, the West Edmonton Mall vs. Square One is not.

(btw, I assume no one is contesting the unpopulated claim, I think we all know that almost all the people in Canada live within 100 miles of the US border.)

Abster21

I can't give too much of reply because I am still learning about Canada and the immigration process but from general knowledge I would read up as much as possible about registering over there as a nurse, the canadian nursing exams (nclex?) and their entry requirements. Hope that helps in some way

lana21

Hi, sorry I forgot to mention, when I came over I went to Alberta, Calgary we stopped over here on a school trip, also my best friend used to live around Toronto for a few years and we have compared both places. I really liked it in Alberta and am hoping to go back soon and also explore other areas. Also with regard to the lifestyle I am looking for, I currently live in a small town with the countryside half an hour away. I know i'm not a city person so really I want to be in a rural area. I have researched into the entry requirements for international nurses who are looking to move and work as a RN in Alberta, I know that you have to take the test (CRNE). For me England is not for me and I have known this since I was young but I also know that I need to research every small aspect before I decide to uproot my life and emigrate to somewhere else.

thanks for helping

Mad Jockette

Hi Lana

Have a thought and do some research on which province and area of Canada you would like to live / work in.

I believe that you will need at least one year post registration practice under your belt before applying.
Are you undertaking the Diploma / Degree?
Is it Adult course?

Contact the relevant nursing college for the province you would like to work in, have your qualifications assessed by them. You may need to do some assessments if you lack the hours in Paeds, MH, Maternal Health.

Once you have this done you can then apply for jobs through the relevant hospital websites. (Although it was only 5 years ago, I e-mailed my resume to various hospitals HR departments, they were then sent on to their international recruitment departments)

Put simply in a nutshell- Once you have been assessed and secured a job, you will receive an LMO, apply for TWP and move over. Once you are in employment you can then apply to sit the CRNE (Canadian Registered Nurses Exam), although some people have sat the exam before coming to work in Canada.


I hope this is helpful to you?

MJ

alcat2010

Yeah from what my wife has said that is a definite.. Am I right in saying the UK nurses specialise more in on of these roles and so lack in the skills / experience that Canadian employers need? ..

To retrain / do further study from what I believe costs a fair bit too..

(To the orihinal poster) Nurses have only recently been taken off the skilled worker list..

Silverdragon102

Yes in the UK they train either as Paeds, Adult, Mental Health or Midwife. In Canada and the US they train generally which means they gain experience in all areas. Therefore to meet the country's requirements the UK transcripts must show hours both clinical and theory in Paeds, Mental Health, Obstetrics and Adult. Currently no courses are run in the UK to top up hours to meet other countries requirements making it harder for nurses to move overseas. Also a lot of provinces now require International Educated Nurses (IEN) to do some form of assessment and for a lot further courses are required costing $$

alcat2010

Exactly...

There's no hope for us

OntarioIsForLovers

Not meaning to hijack your post, but I am a newly qualified paeds nurse working in PICU in the UK also wanting to move to Canada and from what I've researched its a nightmare! Total costs (for Ontario) in terms of your qualification being assessed, exam fees and membership comes to around 1500 CAD before you have even started working (about half that for PRN), most people will have to do extra training to top up their qualification, because as mentioned by other posters, UK courses don't offer midwifery as part of the program. In order to top up your qualification you need an BIEN (bridging for internationally educated nurses) for which you must be PR of a citizen. In total its so expensive and so complicated that I am faced with the very real possibility of choosing between nursing and moving to Canada!

Silverdragon102

As well as paying out to go through the process let me tell you it isn't cheap maintaining a nurses license. Average is $500 - 600 a year. I know mine has just gone up this year to $565.80