bear-diesel

hi this is my first time here
i wonder if anyone can help me, i am intrested in nursing at calgary childrens hospital and would love to here from anyone who has achieved this. i am unsure which way to apply, whether to apply for immigration and registration with the alberta board or just to apply to the alberta board and get a work permit. on contacting edmonton paeds hospital they only give temp contracts to overseas nurses and i have read that you need a permanent job offer to get a work permit, is this right?
has anyone sat the canadian exam and how does it relate to english nursing? it has been 22 years since i sat my finals, but i have since done my rscn. as i have worked in paeds operating theatre for the last 14 years the thought of a general exam is quite daunting.
also, hubby and 2 kids are coming so which is the best way to allow us both to work on landing

jo

londonexile2005

Hi I am a psychiatric nurse , so don't know much about regisratyion for general nurses. However, I am sure you can get a temporary work permit, so you wouldn,t need a permanent post. You could then get a permanent post while you were out in Alberta, and apply for the Provincial Nominee Programmme, which is a fast track immigration route. The skilled worker route can take 3 years, whereas PNP can take a year or less.
We visited Calgary and Edmonton in May 2004. I liked both places, especially Calgary, but we decided to settle on Vancouver Island. I have a job to go to there as a psychiatric nurse- just need to sell my house. I now have a work permit, and have been informed that BC will sponsor me for PNP, which is great. Now I have to send all the pepaerwork to the High Commission in london, and hopefully they will agree it all. Then I get permanent residence.
There is a really good discussion list - brits2vancouver@yahoogroups. Although it is for people going to BC, there are Brits who have settled all over Canada. There are some nurses on it. What they don't know about immigration isn't worth knowing, and it is a very friendly site.
If I can be of any help please let me know.

bear-diesel

hi many thanks for reply
i am confused over the many different ways to apply. does this mean that i sort my own job out? if so where do i then apply for a temp work permit? would this way enable my family to come with me, and if so would we then have to wait a certain time for my hubby to get work or could he look straight away? would you recommend contacting the hospital then visiting or cotacting the hospitals on the pnp regisster that are actually looking for overseas nurses? i find all this daunting as i keep getting confilcting advise.

londonexile2005

Hi Bear Dieesal,
The priority at first is to get your nursing qualification recognised by the Alberta nursing Registration College. You do this by contacting them, filling out the paperwork they send, and getting NMC in london to send details of your U.K qualiifcation and registration. NMC have a form you fill in, and they send the details direct to Alberta. I recommend discusing your plans with them from the oustet, and contact the Alberta PNP office.
The Registration folk in Alberta were very helpful to me, and would be worth you talking to them about jobs. I see no reason why you should not contact prospective employers your self- but they will probably not be interested until you get confirmation you are registered to practice in Alberta. You also should be in contact with the hr department of the hospital you want to work in- local mangers do not understand the immigration process- you must make sure the post is open to a foreign nurse. Sometimes you can get a job on the basis you expect to be registered- but best to check that out with the Registration office first.
Re immigration- I am not surprised you are confused!! it is confusing!. Basically, once you have a written confirmation of a job offer, you can apply for a work permit. All the forms are on the London Canadian High Commission web site. You aplly to London office for the work permit.
Your family can come with you - my wife received a work permit as well as me, as long as you fill out the paperwork correctly. Your husband should be eligible for work straightaway.
Once in Canada obviously you will need to take the exam, but I have heard of nurses starting work first, there is a time limit on how long you can practice before you have to take the exam. Once in Canada, you can apply for permanent residence via the "skilled worker" route, which can take 3 years. However, if you are able to get a full time permanent post you can apply for the Provincial Nominee Programme. There is web site for the Alberta PNP programme, I believe, and it is worth contacting them for more info. This process is considerably quicker, about a year from start to finish.
There is a very good website brits2vancouver, with a discussion list. Although it is focussed on BC, in reality there are people on there from all over Canada who have emigrated. What they don't know about emigration is not worth knowing, and I strongly recommend them.
It will all become clear eventually, believe me. The best advice will come from the immigration authorities- it is they you need to satisfy.
I hope this has been helpful, and if I can be of further help please don't hesitate to get in touch- I know what an ordeal the process can be, but at least as nurses we are actually needed in Canada, which gives us a head start on lots of others!
David