Canada removing barriers to permanent residence for physicians

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IRCC will now allow physicians who are already in Canada to apply for PR under Express Entry programs.

Due to Canada's continued nationwide shortage of qualified physicians, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is urging physicians already in Canada as temporary residents to make changes to their current status of permanent residency through Express to waive certain requirements in order to Getting Started Program.

 Physicians in Canada, in particular, often use a "fee-for-service" payment model, as opposed to the traditional employer-employee relationship, so physicians already working in Canada are eligible for Fast Track. On paper, this means that many doctors are currently considered self-employed in Canada for the time being.

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Self-employed individuals with this type of experience in Canada are not eligible for most economic immigration pathways, such as those offered by Express Entry. It is important to note that being self-employed alone does not disqualify a candidate. Candidates may be eligible for the Express Entry program if they have at least one year of overseas work experience or as an employee in Canada.

where

from,

doctors keep our families healthy and care for our aging population," Fraser said.

skills are an important asset in our community, and they will soon be Our neighbors, friends and community leaders. It's a win-win situation, and the measures announced today show we want them to stay "to make it easier for them to choose Canada as their permanent residence. I'm telling my doctor."

is another attempt by

to attract and retain doctors and other healthcare workers.

of June 2022,

permanent residents were hospitalized

Permanent Resident pathway for health care shedding.

the

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Nationwide shortage of healthcare workers

Canada’s current healthcare vacancy rate is close to 6%. This means that more than 136,000 healthcare professionals nationwide were covered in the second quarter of 2022. Manitoba had the highest vacancy rate at 6.7 per cent.

 IRCC data shows that one in four Canadian health workers are immigrants. This includes 36% of physicians. The same figures show that the health sector has around 500,000 workers over the age of 55, and thus will reach the retirement age of 65 over the next decade. To address shortages and shortages across all industries, Canada's immigration levels program targets the highest number of new permanent residents of all industries. Most of the newcomers are from the economy class program.

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As of 2022, IRCC has accepted more than 8,600 applications for temporary and permanent residency from foreign nationals intending to work in the medical field.

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Changes coming in Express Entry

The physician exception marks the beginning of fast-track changes expected to continue through 2023. Bill C-19 received royal assent in Parliament last June, giving IRCC more powers to target Express Entry candidates with specific work experience. Rather than inviting a wider range of candidates to apply based solely on CRS scores, as is the current standard, there is an emphasis on education or language skills.

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Mr Fraser told CIC News in June that the new authority would allow Canada to invite candidates who are ready to succeed in the job market, allowing new applicants to enter an already strong recruitment sector. He said he would allow them to be in positions where they could contribute to Canada's economy, rather than overload workers.

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"If you find yourself with a lot of applications related to a specific industry and there is not enough demand for that industry in Canada, the Express Entry system that exists today may be attracting people into the Canadian economy. It's not a perfect fit for our needs," Frey said. Ze said.

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