As a result of changes made by IRCC, physicians who currently reside in Canada temporarily. They will not be required to meet some of the current requirements to apply for permanent residence through Express Entry. Across the country, there is a shortage of physicians due to the ongoing shortage of qualified doctors.
The most significant reason why doctors newly hired in Canada are ineligible for Express Entry. It is fact that many Canadian doctors adopt an employee-employer relationship that differs from the usual “fee-for-service” arrangement. Doctors who are temporary residents of Canada are considered independent contractors.
Economic immigration is the most common form. Individuals who acquire their skills within Canada are ineligible for Express Entry programs. Candidates are not automatically disqualified. Self-employment is the reason. The Express Entry program may still be available to applicants. If they have a minimum of a year of professional experience in Canada or overseas.
Self-employed people who acquire this experience in Canada. Those are ineligible for the majority of economic immigration routes, including those provided by Express Entry. Being self-employed alone does not automatically disqualify a candidate. An applicant may still be qualified for an Express Entry program. It doesn’t matter if they’ve worked abroad or for a Canadian company for at least one year.
An applicant may still be qualified for an Express Entry program. Even if they have at least one year of job experience working abroad or for a Canadian employer. Particularly in the native province, foreign-born doctors have been assisting in maintaining family health and caring for our older population, said Fraser. “Their talents are important assets in Canada’s community. It doesn’t take them long to become our neighbors, friends, and fellow leaders. It is advantageous for both parties when doctors relocate to Nova Scotia or another region of the country. These initiatives are designed to encourage these doctors to make Canada their permanent home by making the decision to make it easier for them to do so.
The initiative is just another effort by the IRCC to draw and keep medical professionals. Through the healthcare pathway, 4,300 permanent residents had been admitted as of June 2022.
Lack of healthcare professionals across the country
Nearly 6% of healthcare jobs are vacant in Canada at the moment. More than 136,000 healthcare practitioners will be needed nationwide in the second quarter of 2022, resulting in a shortage. Vacancies in Manitoba are at 6.7%, which is the highest in the country.
An estimated one in four Canadian healthcare professionals is immigrants. The number of doctors in this category is 36%. According to the same statistics, close to 500,000 workers will reach retirement age in the healthcare industry within the next ten years, which is 65. For all business lines within Canada, the Immigration Levels Plan aims to increase permanent resident numbers to address this shortage. The majority of entrants will be from programs for people of means.
Temporary and permanent residences have been applied for by over 8,600 foreign nationals seeking employment in the healthcare industry.
Upcoming changes to Express Entry
The exclusion of doctors marks the beginning of Express Entry changes that will likely last through 2023. According to Bill C-19, which was approved by Parliament last June, the IRCC will be able to target Express Entry applicants with specific work experience, qualifications, or language skills, rather than issuing invitations solely based on their CRS scores to a larger pool of applicants.
In a June interview, Fraser stated that the new regulations will allow Canada to invite applicants. As opposed to flooding the labor market with unqualified workers, well-positioned employees will be able to contribute more to the economy. Additionally, applicants are at a time when it is already healthy.
” At the moment, Express Entry could attract people that Canada doesn’t necessarily need for its economic future. “If you’re in a situation where there is a surplus of applications in one sector, which doesn’t have significant needs in Canada, you’ll receive an oversupply of applications in that particular sector,” Fraser explained.
Express Entry
With Express Entry, immigrants are able to complete their immigration process more quickly and easily. Although Express Entry is not an immigration program on its own, it serves as a mechanism for selecting candidates for immigration to Canada under the current immigration programs offered by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). The Federal Skilled Worker Program, the FSTP, and CEC are the programs that fall under Express Entry which is worked on a point-based system. A successful applicant receives an Invitation to Apply (ITA), followed by an application for permanent residence.