published on 30 May 2023 @ 4:01 pm · COMMENT

IRCC Announces Temporary Public Policy to Facilitate the Issuance of Permanent Resident Visas for Physicians Providing Publicly Funded Medical Services in Canada

On April 25, 2023, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration announced a Temporary Public Policy to grant exemptions to certain provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations for physicians applying for permanent residence through Express Entry.

The purpose of the exemptions is to facilitate permanent residence applications for physicians providing publicly funded medical services who may be independent contractors, and/or who may have a job offer of less than a year in duration.

Qualifying Offer of Arranged Employment

Applicants under the Express Entry system can gain additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points for a qualifying offer of employment from a Canadian employer. Applicants under the Federal Skilled Worker category also receive additional points in the Federal Skilled Worker Selection grid for a qualifying offer of employment. Section 82(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protections Regulations stipulates that in order to be eligible, the offer of employment must be for continuous work in Canada, having a duration of at least one year after the date on which a permanent resident visa is issued.

Recognizing that some physicians have employment arrangements which do not specify continuous work with one employer for a duration of one year, IRCC has excepted certain applicants from meeting this requirement provided they meet the following conditions:

The foreign national:

1. 1. Was invited to apply for a permanent resident visa through Express Entry on or after April 25, 2023:
      1. as a member of the Federal Skilled Worker Class as described in section 75 of the Regulations; or
      2. as a member of the Provincial Nominee Class as described in section 87 of the Regulations
   2. Has an offer of employment issued by a provincial or territorial government, a government agency, a government appointed agency or a health care-providing organization to provide publicly funded medical services,
      1. as a specialist physician (NOC 3111) or general practitioner (NOC 3112) under NOC 2016; or
      2. as a specialist in clinical and laboratory medicine (NOC 31100), specialist in surgery (NOC 31101) or general practitioner and family physician (NOC 31102) under NOC 2021.

Canadian Work Experience

Applicants for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class must demonstrate at least one year of full-time wok experience in Canada. In order to be eligible for this program, as per section 87.1(3) of the Regulations, the applicable work experience cannot be self-employment. Self-employment also cannot be considered for the purpose of claiming Express Entry CRS points for Canadian work experience.

 

Many physicians in Canada work as independent contractors, including those work for public health authorities on a fee-for-service basis. These physicians can now use this work experience to meet the requirements for the Canadian Experience Class and to claim points for their Canadian work experience, provided they meet the following requirements:

The foreign national:

1. 1. Was invited to apply for a permanent resident visa through Express Entry on or after April 25, 2023
      1. as a member of the Canadian Experience Class described in section 87.1 of the Regulations; or
      2. as a member of the Provincial Nominee Class described in section 87 of the Regulations.
   2. Has acquired in Canada, within the three years before the date on which their application for permanent residence, one year of full-time work experience, or the equivalent in part-time work experience, including work experience that was remunerated for publicly funded medical services,
      1. as a specialist physician (NOC 3111) or general practitioner (NOC 3112) under NOC 2016; or
      2. as a specialist in clinical and laboratory medicine (NOC 31100), specialist in surgery (NOC 31101) or general practitioner and family physician (NOC 31102) under NOC 2021.

IRCC has also updated the Ministerial Instructions Respecting the Express Entry system to reflect these changes. These changes will result in a more facilitative permanent residence pathway for physicians providing publicly funded services in Canada.

filed under: IMMIGRATIONPERMANENT RESIDENCE