On May 31, the immigration minister of Canada, Sean Fraser, declared the launch of healthcare professions for category-based draws for Express Entry applicants. 

IRCC tends to focus on Express Entry applicants who have work experience and strong French language proficiency in the following fields: 

  • STEM professions 
  • Healthcare
  • Transport 
  • Agriculture/ Agri-Food
  • Trades 

 

The categories for the category-based draw were chosen depending on labor market projection & information along with the input obtained from IRCC partners, territories, provinces, & stakeholders across the country. 

The category-based draws are expected to start this summer. 

 

Why Was Healthcare Chosen As A Category? 

Canada relies heavily on immigration to fill job vacancies in healthcare professions. In 2022’s fourth quarter, there were over 143,695 job vacancies in the social assistance and healthcare category, thus making the job vacancy rate 6%. Well, this is the sector with the highest number of job canaries in Canada. 

In addition, a quarter of all registered nurses & 36% of physicians in Canada were born outside. Despite this, foreign-trained medical professionals often find it challenging to gain accreditation from authorities in Canada, thus making it difficult for healthcare professionals to seek work in their field. 

In response, IRCC is taking measures to make it easier for internationally trained healthcare professionals to immigrate to Canada, like removing some of the barriers for physicians who are already in the country on a temporary resident visa. 

 

Who Is Eligible For Healthcare Profession Category? 

In order to be eligible for the new category in healthcare occupations, you must: 

  • Meet eligibility criteria for at least one Express Entry program.
  • Meet all other requirements for occupations.  
  • Have at least six months of continuous work experience in one of the occupations listed in the past three years. 

 

What Are The Occupations? 

There are over 35 occupations in healthcare professions. Some of them are: 

  • Dentist
  • General practitioner 
  • Family physician 
  • Massage therapists 
  • Optometrists 
  • Physiotherapists
  •  Respiratory therapists 
  • Specialists in surgery 
  • Clinical perfusionist
  • Traditional Chinese medicines practitioners 
  • Veterinarian 

 

What Are Express Entry Category-Based Rounds Of Invitations Dependent On? 

IRCC asserts that category-based invitation rounds will invite applicants who are eligible for a particular category. Further, IRCC will invite applicants for PR based on the following criteria: 

  • Communication skills in a specific official language 
  • Education 
  • Work experience in specific TEER category of NOC, i.e., National Occupational Classification

Category-based draws add to program-specific as well as general draws by inviting top-ranking applicants who help meet the country’s economic goals. 

 

Will Applicants Be Ranked Using CRS? 

Express Entry applicants in the pool are ranked using a point-based system called CRS, i.e., a Comprehensive Ranking System. This system evaluates the applicant on human capital factors, like assessing age, education, work experience, language capabilities, etc. 

However, this score is relevant in sending invitations to applicants for category-based draws. In addition, IRCC sends invitations to top-ranking applicants who are eligible for a specific category in the draw.