General Immigration Information for Foreign Physicians
Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents of Canada are given priority on all vacancies in the Province of British Columbia. As there is a great need for qualified physicians in British Columbia, foreign physicians may be considered for available positions in underserved communities if they are eligible for registration. Health Match BC can ease the burden of finding suitable employment. We will:
- Assess foreign physician’s qualifications to give an indication of the potential for securing British Columbia registration (license)
- Work on the physician’s behalf to obtain a preliminary assessment from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (CPSBC)
- Upon receipt of a positive preliminary assessment from the CPSBC, Health Match BC will refer you to appropriate British Columbia communities
The Process of Obtaining College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia Registration
The underserved community will apply on behalf of the foreign physician for registration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (CPSBC) once the physician accepts the offer of employment. The CPSBC reviews both the community's level of need and the qualifications of the physician. The CPSBC will advise the physician, the community, and Health Match BC in writing of their decision.
The Process of Obtaining a Temporary Work Permit
The underserved community will submit an application on behalf of the foreign physician to Service Canada after the College has issued a letter confirming the physician's eligibility for British Columbia registration. If the community's request is approved by Service Canada, the community will be issued a confirmation of employment and file number for the physician. This number will be forwarded to the physician who can then contact the nearest Canadian Consulate to apply for a temporary work permit.
If the physician has a partner who would also like to work in British Columbia, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will issue a temporary work permit to the spouse because the physician is a highly skilled worker in demand in Canada. More detailed information can be obtained from the Citizenship Immigration Canada website at www.cic.gc.ca.
B.C. Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
The B.C. PNP is available to assist eligible foreign physicians to obtain permanent resident status in an expedited manner. This program is administered by the Ministry of Economic Development in collaboration with Health Match BC.
Applicants to the BC PNP are required to have been working in British Columbia under a Temporary Work Permit for a period of approximately 3 months or more. During this time, they would have been given a positive assessment of their performance by their supervising physician.
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Notification of eligibility for the B.C. PNP will be sent to the physician by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C.
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The Physician completes the application forms and mails the application to Health Match BC. For more information about the process, please read the Health Match BC process document for the PNP. To download the Physician PNP Checklist, click here. To download the forms listed in the Physician Checklist, visit the BC PNP website.
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The physician receives a nomination letter from the B.C. Ministry of Economic Development so they can proceed with their permanent residency application with Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
For further details about the B.C. PNP or to request an application be mailed to you, contact Sandra Cutler, Health Match BC, Suite 200 - 1333 W. Broadway Ave., Vancouver B.C. V6H 4C6. Tel: 604-736-5920 ext 237 or by email at SandraC@healthmatchbc.org.
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