25 Steps: How to Work in Canada
1) You have already taken the first step. You have contacted us to help you plan and carry out your goal of working as a doctor in Canada.
2) The second and most important step is the following. Are you totally committed to a move to Canada? Many doctors want to move to another country, but are not sure if it is the right decision. Think about it seriously. Is it really right for you? It is costly to move. Changing your lifestyle may be difficult. Make sure that a move is right for you and your family by talking it over thoughtfully.
3) Does your partner feel the same as you about the move? Many times it is the spouse who suffers because of a move. You may be working while your spouse sits at home with the children, cut off from family and friends, and having a hard time meeting new people. We encourage you to have 100 percent family support for your move.
4) Are you thinking you will come to Canada and see if it works out? If so, this is the wrong attitude. Come to Canada determined to make it work out, no matter what. You’ll find it easier to integrate into your new country with a positive attitude.
5) Your next step should be to decide which country is best for you. Study each possibility carefully. Make a list of what is positive and what is negative for you, your family and your lifestyle. Look at the climate, living standards, income potential, educational standards for your children, and other issues. We hope you will choose Canada.
6) After you have chosen Canada, the next step is to decide where in Canada you want to work. Much depends on your qualifications and where you have studied. Your medical training will decide which province will accept you. Some medical schools are accepted in all provinces. Some are accepted in only some provinces. However, some of you will not be accepted in any province. Contact us to help you with that.
7) Once you have decided on a province, the next step is to find out if you are considered eligible by the College of Physicians in that province. We can provide you with a list of the Colleges where you can apply. There is a fee involved at some of the Colleges.
8) The College application can be filled out online. To find out more about the Colleges and application procedures, we can provide a list of the Colleges.
9) College applications require personal references. Have the names of at least three persons in the medical field ready when they ask for it. The College will contact these references about your character.
10) When you receive a confirmation that you are eligible to work in that province, you can begin your job search. You can, however, contact us the moment you apply to the College. We will have a good idea if you are likely to qualify for working in that province. We can start looking for a job for you that will fit your qualifications.
11) With your document of approval from the College, we’ll help you become familiar with the different jobs available in the different health regions.
12) Please make sure your Curriculum Vitae (CV) is up to par for your job application. Look under Curriculum Vitae on our website to see how it should look.
13) We will pass on your name and CV to the regions we think will be interested in you. The health regions will then contact us to confirm that they are interested in you.
14) With now one or more health regions interested in you, we will consult with you on which job offer you prefer.15) With a specific region in mind, we will try to negotiate for a site visit. Please let us arrange these visits for you. The regions will not cover the costs of your visit unless the request comes from a valid source, such as our service. We have brought out many doctors. The region paid for most of these visits. They will pay for you and your spouse to spend a week getting to know the region.
16) With the approval of the College and a job offer from a region, you will come for your site visit.
17) The region will help you book your flights. They will most likely pay for the flights. Someone from the region will pick you up at the airport.
18) You will spend the week touring the region. Because there are many hospitals in a region, it is likely you will visit more than one town.
19) During that week you will then decide on a town in that region. You will sign a contract with that region confirming they will have a job for you. You will need that to arrange your work permit. You will also discuss in detail the incentives that the region will offer you.
20) The next step will be to contact the College. We will help you with that. Because you will now have a job offer, the College will release your name to Immigration Canada and a work permit can be issued.
21) Back at home, you will start the process of obtaining a work permit. Part of this application will be a health exam for all your family members.22) Most of the provinces will allow you in the country but have different systems how your Canadian medical exams will be done. Alberta will allow you back in the country, but you will have to write the Qualifying exam at the College offices as soon as you enter the province. Other provinces have different rules. Make sure that you know what is required for your province. After you have written your Canadian medical Qualifying exam in Alberta, you will be allowed to do your two-week assessment as arranged by the health region you will be working for.
23) We hope you will be successful with your exam. With the results out, and you have passed, you can move to the town where you will work in the future. If you not pass your exam in Alberta, you will not be allowed to stay on. In this case, you will have to go back home. In this case, you can always try again at a later stage. It is good to know the rules in other provinces where you can come in and write your exams later.
24) You can also write your exams in different parts of the world before you come to Canada. If you can do that, it will make it much easier on you. You will know of your results before you enter Canada. The main Qualifying exams happen two times a year in only a few places internationally, where a few hundred people will write the exam
25) Or, the exam can be written in Alberta in the offices of the College after you have arrived. It is possible that you may be the only one writing the exam at the time. This is the same exam as discussed in point 22.
