Foreign Credential Recognition

Key Messages

• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is working with federal, provincial and territorial partners on a coordinated effort to attract global talent, including in the healthcare sector, to support growth in Canada’s Health Sector. The Department recognizes that foreign credential recognition (FCR) continues to be an important labour market integration issue for newcomers and is committed to addressing barriers that internationally-educated healthcare workers face in obtaining licensure.
• Immigration plays an important role in healthcare—One in four healthcare sector workers are immigrants. Moreover, immigrants’ share in the healthcare sector is on par with their presence in the overall labour market.

Foreign Credential Recognition—Context

• Newcomers, particularly young recent immigrants and non-permanent residents, can help alleviate the impacts of an aging workforce on labour supply in health occupations.
• FCR can cause significant barriers to labour market integration—especially in regulated occupations, such as those in healthcare.
• FCR, refers to the process by which foreign-trained individuals  who wish to work in regulated occupations, such as nursing, or compulsory trades, such as plumbing, have their education, training and professional experience verified.
• “Regulated occupations” refers to both compulsory trades and regulated occupations which require mandatory licensure or certification to practice.
• IRCC, in collaboration with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), Health Canada, and provincial and territorial partners, is advancing work to align immigration with licensure pathways and to provide earlier, and provide targeted supports that help newcomers navigate the FCR process more effectively.
• While often costly and complex, FCR is essential to uphold professional standards, protect public safety, and maintain the integrity of regulated professions.

Current Status on FCR and Healthcare Workers

• The primary responsibility for FCR falls to provinces and territories (PTs).
• Through legislation, PTs delegate the majority of duties related to regulated occupations to regulatory bodies (e.g. the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, for lawyers practising in that province). These organizations are arms-length from government.
• The federal government supports FCR through stakeholder collaboration and funding services that help newcomers get their foreign credentials recognized.
• Federally, responsibilities are shared across three departments:
  • ESDC: Leads on FCR policy and the labour market integration of both Canadian citizens and newcomers.
  • IRCC: Leads on immigrant selection and provides settlement services to newcomers, including before they arrive in Canada.
  • Health Canada: Supports FCR efforts specifically for internationally educated health professionals, including physicians and nurses.
• Canada’s most pressing labour needs are in regulated professions and credential recognition remains a major barrier for skilled professionals arriving in Canada. It is often difficult to both attract and retain individuals in regulated professions. If their credentials are not recognized, they can end up underemployed and this is a loss for Canada.
• It is a complex space given the many players. Immigration pathways exist for health professionals, but there are still barriers that often prevent them from immediately working in their field. While some progress has been made (e.g., the Physician Stream under Nova Scotia’s Provincial Nominee Program), systemic changes are required.
• The need for healthcare workforce renewal is urgent:
  • Over 17% of the health workforce is aged 55 and older, indicating a need for workforce renewal due to impending retirements.
  • A 2023 Statistics Canada study found that only one-third of internationally educated registered nurses were employed in their profession. Many are working in roles that do not reflect their education and training, such as personal support workers, orderlies, or nursing assistants.
• IRCC works closely with ESDC and Health Canada on FCR. We are focusing on several areas of work within our mandate to contribute to unlocking the full potential of newcomers looking to join Canada’s health workforce:
  • Aligning immigration pathways with licensure processes:
    • IRCC is exploring how to reduce duplication in the immigration and licensure processes. Specifically, IRCC recognizes the duplication of language testing and Educational Credential Assessments (ECAs) which clients must provide for both immigration and licensing purposes. Designating additional profession-specific language tests and the number of profession-specific ECAs will reduce duplication and may improve timelines for newcomers looking to work in regulated professions.
  • Providing earlier, targeted supports to help internationally educated professionals navigate FCR:
    • IRCC is considering how to enhance its existing pre-arrival services provided to newcomers by finding ways to provide FCR-related information and resources to clients earlier in their immigration journey, allowing these individuals to understand licensure requirements prior to arriving in Canada. This work includes a review of what other services exist (through ESDC, PTs or regulators themselves) to avoid duplication and also learn what has worked regionally, locally or even what is profession-specific.
• Advancing coordinated, pan-Canadian efforts across federal, provincial, and territorial partners:
  • IRCC engages regularly with federal, provincial and territorial partners to provide advice and expertise on immigration processes and programming and how those relate to FCR.
  • This includes joint work with ESDC and Health Canada on a collaborative approach at the federal level to advance changes throughout the client journey, from the point of recruitment, through pre-arrival, immigration and settlement of newcomers and their entry into the labour market.
• IRCC is co-chair of the Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration (FMRI) Foreign Credential Recognition Action Group, which is working on an action plan related to FCR. This action plan will be delivered near spring 2026. In October 2025, the FMRI agreed to work jointly with the Forum of Labour Market Ministers to create a joint FCR Taskforce.

Provincial and Territorial Collaboration

• Announced on November 4, 2025, Budget 2025 proposes to provide $97M over five years, starting in 2026–2027, to ESDC to establish the FCR Action Fund to work with PTs to improve the fairness, transparency, timeliness, and consistency of FCR, with a focus on health and construction sectors. This funding will be sourced from existing departmental resources.
• PTs have jurisdiction with regards to the recognition of foreign credentials, particularly in regulated occupations. The federal government plays a coordinating role—bringing together key partners, providing information and supports, and facilitating access to programs and services that help newcomers obtain credential recognition.
• IRCC co-chairs the FMRI, which launched a Foreign Credential Recognition Action Group in late 2024. This group is currently developing a federal-provincial-territorial action plan aimed at reducing barriers to FCR for newcomers.
• Immigration Ministers have also emphasized the importance of continued collaboration with their labour market counterparts (Forum of Labour Market Ministers) to advance joint initiatives that streamline FCR processes and improve labour market integration outcomes. These include:
  • FCR-related data collection and sharing among stakeholders (linking immigration and integration into regulated or comparative employment).
  • Exploring ways to improve workplace integration for newcomers in regulated occupations.
  • Examining how to engage or influence regulatory authorities in FCR-related programming and policy.

The Settlement Program

• IRCC’s Settlement Program funds a network of over 500 organizations across the country (outside of Quebec) that provide information to newcomers, both pre- and post-arrival, to help them make informed decisions and find the supports they need to learn about life in Canada, improve their English or French skills, learn about the labour market and FCR, and build connections to their communities.
• Settlement services are available to all permanent residents, as well as certain temporary residents who have been selected for permanent residence (including participants in some of the economic pilots, such as, Provincial Nominee Program, Atlantic Immigration Pilot, Express Entry).
• Settlement Program grants and contributions funding is available to a wide variety of eligible recipients, including provincial, territorial and municipal governments, not-for-profit organizations (including community groups, regulatory bodies and apprenticeship authorities), businesses (including employers who hire newcomers) and educational institutions.
• Recognizing the importance of addressing FCR barriers, the Settlement Program allocated an additional $6.3M in funding from 2023–2025, to enhance services that help newcomers looking to work in regulated occupations (prioritizing healthcare) to navigate FCR processes:
  • Providing credential assessment navigation, allowing newcomers to better understand the work required to obtain licensure in their profession.
  • Facilitating professional mentoring, allowing newcomers to learn from a professional in their field.
  • Providing access to information in webinars geared towards explaining the licensure process and connecting individuals to information from regulators and licensing bodies.
• Through the recent Settlement Program Call for Proposals, the Department prioritized healthcare as one of the sectors facing persistent or anticipated labour shortages for tailored employment-related supports.

Enhanced Pre-Arrival Services

• The Settlement Program funds pre-arrival services via service provider organizations, equipping newcomers with early, accurate and relevant information to support informed decision‑making and a smooth transition to life and work in Canada.
• These services include supports that help newcomers prepare for the Canadian labour market and initiate FCR processes as early as possible (even before arrival), to speed up their integration into their regulated occupation.
• Through direct communications and settlement programming, newcomers are encouraged to connect with regulators as soon as possible to make informed decisions about working in Canada.
• Internationally-trained nurses, physicians, pharmacists, dentists and other health professionals are encouraged and supported to begin their FCR early before arrival through intensive employment services such as:
  • tools to understand if a profession is regulated in Canada and the steps to be taken to obtain licensure for that occupation;
  • one-on-one employment counselling with FCR navigators;
  • mentors in the immigrant’s regulated profession and province of destination;
  • webinars with regulators, employers and professional associations;
  • occupation-specific language training;
  • referrals to regulators and provincial and territorial FCR-related supports; and,
  • training and bridging program recommendations.
• IRCC funds Healthcare Connections, a six-week online program delivered by ACCESS Employment, to support internationally-trained health-care professionals in securing non-licensed employment in the Canadian healthcare sector. The program is national in scope and offers services pre- and post-arrival.
• IRCC funds the Pre-Arrival Supports and Services Program (PASS), which is delivered by the CARE Centre for Internationally Educated Nurses. PASS provides pre-arrival support to nurses who have been approved for immigration to Canada. This support, delivered to nurses in their country of residence, includes virtual workshops, mentoring services, nursing-specific language training and support navigating the licensure process.
• IRCC recently enhanced PASS to now include post-arrival services. Newcomer nurses in Canada can now access PASS, and those who used it before arriving can continue to access services after arrival.

Language Testing

• To help streamline FCR, IRCC has made changes to remove duplication in language testing, so that permanent resident applicants seeking licensure in one of the key regulated health professions can use the results for both immigration and licensure purposes.
• IRCC continues to explore ways to align economic immigration requirements with licensure processes, particularly as it relates to language testing and educational credential assessment requirements.
• For example, IRCC recently made changes to the policy for designation of language testing organizations by broadening the designation criteria to allow for the approval of specialized (occupation-specific) language tests.

Educational Credential Assessments

• IRCC designates organizations to conduct ECAs for clients applying under various economic immigration programs. IRCC uses ECA reports to award immigration selection points or make program eligibility decisions for clients who have completed their education outside Canada.
• Currently, there are five multi-purpose organizations and three designated professional bodies. Multi-purpose organizations authenticate and assess foreign education credentials across a wide range of disciplines for immigration purposes, including for certain health-related professions. These organizations include World Education Services, International Qualifications Assessment Service of Canada and Comparative Education Service.
• Designated professional bodies authenticate and assess foreign credentials particular to a regulated profession, including physicians and pharmacists. ECAs from designated professional bodies can also be recognized as part of the licensure process relating to the education requirements, reducing duplication between immigration and licensing processes.
• ECAs from designated professional bodies also benefit clients by connecting them earlier in the immigration process with a regulatory body that oversees their occupation. This can help clients learn about FCR processes and the steps to take to become licensed to practice.
• Current designated professional bodies in healthcare include:
  • Medical Council of Canada;
  • Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada.
• In October 2024, IRCC launched a new open Call for Service Proposals for professional bodies to provide educational credential assessments, to support IRCC’s goal of designating additional professional bodies in targeted occupations.
• IRCC is collaborating with Health Canada, ESDC, and provincial and territorial partners to engage health-related national regulators, aiming to streamline ECA processes and better align licensure with immigration.