Historical note: this thread references specific past draws (e.g. a Nova Scotia nurses draw in March 2022); draw patterns are time-bound and should be re-verified.An internationally educated registered nurse (CLB 9, 5 years clinical experience, CRS 434) asked about chances of a provincial NOI. The thread reframed the question around licensing:
- Nursing is a licensed profession in Canada. Members stressed that all medical professions require provincial licensure to work — a nomination strategy that ignores licensing puts the cart before the horse. Internationally educated nurses generally can't just be picked up on CRS alone the way tech occupations sometimes are.
- Start with NNAS. The concrete first step named in the thread: complete the NNAS (National Nursing Assessment Service) credential assessment. One member put it plainly — you can get a job offer relatively easily as a nurse, but first you need to do NNAS.
- Some provinces need a job offer. New Brunswick was cited as requiring a job offer to apply, so the NNAS → job offer → nomination chain matters there.
- Occupation-targeted draws are irregular. The poster noted the last Nova Scotia draw for nurses they knew of was March 2022 — healthcare draws happen, but waiting for one without progressing licensure wastes time.
Suggested order: NNAS assessment → provincial regulatory body registration process → job offer → provincial stream application, while keeping the Express Entry profile live for any healthcare-targeted draws.