Nurses: Australia vs Canada PR Pathways

• Nurses are in demand in both
• Australia pathway
• Canada pathway
• At a glance
• Australia in detail
• Canada in detail
• English: visa vs registration
• Which pathway suits whom

Nurses are in demand in both

Registered nurses are on Australia's skilled occupation lists (MLTSSL, assessed by ANMAC) and are a priority group in Canada's Express Entry healthcare category draws. Both countries face acute nursing shortages, so nursing is one of the strongest profiles for skilled migration.

Australia pathway

In Australia, nurses usually apply through SkillSelect after an ANMAC skills assessment. Options include the independent 189, state-nominated 190, or regional 491. You then register with the nursing board of your state/territory. MET or CELPIP General proves your English (both DHA-approved).

Canada pathway

In Canada, nurses often qualify through Express Entry (FSWP/CEC) and the healthcare category draws, or a Provincial Nominee Program. You need CLB 7+ in English — CELPIP General is IRCC-designated — and registration with the relevant provincial college. Note: nursing registration in Canada usually requires CELBAN, a separate test from CELPIP.

At a glance

The Australian pathway in detail

Australia splits the process into two things that are easy to confuse: a skills assessment for migration, and registration to practise. The skills assessment is carried out by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC), the body the Department of Home Affairs has designated to assess nursing and midwifery occupations. Registration is granted by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia through AHPRA. A positive skills assessment lets you claim points in SkillSelect; registration is what actually lets you work as a nurse.

The ANMAC skills assessment. ANMAC runs more than one pathway for registered nurses:

• Full skills assessment — for nurses without Australian or New Zealand registration. It requires evidence of English and at least 3 months (260 hours) of paid employment in the last five years that matches your nominated ANZSCO code. If your qualification is not a Bachelor of Nursing from Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States, ANMAC also expects at least 1,800 hours of paid registered nurse work completed since 1 January 2017 in one of its approved countries. Nurses currently or previously registered in Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom or the United States may be eligible for this pathway.
• Modified skills assessment — for nurses whose name appears on AHPRA's public register, or who are registered with the Nursing Council of New Zealand. Because that registration already demonstrates English and clinical competence, no separate English test is required. ANMAC lists the Modified skills assessment fee as $395 AUD.
• Modified PLUS skills assessment — for nurses who hold a current “Notice of in-principle approval of registration subject to proof of identity” from AHPRA and are registered as a nurse or midwife in another country. ANMAC lists the Modified skills assessment fee as $395 AUD.

The documents are broadly similar across pathways: the bio-data page of your passport, a recent passport-style photograph, graduation certificates and full transcripts showing commencement and completion dates, professional references supporting the work experience you claim, and verification of any overseas registration sent directly to ANMAC by the overseas regulator. Documents not in English need translation by a NAATI-certified translator, and ANMAC asks for colour scans of at least 600 dpi saved as PDF.

The visas. With a positive assessment you lodge an Expression of Interest in SkillSelect, and the visa you can be invited to differs by how much freedom you want and what you are willing to commit to:

• Subclass 189 (Skilled Independent, points-tested) — permanent residence with no state or employer nomination. You must score at least 65 points on the points test and be invited. There is no obligation to live in a particular region.
• Subclass 190 (Skilled Nominated) — permanent residence, but you must be nominated by a state or territory government agency. Nomination gives states a say in who they take, and states set their own criteria; many expect you to live and work in that state for a period, so check the state's own page before you rely on it.
• Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional, provisional) — a five-year provisional visa, nominated by a state or territory government agency or sponsored by an eligible relative. You must live, work and study in a designated regional area, and you can apply for permanent residence after three years from the date the visa is granted.

Registration (AHPRA). Internationally qualified nurses and midwives complete a self-check and have their qualification assessed, and some applicants must also pass an examination (an Objective Structured Clinical Examination, or OSCE) before they can apply for registration. AHPRA's English language skills registration standard applies to everyone seeking initial registration; its test pathway accepts Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency, IELTS Academic, OET, PTE Academic and TOEFL iBT. CELPIP General and MET are accepted by Home Affairs for the visa but are not on AHPRA's test-pathway list, so a nurse who uses CELPIP for the visa may still need a different test — or an education pathway — for registration. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia also changed its minimum English scores with effect from 23 April 2026.

Typical sequence. In broad order: sit an accepted English test; obtain an ANMAC skills assessment; obtain (or begin) AHPRA registration; lodge an Expression of Interest in SkillSelect; receive an invitation; apply for the visa. The skills assessment and registration are separate processes and, depending on your pathway, can run at the same time rather than strictly one after the other.

The Canadian pathway in detail

Express Entry. Express Entry manages three federal programs. Nurses with foreign experience usually use the Federal Skilled Worker Program, which needs one year of continuous skilled work within the last ten years (1,560 hours) and CLB 7 in all four English abilities. Nurses already working in Canada use the Canadian Experience Class, which needs one year of skilled work in Canada in the last three years and CLB 7 for TEER 0 or 1 occupations (CLB 5 for TEER 2 or 3). Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses are NOC 31301, a TEER 1 occupation. Both programs rank you in the pool by CRS score.

Healthcare category draws. Category-based rounds let the Minister invite top-ranking candidates who meet a specific economic goal, and healthcare is one of the categories. To be eligible for the healthcare and social services occupations category you need, within the past three years, at least 12 months of full-time work experience (or an equal amount of part-time) in a single occupation on the category list — whether that experience was gained in Canada or abroad. Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (NOC 31301) are on that list, alongside nursing coordinators and supervisors (31300), nurse practitioners (31302) and licensed practical nurses (32101). Because these rounds only rank candidates who fit the category, their cut-offs are often lower than general rounds.

Provincial Nominee Programs. Provinces and territories run their own programs, each with its own streams, requirements and annual nomination numbers. If you are nominated through a stream linked to Express Entry you receive 600 additional CRS points, which is normally enough to guarantee an invitation. In return you must settle in the province or territory that nominated you.

Registration and CELBAN. To work as a nurse in Canada you register with the nursing regulator of the province or territory where you will practise — for example the College of Nurses of Ontario. Each college sets its own registration requirements, including language proficiency, and CELBAN (the Canadian English Language Benchmark Assessment for Nurses) is accepted by all Canadian nursing regulators. CELBAN is built around nursing communication tasks and is referenced to the CLB, designed for the CLB 6–10 range; the regulators set the minimum scores (in Ontario these are CLB 9 for listening, 8 for speaking, 8 for reading and 7 for writing).

This is the point that catches nurses out: CELBAN and CELPIP are different tests for different purposes. CELPIP-General is the test IRCC designates for immigration — it gives you a CLB that feeds your CRS score. CELBAN is a nursing-specific test used for registration, and it is not an immigration test. A nurse may therefore need CELPIP-General for the visa and CELBAN for the college; some colleges also accept IELTS.

English tests for nurses: visa versus registration

Both countries accept a range of tests, and the test that suits your visa is not always the test your regulator accepts. The table below separates the two.

Two details are worth knowing. First, Home Affairs does not accept tests delivered completely online — CELPIP Online and the at-home version of MET are not accepted for Australian visa purposes, so the test must be taken at a secure test centre. Second, CELPIP General and MET are visa tests in Australia; they are not on AHPRA's test-pathway list, so check which pathway you will use for registration before you book. In Canada, CLB 7 is the immigration floor, while the registration benchmarks set by each college are higher.

Which pathway suits whom

Neither country is simply “better” — the right route depends on where you are already registered, your English, and how much geographic freedom you want.

• Already registered in Australia or New Zealand: the ANMAC Modified assessment is the shortest skills-assessment route, because that registration already covers English.
• Registered in Canada, the UK, Ireland, the US, Singapore, Spain or Hong Kong: you may be able to start a Full ANMAC assessment before AHPRA registration, which can shorten the overall sequence.
• Strong points, no regional tie: Australia's 189 gives permanent residence with no state nomination, but invitation rounds are competitive and cut-offs move — a state-nominated 190 or a regional 491 is often the more realistic route.
• Willing to live in regional Australia: the 491 is provisional for five years but can lead to permanent residence after three years, and the nomination adds points.
• Nursing experience but a modest CRS: Canada's healthcare category draws rank only eligible nurses, so the CRS needed can be lower than in a general round. A provincial nomination adds 600 points, but ties you to that province.
• French ability: it is worth a look in Canada — the French-language proficiency category has its own rounds, and French ability also carries additional CRS points.

The honest trade-offs: Australia's independent route buys geographic freedom but competes on points; Canada's category and PNP routes can lower the score you need but come with a regional or provincial commitment; and in both countries the English test you need for the visa may not be the one you need to register.

Last reviewed: 6 October 2026.