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Applicants from Australia, New Zealand, and UK

The information and instructions on this page are for registered nurses registered with a nursing regulator in Australia, New Zealand or the United Kingdom.
BCCNM accepts nursing education and practice in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom as largely comparable to registered nursing practice in Canada, and as a result, you may be able to get registered more quickly.  

Follow the instructions on this page if: 

  1. ​​You graduated from an approved registered nurse (RN) nursing program in Australia, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom that led to your initial RN registration; AND
  2. Within the last five years you graduated from that nursing program OR practiced 1,125 hours as a nurse (confirmed by your employer).

If you don't meet these requirements, or you graduated from a UK mental health nursing program, please follow the application process on the main IEN application page

Important information before you apply​​

Immigration

We strongly recommend that you have the permits required to legally work in Canada before you apply to BCCNM to avoid delays in processing your application. Visit the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada website or the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program ​for more information.

​​Registration process costs
The majority of fees have either been waived due to government funding, or are available for reimbursement through the Internationally ​Educated Nurse Bursary Program.

Credentialling, language, and competence
Fees
Inspire Global Assessments application
No cost to applicant
Credential assessment
$120-$650
Eligible for reimbursement through IEN Bursary Program
English language proficiency (if needed)

$300-$395
Eligible for reimbursement through IEN Bursary Program
Competency assessment
No cost
for applicants enrolled in the IEN Bursary Program

Or

$3000


REGISTRATION Costs 
Fees
BCCNM registration application
No cost to applicant
Fee paid by Government of British Columbia
Transitional education (if needed)
Variable
Eligible for reimbursement through IEN Bursary Program
Registration exam 
NCLEX ​(RN exam): $360+GST
BCCNM practising registration
$​737.30​
Professional liability protection
$123.00 or $55.00
Learn more​
​​Scams targeting IEN applicants
Please be wary of any agencies or individuals who are offering to complete applications to BCCNM and Inspire for a fee. These agencies are not endorsed by BCCNM or Inspire and should not be used by applicants. Applications must be competed and submitted by the person applying for registration.


How to apply

To work through the registration process as quickly as possible, we recommend that you apply/complete the requirements for BCCNM and Inspire at the same time.

1A. Apply to Inspire Global Assessments​
Apply to Inspire Global Assessments (Inspire). Inspire will confirm your identity and evaluate your English language proficiency, your education credentials, and if required, your nursing skills and knowledge through a competency assessment. Inspire will provide this information to BCCNM, and we will review it as part of our assessment.​
​​​​​1B. Appl​y to BC​CNM

Create a BCCNM account (if you haven't already) and apply for practising registration​.​

2. Confirmation of employment and registration
We need to confirm any employment and registrations you listed on your application. Registration Services will provide instructions and forms to send to employers and nursing regulators. Forms must be sent to BCCNM directly from the employer or regulator and must be completed in English.
3. Registration decision + final requirements
We will review your application when all requirements are met and Inspire has sent us your applicant package. Your registration decision will be based on a holistic assessment of your application, including your education, nursing experience, and any gaps in practice.​You will be required to complete coursework to prepare you for the Canadian health system, transitional practice experience, and successfully pass the NCLEX-RN regulatory exam before you are eligible for practising registration. Details about each of these requirements is provided below.
3A. Coursework 
To learn about the Canadian context of practice and health system, completion of one of the following courses are required. These are online courses that you can take at any time; once you have completed the course, please ask the school to send BCCNM confirmation of course completion:

3B. Provisional registration + transitional practice experience
After you’ve completed your coursework, you will be eligible for provisional registration and able to complete your transitional practice experience (TPE). TPE frequently asked questions.

TPE requirements

  • 250 hours of nursing practise, completed with one employer.
  • TPE completed within one year of provisional registration being granted.
  • Employer completion of a short BCCNM Employee Evaluation Form after 250 practice hours are completed.

Finding an employer

  • You will need to find an employer to complete your TPE. Health Match BC​ may be able to help you find an employer.
  • Once you have an offer of employment, please send your manager’s name and contact information to registrationmonitoring@bccnm.ca.

Information for employers

  • The level of oversight needed for a provisional IEN completing transitional practice experience is the same as a new hire/orientee. These registrants have previous nursing experience and meet BCCNM’s registration requirements.
  • The employer evaluation should be completed by a supervisor, manager, nurse educator or nurse leader who has knowledge of nursing scope and competence, and has directly observed the registrant’s practice. The form should be returned directly to BCCNM at registrationmonitoring@bccnm.ca.
3C. Regulatory exam
You will be eligible to write the NCLEX-RN, the RN regulatory exam, after you have been granted provisional registration. We will send you instructions to register for the exam when you are eligible to write it.
4. Practising registration + fees
After you pass the regulatory exam, you will be eligible for practising registration.

  • If you have provisional registration, your registration will automatically update in the online directory.
  • If you do not have provisional registraiton, you will be sent instructions to pay your registration fee. You are not authorized to practice as a nurse until you are listed in the online directory.​​

900 – 200 Granville St
Vancouver, BC  V6C 1S4
Canada

info@bccnm​.ca
604.742.6200​
​Toll-free 1.866.880.7101 (within Canada only) ​


We acknowledge the rights and title of the First Nations on whose collective unceded territories encompass the land base colonially known as British Columbia. We give specific thanks to the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking peoples the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations and the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh-ulh Sníchim speaking Peoples the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), on whose unceded territories BCCNM’s office is located. We also give thanks for the medicines of these territories and recognize that laws, governance, and health systems tied to these lands and waters have existed here for over 9000 years.

We also acknowledge the unique and distinct rights, including rights to health and wellness, of First Nations, Inuit​ and Métis peoples from elsewhere in Canada who now live in British Columbia. As leaders in the settler health system, we acknowledge our responsibilities to these rights under international, national, and provincial law.​