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:
- 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
- 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. Apply to BCCNM
-
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.