The International Credentials Recognition Act of British Columbia will take effect on July 1.
The Act streamlines the application procedure for applicants and modifies a number of the province’s policies on the recognition of foreign credentials. In particular, it does away with the need for job experience in Canada, language testing for some candidates, and extra costs for foreign applicants.
It will have an effect on 29 different professions, including engineers, accountants, real estate agents, and medical professionals. The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia passed the legislation last November after the province worked with eighteen regulatory agencies in drafting it.
The full list of occupations impacted under the Act include:
• registered music teacher
• professional engineer
• professional teaching certificate holder
• land surveyor
• early childhood educator
• landscape architect
• early childhood educator assistant
• applied science technologist
• conditional teaching certificate holder
• certified technician
• social worker
• veterinarian
• registered clinical social worker
• lawyer
• professional biologist
• architect
• applied biology technician
• notary public
• registered biology technologist
• emergency medical assistant, including paramedics
• professional geoscientist
• chartered professional accountant
• registered professional forester
• associate real estate broker
• registered forest technologist
• managing real estate broker
• professional agrologist
• real estate representative
• technical agrologist
REQUIREMENTS FOR WORK EXPERIENCE
B.C. claims that by removing pointless criteria related to Canadian job experience, the Act will expedite the recognition of international credentials. It is “working with regulatory authorities to understand current approaches and identify any existing Canadian work experience requirements that would be prohibited under the new regulations,” according to the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills.
The province does, however, state that a regulator with a legitimate reason for needing Canadian work experience may be granted an exemption by the superintendent of foreign credential recognition.
Furthermore, the work experience requirement is still subject to a one-year transition period. For instance, rules defining forbidden Canadian work experience and detailing exclusions take effect on January 1, 2025, while the ban on requiring Canadian work experience takes effect on July.
LANGUAGE SPECIFICATIONS z
If applicants have previously provided legitimate results, they will no longer be necessary to submit new results for English language tests in order to be considered for the designated vocations.
The law states that candidates with foreign training who have included official language test results with their certification application are covered by this.
Even yet, if there has been no decision in the international credential review procedure or if the applicant has not applied to a regulating body for five years, language exams can still be necessary.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF FOREIGN QUALIFICATIONS IN CANADA
Anyone who is new to the country and wants to work as a licensed professional must have their credentials recognized internationally.
Provincial regulatory agencies, such as those in charge of the skilled crafts or the medical field, are usually the ones who grant licenses. The conditions for recognition differ based on the applicant’s place of residence because they are provincial in nature.
Newcomers have harshly criticized the recognition procedure because of its complexity, time commitment, and expense. A 2022 study by Employment and Social Development Canada identified a number of significant problems, one of which being a dearth of information for immigrants, particularly prior to their arrival.
The federal government of Canada has taken steps to facilitate the recognition of credentials for newcomers. In its Fall Economic Statement 2023, for instance, it declared that it would invest $50 million on the Foreign Credential Recognition Program, of which half would go toward skilled trade occupations and the other half toward the healthcare industry.
This is on top of the $115 million investment that Budget 2022 contains.
