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The response has been overwhelming.

Nurses from all over the world, including Libya, Sri Lanka and France have expressed an interest in the new Quebec Program for Nurses that was recently announced by the Canadian Government.

The details of the program were featured in an earlier article but it seems that applicants are still confused regarding eligibility requirements.

Many of our readers have asked if relatives are required to submit sponsorships or whether hospitals in Quebec are required to first recruit applicants for open positions.

In contrast to USA immigration laws, the Canadian program does not require an offer of employment.

Similarly, the Canadian program does not require any relative sponsorship nor does it require an applicant to have a relative in Canada.

Other readers expressed a concern due to their age or poor language skills.

In this regard, it should be noted that older applicants are not excluded.

Each factor is given a point score and therefore an applicant is able to advance his/her score with education or work experience which a younger applicant may not possess.

Similarly, a low language skill does not necessarily exclude an applicant as other points can be awarded for adaptability and spouse’s characteristics.

It is important to remember that only the last five years are looked at.

Applicants who have no work experience as a nurse or education in the last five years are not likely to pass.

As previously stated, 20,000 applications are being processed and it is unknown how many have been allocated to date.

What is known though, is that Canadian Nurses Association predicts that 60,000 nurses will be needed by 2022 in order to fill labor shortages.

Interested applicants should complete the free assessment form in www.moyal.com.

Long-term Canadian resident can appeal for right to return

In the same vein, many readers from abroad have questioned whether they can apply to immigrate when they have previously obtained permanent resident status.

As such, a permanent resident of Canada is always a permanent resident unless an embassy or court has made a final determination of the loss of immigrant status.

In other words, a permanent resident who has been absent for many years is still a permanent resident by law and must apply for a travel document to return to Canada.

If that application is refused, an appeal can be made to the Immigration Appeal Division. — Filipino Reporter

Atty. Henry Moyal is a certified and licensed immigration lawyer in Toronto, Ontario. The above article is general advice only and is not intended to act as a legal document. For a free assessment visit www.moyal.com