Immigration Minister Sean Fraser signed temporary public policy to ease the requirement for permanent residency under Express Entry Canadian Experience Class and Federal Skilled Worker Program.New exemptions came in effect on April 25, 2023 and will be in effect indefinitely until revoked by immigration minister.

These exemptions are to ease permanent residency pathway for foreign national physicians who provides publicly-funded medical services in Canada.

There are now exemptions for certain job offer and work experience criteria to facilitate the eligibility of self-employed foreign national physicians (such as those working in a fee-for-service model) for the Express Entry system.

New exemptions applies to both Canadian Experience Class and the Federal Skilled Worker Program.

These exemptions will allow more foreign national physicians to qualify for Express Entry and earn them more CRS points.

Why These Exemptions For Physicians?
To qualify for arranged employment points for Express Entry, an offer of employment must normally be for continuous work in Canada for at least one year following the date on which a permanent residence visa is issued.

Some physicians, however, may not obtain these points because they do not match this condition. This is because the nature of the work arrangements is such that the offer of employment does not require that the job be continuous or for at least a year.

In certain situations, this implies they may be disqualified for the program and hence unable to satisfy the minimal requirements to enter the Express Entry pool.

Furthermore, many physicians in Canada work as independent contractors, providing publicly financed medical services such as those reimbursed by provincial/territorial public health authorities under a fee-for-service or other contractual service arrangement.

As a result, these physicians’ work is deemed self-employed and self-employment is ineligible for Express Entry system.

With new exemptions, qualified physicians will have a better chance of meeting the FSWP and CEC eligibility standards and entering the Express Entry pool.

Furthermore, by making pertinent and complementary revisions to the Express Entry Ministerial Instructions, foreign national physicians will have a better chance of securing an Invitation to Apply for Permanent Residence.

This temporary policy is aimed at increasing the number of permanent physicians in Canada because of ongoing shortage in healthcare.

What are the new exemptions for physicians for Express Entry?
The 5 occupations (listed below) of physicians are exempted from job offer requirement and ineligibility of self-employed applicants for Express Entry.

They will no longer need to demonstrate that the agreed arranged job offer must be ongoing and last for at least a year after the date a permanent residence visa is issued.

However, this job offer must be made by a province or territorial government, a government entity, a government-appointed body, or a healthcare provider organization delivering publicly financed medical services.

Furthermore, they can claim points for work experience as a self-employed (independent contractor) for any work done under the below-listed occupations.

Normally, self-employed experience is not eligible for Express Entry.