If you are an internationally educated nurse (IEN) practising outside of Canada, you may be eligible to write the CNA certification exam and earn a Canadian nursing credential. You can fulfil the eligibility criteria if your education and experience can be verified by the National Nursing Assessment Service, which is a third-party credential evaluation service. This recognition will confirm your equivalency to Canadian nursing requirements.
To be eligible for CNA certification, IENs outside of Canada must:
- Not be registered to practise in Canada
- Have 1,950 hours of experience in their nursing specialty within the past five years
- Be registered or licensed with the nursing regulatory college in their country of origin
- Provide an Advisory Report from the National Nursing Assessment Service (NNAS) to verify your education and experience. Note that you will be required to:
- Submit an Assessment Summary: an evaluation of the nursing education and experience compared to Canadian standards
- Demonstrate Credential Comparability: alignment of the qualifications with those required for RN, LPN/RPN, or RPN roles in Canada
- Ensure all documents submitted or uploaded are in English or French
- Be able to take the exam online with ProctorU, as it’s the only option available for candidates outside of Canada
If you earn your CNA certification credential, you will receive your official result letter and designation via email. A certification certificate will be available for you to download.
Read our important dates to learn when you can apply to write the exam for your specialty. If you’re ready to apply, sign in to or create your CNA account. Before applying, you may want to learn more about the application process.