The health care worker certificate, the state licence or clear evidence of its issuance, proof of Canadian citizenship, the current Canadian registration, and an employer letter describing the nursing role, the unit and the supervision.
The two unfamiliar documents matter most
Most of this file is familiar. A Canadian passport establishes citizenship, which is the threshold requirement and is not met by permanent residence. Nursing education documents and the current provincial registration establish the credential. The employer letter should describe the position in clinical terms: the facility, the unit or service, the shift pattern, the supervising role, the salary and the term. The two documents that applicants are least likely to have are the ones that matter most: the certificate from the approved credentialing organization, and evidence of state licensure or of its imminent issue. Both should be originals or in the form the issuing body provides, and both should be carried rather than left with an employer, since they are the items an officer will look for.
Hypothetical example: Owen, a Canadian land surveyor, has a signed offer from an Arizona engineering firm. A first review should make a document list in the order it will be examined: passport, employer letter, degree or professional credential, licence evidence, and name-change records. The offer letter settles the proposed professional work, while the regulator’s record settles authority to practise. He should request certified copies before booking travel, because a photocopy with an unexplained former name can create a credibility problem. He also needs to confirm that the arrangement is employment by the firm, not services delivered through his own controlled company.