Immigrate to Canada as a Psychologist

Psychologists are in demand right across Canada and you may be able to secure a Canadian Permanent Residency Visa either with or without a job offer.

There are thousands of Psychologists just like you moving to Canada. Find out how to join them.  Canada needs more Psychologists.  If you are thinking about moving to Canada as a Psychologist, all the information you need is right here.

Did you know that Psychologists are one of the most in-demand jobs in Canada? Psychologists are in high demand in all 11 of Canada’s provinces and territories, and as a highly-skilled professional, you can expect to earn between $71200 and $110400 per year.

When considering Canada as your new home, there are not only numerous immigration options for you to choose from, but plenty of job opportunities too.

One of the biggest questions when moving to Canada is “will I be able to find work as a Psychologist in Canada?”. The simple answer is Yes, you will!  (Of course each Psychologists level of training and experience is a core factor, as is the case in any country.)

Below are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about jobs in Canada for Psychologists.

Yes there is! As mentioned previously, you can immigrate to Canada as an experienced Psychologist with a high chance of finding employment in any of Canada’s 11 provinces. These job opportunities can be found in:

• Alberta
• British Columbia
• Manitoba
• New Brunswick
• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Quebec
• Saskatchewan

Over the next few years, it is estimated that there will be 22000 new jobs created due to expansion and a need for replacement as well as 29000 new positions for graduates and immigrants to fill who want to live and work in Canada.

This is why Canada needs Psychologists.  You really can be moving to Canada as a Psychologist

The simplest way to do this is to take our free visa assessment.  There are more than 80 visa pathways to Canada.  Once you take your visa assessment we will be able to guide you as to which is the best path for your particular circumstances.

In order to live and work in Canada as a Psychologist, you will need to have your qualifications that you earned outside of Canada accredited and ensure that it is recognized in Canada.

An Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) confirms that your degree, diploma or certificate is both valid and equal to Canadian standards. This is vital as it will allow you to claim the Permanent Residency points for your education and training and might also be required for employment, professional registration within Canada and Canadian immigration services.

Below is a list of designated organizations that are  licensed to do your assessment:

• Comparative Education Service – University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies;
• International Credential Assessment Service of Canada;
• World Education Services;
• International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS); and
• International Credential Evaluation Service.

Educational and experience requirements for Psychologists include:

• A doctoral degree in psychology is required in order to use the designation Psychologist in Prince Edward Island Quebec Ontario Manitoba and British Columbia.
• A master’s degree in psychology is required for the designation Psychologist in Newfoundland and Labrador Nova Scotia New Brunswick Saskatchewan Alberta the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
• An undergraduate degree or college diploma in a social science is required for certain areas of counselling.
• Membership with a provincial association for marriage and family therapists or clinical counsellors is required to use the title Registered Marriage and Family Therapist or Registered Clinical Counsellor and in Quebec to use the title marriage and family therapist (MFT) family therapist (FT) or marriage therapist (MT). Membership with a provincial association may be required by some employers.
• Registration with a regulatory body is required in Nova Scotia New Brunswick Québec and Ontario.
• Registered marriage and family therapists and registered clinical counsellors must meet strict criteria involving postgraduate education and a period of supervised clinical work with clients.
• .

You may be required to provide a range of documentation and references to prove your abilities and experience during your evaluation process for Canadian Immigration.

Start Your Evaluation

There are many routes you can take when moving to Canada as a Psychologist but we’ve listed the top 4 ways that will give you the greatest chances of success in the application process:

1. Express Entry system
2. Provincial Nominee Program
3. The Rural and Northern Immigration Program
4. The Atlantic Immigration Pilot

1. Express Entry

The Express Entry (EE) system is our top choice for moving to Canada as a Psychologist. Not only is it the fastest but it is also one of the simplest ways to immigrate to Canada. With the right age, language skills in French and/or English, qualifications and other criteria you could be moving to Canada fast, you could be on your way to Canada in 6 months.

The first stage in your Canadian Express Entry immigration process is to calculate your Canada Immigration points for Express Entry using the Canadian Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).

Some of the elements that CRS Points are awarded for include:

• Age
• Qualifications
• English ability
• French ability
• Your partner’s skills
• Work experience

Take our free online visa assessment for an up to date report on whether you have enough points to move to Canada as a Psychologist from both an Express Entry and Immigration points perspective.

2. Provincial Nominee Program

The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) allows skilled and semi-skilled immigrants to live and work in Canada. You will need a valid job offer in Canada of at least 1 year for most immigration streams. 11 provinces and territories have their own PNPs, each with their own with specific labor needs.

If your skills match what your chosen province or territory is looking for, you may receive a provincial nomination, which is worth 600 extra Permanent Residency points which means that you’re practically assured of an offer for Canadian permanent residence.

3. The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot

Seeing as Psychologists are in-demand you may be eligible to immigrate to Canada through the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP). There are 11 participating communities currently participating in the pilot program. You will need a valid job offer in one of the participating communities to be considered eligible to apply for Canadian permanent residency through the RNIP.

4. The Atlantic Immigration Pilot

The Atlantic Immigration Pilot allows intermediate to highly and semi-skilled foreign workers to move to Canada’s Atlantic provinces and seeing as Psychologists are in high need in the 4 Atlantic provinces, you may be eligible to apply if you have a valid job offer for at least 1 year.

As a highly skilled worker, it is not a requirement that you have a job to be able to immigrate to Canada but it will make it faster. It will help with the immigration process as you can earn between 50 and 200 PR points for a valid job offer.  This moves you ahead in the pool of candidates, as the more points you have the more chance you have of receiving an invitation in one of the many offer rounds made within the Canada Visa System.

Psychologists in Canada are described as doing the following:

• Examine and assess behaviour diagnose behavioural emotional and cognitive disorders counsel clients and provide therapy
• Help clients manage physical illness and disorders
• Counsel individuals and groups to achieve more effective personal social and vocational development and adjustment and offer mediation services
• Use standard psychological tests for assessment
• Plan intervention programs and conduct program evaluation
• Apply psychological theory and principles regarding behaviour and mental processes such as learning language development memory and perception to develop treatment programs
• Formulate hypotheses and experimental designs review literature conduct studies and publish research papers educational texts and articles
• Deliver presentations at conferences workshops or symposia
• Provide mediation services and psychosocial assessments
• Evaluate the effectiveness of counselling and social programs

You can expect to see these terms in Job ads in Canada for Psychologists along with the following common tasks, duties and responsibilities of Psychologists in Canada.

There has never been a better time to get moving to Canada as a Psychologist.

If you are looking to apply to move to Canada in a different occupation, you can find the information on our Canada Skilled Immigration Guides page.

If you are looking for a job in Canada – you can find a guide on each occupation and the job application procedure for Canada on our Canada Job Guides index.

As mentioned above you will need to attend the Canadian Embassy nearest you during your application process to live in Canada as a Psychologist.  You can find the complete list of all Canadian Embassies Worldwide here.

Express Entry

Canada Visa

Provincial Nomination

Visa Assessment

Jobs in Canada