Trained in Nigeria?
The verification body, documents, English-test position, and NNAS shortcuts for nurses educated in Nigeria, on the way to a Canadian licence.
Which body verifies my registration?
Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN). nmcn.gov.ng ↗
Heads up
NMCN deactivated its verification portal on March 14, 2024 and suspended issuing verifications. The portal reopened in September 2024 and is operational, but applicants continue to report intermittent delays. Confirm the portal is currently issuing verifications before building your timeline around it.
What documents do I need?
Collect the paper verification form, pay via REMITA, and NMCN sends verification and a letter of good standing directly to NNAS.
Do I need an English test?
Nigeria's status is inconsistent across bodies. Nigeria is not on the NMC majority-English list, and TruMerit/CGFNS does not exempt Nigeria. Canadian regulators generally accept English-medium education, but confirm with your target regulator.
Can I skip NNAS?
Alberta's CRPNA offers an expedited psychiatric nursing pathway requiring only a WES report, bypassing NNAS. Nigeria is also in Alberta's CRNA pathway for RN.
Which Canadian designation will I map to?
Nigeria has a distinct Mental Health/Psychiatric Nurse registration category, listed separately from Nurse and Midwife on NMCN's licence portal. This is why Nigerian psychiatric credentials are treated as comparable to the Canadian RPN in Alberta.
Needs verification
Designation mapping is decided case by case by the regulator you apply to. Use the notes above as orientation, not a guarantee.
Province shortcuts
Alberta — CRNA comparability pathway
CRNA accepts nurses educated in the United States, the Philippines, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, Nigeria, Jamaica, New Zealand, and Ireland. CRNA states this “represents 94 per cent of IENs who have applied for licensure in Alberta in the past five years.” This covers all eight countries on this site. nurses.ab.ca ↗
Heads up
Nova Scotia's expedited pathway for nurses licensed in the Philippines, India, Nigeria, the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand was paused to new applicants effective January 20, 2025, with no reopening date announced. It has not reopened. The regular NNAS route remains open. Note the regulator has also rebranded: the Nova Scotia College of Nursing is now the Nova Scotia Nursing and Midwifery Regulator (NSNMR), formed June 30, 2026. Use nsnmr.ca ↗.
How NNAS works
NNAS Expedited Service costs $750 CAD, covers RN and LPN together in one application, and issues the Advisory Report within five business days of receiving the last document. Regular Service begins at $650 USD (NNAS estimates approximately $845 CAD) for one profession and one regulator. The Registered Psychiatric Nurse pathway runs through Regular Service only, not Expedited.
Heads up
The CAD figure for Regular Service is NNAS's own approximate conversion and moves with the exchange rate. Treat it as an estimate, not a fixed price.
Key fact
NNAS stopped collecting language test scores on October 14, 2022. Proof of language proficiency now goes directly to your provincial regulator, not to NNAS.
Key fact
You cannot submit your own education or registration verification forms. Your school and your licensing authority must send them to NNAS directly. Translations must also be mailed directly by the translator, not by you or anyone related to you.
Which provinces require NNAS? Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan. Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Newfoundland & Labrador do not.
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