The healthcare category: all 37 Express Entry occupations

The healthcare and social services category is the largest of the Express Entry categories by occupation count, and the one with the widest spread of skill levels. It runs from specialists in surgery through to nurse aides and pharmacy assistants, and it includes social services roles that people often assume sit elsewhere.

Experience for this category may have been gained in Canada or abroad, which distinguishes it from the physicians category — that one covers three of the same occupations but requires Canadian experience. For how category rounds work at all, see how Express Entry invitations are issued.

The occupations in this category

Things worth noticing in that list

Veterinarians and animal health technologists are in it. The category name says healthcare and social services; the list includes veterinary occupations (31103, 32104). This surprises people who assume “healthcare” means human healthcare only.

Social work sits here, not in education. Social workers (41300), counselling therapists (41301) and social and community service workers (42201) are in this category.

Massage therapists (32201) are included. Regulated status varies by province, but the occupation is on the list.

Whether your work falls under one of these codes is decided by duties rather than job title — see how to find your NOC code.

The TEER spread is unusually wide. Most categories cluster in one or two TEER levels. This one runs from TEER 1 down to TEER 3, which matters because the underlying program eligibility differs by TEER — being in the category is no help if no program puts you in the pool.

What the category actually asks for

Category eligibility is separate from program eligibility, and both have to be satisfied.

To be considered in a round for this category, IRCC looks for at least 12 months of full-time work experience — or the part-time equivalent — accumulated within the past three years, in a single occupation from the list above.

Three details in that sentence do a lot of work:

• It does not have to be continuous. Twelve months assembled from separate stretches within the three-year window counts.
• It has to be one occupation. Six months in one listed occupation plus six months in another does not add up to twelve.
• It does not have to be your main job. IRCC’s wording is explicit that the experience counts “no matter your primary occupation.” Someone whose current role sits outside the list may still be eligible on the strength of earlier experience inside it.

What being in a category does not mean

This is the part most worth being clear about, because it is where the disappointment usually happens.

Being eligible for a category does not mean an invitation follows. It means that if IRCC runs a round for that category, you are among the candidates who can be considered in it. Candidates are still ranked, and rounds still invite from the top down.

It also does not put you in the pool. You enter the Express Entry pool only by qualifying for one of the three programs underneath it — the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class, or the Federal Skilled Trades Program. A category is a filter applied to people already in the pool, not a route into it.

ZIMMR does not publish target scores or predict which categories will be drawn. Anyone who tells you what score you “need” for a category is guessing.

Before you rely on this

IRCC sets these categories and revises them. The list above was checked against IRCC’s published criteria on the date at the top of this article, but the authoritative version is always the one on canada.ca on the day you apply. Check it there before making a decision.