The provincial government and the College of Registered Nurses are changing the rules to make it easier for nurses from outside the province to work here.

The changes, which have been in the works for about two years, were announced today during the province’s latest healthcare action update.

Specifically, they’re expected to streamline the registration and licensing process, reducing wait times.

As well, a designated countries pathway will be established for nurses from seven countries, including the United States, the U.K., India, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.

For Canadian applicants, the wait from the point of applying to being approved to work in the province should be reduced from up to six weeks, down to a few days.

For those applying from the seven designated countries, wait times from application to practice should drop from over a year, down to about a week.

Other international applicants should also see their wait times reduced from over a year to about six months.