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Registration

International Graduates

Registration requirements and fees are the same for international graduates as for North American graduates.

Meeting the Academic Requirement for Registration

To help international graduates meet the academic equivalency requirement for registration, the College of Optometrists with the University of Waterloo School of Optometry (UWSO) developed the International Optometric Bridging Program (IOBP) offered at UWSO in Waterloo, Ontario. The program is designed to provide optometrists educated outside North America with a structured orientation to Canadian standards of optometric practice. It provides opportunities to gain the critical language, academic and clinical skills necessary for registration in all provinces of Canada. Once academic credentials have been assessed as acceptable, candidates will move forward to a language assessment (if required) and a prior learning assessment to ascertain their current knowledge in optometry. When the assessment process is complete, qualified candidates will enter Bridging One, a six-week orientation program, or Bridging Two, a year-long structured academic and practical program. The IOBP is designed to prepare successful candidates to move forward to challenge the Canadian Standard Assessment in Optometry, the national entry-to-practice exam.

International graduates who successfully complete the IOBP program are deemed to have met the academic requirement for registration in Ontario.

For more information, please email UWSO at ioginfo@optometry.uwaterloo.ca or contact them at http://www.optometry.uwaterloo.ca/iobp for an application form and an information package explaining the program in detail.

Submitting an Application to the College of Optometrists of Ontario

International applicants who have successfully completed the IOBP may submit an application for registration. The College will receive a letter from the IOBP indicating that the individual has successfully completed the program. Having met the academic requirement for registration, the applicant must complete all of the other requirements for registration (see How to Apply).

Letter of Good Standing

Depending on the international applicant’s country of origin, it can be difficult to impossible to provide the College with a letter of good standing from the optometric regulator in that country. The Registration Committee has approved the following guidelines regarding letters of good standing.

Applicants are asked to provide a letter of good standing from the highest authority available in the applicant’s country of origin, as follows:

  1. letter of good standing from the regulator, or
  2. letter of good standing from the authority that could remove the applicant’s right to practice (e.g., Ministry of Health or relevant state or government agency), or
  3. letter of good standing from the employer (e.g., state hospital, university)
  4. where none of the above are possible, the applicant signs an affidavit.

With regard to determining ‘good standing’, applications from international applicants will be brought to the Committee’s attention only if there is no identifiable authority to vouch for the applicant and the only alternative is to ask the applicant to sign an affidavit.

Timelines

Detailed information regarding timelines is included in each application package. In general, applications for registration may be open for a maximum of two years from the date they are received by the College. The College communicates with applicants throughout the application process, confirming when requirements are met and/or are still outstanding.