How to become an optometrist in Canada with a foreign degree

Who takes this route

If you earned your optometry degree outside North America, at a program not accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE), you can't apply for a Canadian licence directly. You follow one national pathway, coordinated by FORAC (the Federation of Optometric Regulatory Authorities of Canada), which leads to registration in every province and territory except Quebec: Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and the rest.

The steps depend on where you studied, not on your citizenship or immigration status, so they are the same for optometrists from India, the Philippines, Iran, Nigeria, the UK or anywhere else outside North America.

The eight steps, in order

1. Check your education against Waterloo's optometry curriculum

   Non-accredited graduates need either 3 years of full-time undergraduate science plus a 4-year optometry degree, or a 4-year optometry degree plus 3 years of full-time licensed practice.

2. Get a WES ICAP course-by-course report

   $245 per person. WES sends a copy to FORAC.

3. Prove English proficiency if your program wasn't taught in English

   IELTS General 7.5 overall (none below 7), PTE 80 (none below 70), or CELPIP General 9 (none below 8).

4. Apply to FORAC for credential assessment

   Forms 5 and 2, official course descriptions, translations, and the $2,655.50 COEC assessment fee (non-refundable).

5. Pass the IGOEE at Touchstone Institute

   Three attempts within five years. Exceptionally high scores allow a direct challenge of the OEBC exam.

6. Complete Waterloo's Advanced Standing Optometry Preparatory Program (ASOPP)

   The bridge for those who need it; it replaced the IOBP.

7. Pass the OEBC entry-to-practice exam

   The national competency exam every Canadian optometrist takes.

8. Register with your provincial regulator

   Every province and territory except Quebec, which has its own French-language pathway through the OOQ.

What it costs

The fees we can confirm from the official pages, in Canadian dollars:

Not included: an English test if you need one, Waterloo's ASOPP if you take it, the OEBC exam and provincial registration. Each organization sets its own fees, so check them before you budget. IGOEE fee details: CAD $5,000 (Visa or Mastercard); $1,000 cancellation fee; refunds end 30 days before the exam.

How long it takes

• FORAC comes first. You can register for the IGOEE only after FORAC has assessed your credentials favourably, so start the WES report, any English test and the FORAC application early.
• The IGOEE is held once a year. For the 2026–2027 cycle, registration runs from September 1, 2026 to January 8, 2027, the virtual General MCQ and TPAO are on March 3–4, 2027, and the OSCE is in Toronto on March 12–14.
• Results: up to eight weeks; results go to FORAC, which notifies you. You have three attempts within five years.
• After the IGOEE, depending on your result, you either go straight to the OEBC exam or complete Waterloo's ASOPP first.

IGOEE vs OEBC: two different exams

Quebec is separate

Quebec isn't part of FORAC's pathway. It has its own French-language process through the Ordre des optométristes du Québec (OOQ).

Preparing for the IGOEE

The IGOEE is the step you can prepare for most directly. Read the IGOEE exam guide for the format and dates, follow the week-by-week study plan, learn Ontario's prescribing scope for the TPAO, and take the free IGOEE practice test.

Official sources

Questions