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SALT LAKE CITY — The news is out about Utah's decision to allow some immigrant professionals to become licensed in the state — and the demand for such licenses is high.
The Department of Commerce, which oversees a lion's share of the state's licensing, has received over 2,600 responses since May from foreign-licensed professionals who are interested in becoming licensed in Utah.
The Utah Legislature approved SB35 earlier this year, which allows for such licensing among several state agencies. It was preceded by SB43, which made the same allowances for licenses and certifications from the Utah Division of Professional Licensing.
But most immigrants are still a ways out from receiving a license since the Department of Commerce is still defining licensing pathways for hundreds of professions — a process that also includes looking at licensing requirements of individual foreign countries for those professions.
"That's what makes this challenging," said Margaret Busse, the department's executive director. "That's why a lot of states are not doing it, but we wanted to take it on in Utah because we think it's so incredibly important for two reasons: One, is we want to give folks that are coming in from different countries — or immigrant communities or refugee communities — the best economic opportunity that we possibly can. ...The other reason, of course, is it helps our economy. This is major brain waste when people can't work at the top of their skill level."
Busse doesn't have a timeline on when specific licenses might be approved, but she said her team is prioritizing requests from those who live in Utah, as well as for a number of professions that have labor shortages, such as nursing.
She said those interested in the licenses should contact the department through an online form on its website so that the state can gauge what fields have the highest demand. She also warned against scams regarding such licenses, which she said have been prevalent.
"We've absolutely heard of folks in other countries even saying, 'Oh, I can get you a license in the state of Utah' and that sort of thing. People should be very wary of any of that," she said. "You don't need to pay anyone to do it. It's really just contacting us, telling us the type of license you're looking for and being patient because it's going to take some time for us to work this out."
Busse said physicians and surgeons make up 37% of the inquiries the Department of Commerce has received, followed by dentists at 15%, professional engineers at 10%, and registered nurses at 9.5%. Education, lawyer, business administrator, psychologist, certified public accountant, physical therapist, veterinarian and architect were other common license types that internationally trained talent inquired about.
The vast majority of those who inquired speak Spanish. Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, Ecuador and Peru were the most common countries of origin for applicants. The majority of applicants were also residing outside of Utah, with only 21% of those inquiring about licenses regulated by the Department of Commerce's Division of Professional Licensing coming from Utahns.
What kinds of licenses aren't covered?
Busse said there is still more legislative work to be done to make clear the way for professions like doctors, lawyers, social workers, mental health workers and dentists with foreign qualifications to become licensed in Utah.
"They are still pretty big hurdles in the statutes," she said. "So we're going to work on that this next session to kind of clear those last ones."
The current law also doesn't apply to industries that are federally regulated, like real estate and licenses and securities. Busse also said the department has received inquiries for professions that may be subjected to licensing in foreign countries but don't need a license in Utah.
A full list of the professions covered by the law under the Utah Department of Commerce's Division of Professional Licensing, as well as a list of other agencies that will be offering licenses to those with adequate foreign credentials, is available on the Department of Commerce website.
