The Ultimate Guide to Nurse Recruitment Abroad

Nurses and healthcare professionals are in greater demand in the United Kingdom than ever before. In order to address gaps in the nursing labour shortfall, the NHS and other healthcare facilities in the UK rely on foreign nurses.
The procedure has been made simpler by allowing the candidate, once determined to be eligible to register, to finish both the competency tests and the registration application at once. The new application procedure’s requirements have also been simplified.

Today, the entire application procedure can be completed online. The NMC has updated their website to offer simple to follow instructions from beginning to end. A pre-application checklist tool customised for your specific situation is also available for download. You can submit your papers and complete the application form after creating your online account. You can monitor the status of your application together with that of your company or sponsor.

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Steps to Register

STEP 1: Complete the NMC Eligibility Assessment

Before beginning your application, get in touch with your authorities and verifiers to make sure their information is accurate and to get their permission to share their contact information with the NMC. It is essential to give the NMC the name, address, and email of your educational institution so that they can get in touch with you and confirm your information.

In order to confirm the registration information you have supplied, the NMC will get in touch with your regulator (PRC), if you are a registered nurse. If you haven’t yet taken the board exam, the NMC will get in touch with both your university and regulator (PRC) to find out if your education qualifies you for registration as a nurse in the UK.

To ensure that they can reply to our request for confirmation, please make sure to let your regulator (PRC) and college/university (if appropriate) know that you are asking for an NMC registration. To ensure that your regulator responds to our request, you might need to file or finish certain paperwork with them.

Here are the additional paperwork you need.

Proof of identity

• Valid Passport (information to be entered into your online account, along with a copy of the photo page)
• If your current name differs from your passport, you must provide proof of the change.
• Must display your prior name clearly and be issued by an official body, such as a marriage, civil partnership, or divorce certificate, or a deed pool notification.
• Upload a scanned copy, but the original copy must be presented for verification in person.

Qualification Certificate

• A foundation degree or higher must have been earned in the UK.
• Displaying your name, qualification title, date of achievement, and educational institution name

Professional Registration

You only need a PRC registration certificate if you passed the board exam.

Pay the Evaluation Fee (non-refundable) – £140

Once the payment has been received, NMC will email you a confirmation. Note your CRM number because you will need it for the following step.

Get a Stateboard Verification (SBV) from the PRC, then submit it to the NMC for verification.

• The PRC Board Certificate, a copy of your current PRC licence, the CRM number from the NMC confirmation email, and 978 Rupees are required to be paid.
• As you proceed through the application process, you will need to submit a Certificate of Good Standing (COGS), which you can request while you are at PRC for your SBV.

Submit the State Board Verification to NMC, then wait for a confirmation of eligibility.

STEP 2: Take the Recognized Examination

On completing the eligibility requirements, you may begin preparing for the mandatory English test. Recent immigrants to the UK who are nurses advised passing the English Exam first and proceeding from there because some people might find it more difficult to pass than the CBT. Since both examinations have a two-year validity period and are time-sensitive, it might be best to tackle the more difficult exam first.

To demonstrate your English language competency, you must achieve the minimum score required for either the OET or the IELTS. The two language exams that the NMC accepts are as follows:

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International English Language Test System (IELTS)

• For NMC registration, you must take the Academic Module, often known as IELTS UKVI. The maximum score you can receive in any of the four sections of the test—Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking—is 9. All subtests, with the exception of Writing, where a score of 6.5 is acceptable, must achieve a minimum of 7 in the NMC.
• The IELTS Academic test given at a testing facility is accepted by NMC on both a paper-based and a computer-based basis.

Occupational English Test (OET)

• The OET@Home test is now recognised by NMC as proof of English language proficiency. The OET@Home test is identical to the test standards used in test venue centres, but it can be taken on a computer at home by applicants. There is no longer a need to travel to the testing facility.
• The former paper-based test has been replaced by a computer test, which can be taken in the testing facility.
• OET employs actual healthcare settings to evaluate your communication skills while using the same categories as IELTS. A is the top grade you may receive in each category. Except for Writing, where a C+ is now permitted, NMC requires you to receive at least a B in each category as well as an overall score.

If you didn’t achieve the required IELTS and OET scores on your first attempt, you can combine your scores on your subsequent exam, but only if you meet the NMC requirements for combining tests in two sittings.

Step 3: Take the Computer based test

You can now complete the Test of Competence and the Registration application after the NMC has verified your eligibility to apply.

You can take the Test of Competence while fulfilling the registration requirements under the new procedure. There is no longer a set order in which you must complete each step before moving on to the next. The process can be completed however the applicants and their sponsors see fit, giving them freedom.

The Test of Competence evaluates applicants’ knowledge, comprehension, and use of professional nursing abilities. It consists of an objective-structured clinical examination (OSCE) and a computer-based test (CBT).

You can take any of these exams at any time, but to be completely qualified, you must pass both. After passing the first test, you have two years to pass the second one to keep your certification current. Once you pass them both, they are both good for five years.

Passing the computer-based test is typically the first step. After confirming your registration eligibility, the NMC will email you an Authorization to Test. In order to process your application and obtain a UK working visa, employers which hire nurses require both a CBT and an English exam. The OSCE is administered as soon as you land in the UK, and businesses typically offer a lot of assistance in getting ready for the test.

Step 4: Complete your Registration Application

While finishing your Test of Competence, you can begin submitting the supporting documentation for your registration. You have two years to finish your registration application after passing the CBT or OSCE, whichever comes first. I want to emphasise that you should keep up the momentum of passing all the examinations and fulfilling the requirements within the allotted period.

Health evidence

• Self-statement regarding your health. Any ailment that might have an impact on your practise must be disclosed.
• There is NO need to inform NMC of a condition you have if it is well controlled.
• You must provide additional information if you have an illness or handicap that is NOT controlled so that NMC can determine if you are fit to practise (further information on NMC website).
• If you want NMC to verify your health status, you must submit the contact information for a licenced medical professional. The health evaluation had to be performed during the previous six months.

Character evidence

• A statement about your character. Any police charges, warnings, convictions, conditional releases, as well as findings from UK-based or foreign regulatory authorities, must be disclosed.
• If you report any violations, NMC may ask you for more information in order to determine if you are fit to practise safely in the UK.
• Upload a DBS or police clearance

Police clearance

Required for persons who spent at least 12 consecutive months living abroad in the previous ten years; issued no more than 12 months prior to uploading. Go to the Gov.UK website to find out more.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

Contact information for the person you’ve designated to make a supporting declaration if you spent at least three months living in the UK.

Your designated person must attest to your ability to practise safely and successfully. The nominee cannot be related to you or have worked for you in the past.

Who

• A former employer
• Education facility where you received your diploma and obtained a qualification
• NMC registrant OR another healthcare practitioner licenced in the UK with whom you have recently maintained contact after knowing them for a year.
• If you are unable to supply any of the aforementioned, NMC will request the names and contact information for two people from their list of authorised signatories to serve as character references.
• Can be the nominated persons for supporting character declaration?

Language evidence

Verify the documentation proving your English proficiency.

Any of the following examples could apply:

• IELTS
• OET
• Transcript of Records : This evidence is only accepted if your training record demonstrates that you completed 50% of clinical interaction, and that you conducted 75% of that engagement in English with patients, family members, or healthcare professionals.
• Registered Practice in Majority English speaking country: For individuals who practised in these nations for a year, this is acceptable. You must supply your registration information, your certificate, the results of the regulator’s evaluation of your English language ability, and information about your job.

Confirm indemnity arrangement

• Every UK registered nurse is required to have this in order to be protected in the event that a claim is brought against them while they are actively working.
• The majority of employers, including the NHS and several private industries, offer indemnity coverage. Make cautious to confirm its implementation; if not, you can make arrangements with unions like RCN and UNISON.

Pay for your registration fee – £153.

Step 5: Search and apply for the job.

You can either do this as Step 1 or you can start looking for jobs and applying right away. However, if you have done Steps 1-4, depending on feedback, it will be simpler for you to identify opportunities and receive offers.

Step 6: Take the Objective Structured Clinical Examination

Employers provide applicants with the Certificate of Sponsorship (COS) required to acquire a Tier 2 Working Visa so they can move to the UK to complete the OSCE after they have fulfilled the IELTS, CBT, and initial prerequisites. You only have three months from the date on your COS that your employment began to take the OSCE exam.

Step 7: NMC assessment

NMC will get in touch with your references to confirm your information when you’ve passed the Test of Competence and finished the Registration Application. NMC will email you if they require more information regarding your supporting documentation.

At this point, all you have to do is wait for the NMC to make a decision regarding the registration outcome.

Step 8: Registration

You will instantly be on the register and able to practise as a Band 5 in the hospital/trust where you were hired once you receive your NMC registration confirmation.

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