INTERNATIONAL RECRUITMENT

You need to have successfully completed a nursing education, achieved the required scores in one of the accepted English languages tests by the NMC, in each of the four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking and passed the test of competence part one (CBT) and part two: Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). The 12 months practice requirement after achieving registration has been removed and so you can apply after qualifying as a nurse in your country of registration. 

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the regulator for nursing and midwifery professions in the UK. The NMC maintains a register of all nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses eligible to practise within the UK. Your application to work as a registered nurse in the UK is considered by them. They are not the Home Office or UKVI.

'IELTS for UKVI' is a UK government approved Secure English Language Test (SELT). This means that IELTS can be used to prove your English language abilities in support of a UK Visa and Immigration(UKVI) application.

The IELTS Academic test is for people applying for higher education or professional registration in an English speaking environment. It reflects some of the features of academic language and assesses whether you are ready to begin studying or training. The NMC accepts this test to meet the standard of its English language requirement to work in the UK.

Occupational English Test (OET) is an international English language test that assesses the language communication skills of healthcare professionals who seek to register and practise in an English-speaking environment. The NMC accepts this test to meet the standard of its English language requirement to work in the UK.

Previously, international nurses and midwives wishing to apply to join the NMC’s register are required to have worked for 12 months after achieving their qualification. The NMC has now removed this requirement, meaning applicants can apply to join the register immediately after qualifying. Note however that most NHS hospitals in the UK still require a minimum of 12 months clinical experience to consider your application.

This is a test of your theoretical practice-based knowledge. The test format is a multiple choice test and can be taken in test centres around the world. A CBT tends to cost around £130 but varies slightly in which country you are taking the test.

The OSCE will assess your clinical knowledge and can only be completed in the UK. The test will be administered by one of the NMC’s approved university test centres who will administer their own test fee in agreement with us. You’ll need to contact the university directly to book and pay for your test. The test costs £992 and part resit will cost £496.

After you’ve passed the CBT, you’ll be asked to provide your supporting documents for your registration application. Once all the necessary documents have been received, your application will be assessed by a member of the NMC’s International Registrations Team.
Your application is normally decided within 60 calendar days of receiving all your supporting evidence. Once the NMC confirmed you’ve met the registration requirements, you will receive a letter authorising you to progress to the next stage, which is the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE).

The NMC aims to decide your application within 60 calendar days and the delay occurs when one of the supporting documents you have provided are incomplete, not signed or stamped, in the wrong format or not received in time. There are occasions when your application documents have been lost or misplaced within the NMC receiving team and therefore have not been considered. It is always best practice to appoint a representative based in the UK to liaise with the NMC in respect of your application to ensure you receive a decision letter within the published guidance for consideration.

Upon arrival and before registration you will be paid from £16,333 per year (Band 3) and from £23,023 upon registration. Most nursing home pays from £31,200 per annum upon achieving full registration with the NMC.

This is because the nursing homes are a private sector and therefore have flexibility in offering a higher salary than the NHS. One of the reasons is to make working in this environment more attractive to nurses.

There are different reasons for delay in receiving a decision letter. We are able to help you get it right first time or ensure the NMC has everything about your application to help them make a decision according to their policy.

Your sponsor must request certain number of allocations before they can assign a CoS for you to use in your visa application. It can take from 5 days to 8 weeks for this type of request to be decided. Sometimes it can take longer due to the volume of applications received by the Home Office. Our expertise in dealing with the Home Office in matters of requesting CoSs, we have the capacity and experience to secure enough number of allocations within 5 days.

Your agency has no control over any delay relating to Certificates of Sponsorship but our legal expertise and experience in dealing with the Home Office allows us to reduce the waiting time at every stage of our recruitment process which most agencies do not have or unable to do.

We have developed unrivalled processes and systems so that if you have passed IELTS or OET and CBT,  we can assign your CoS within 48 hours of receiving an offer letter from our employers and submit your visa application within 3 days from assigning your CoS and travel to the UK within 3 days from receiving your visa which usually decided within 2 weeks from submission.

The NHS follows an approved pay system set by the government. Generally, all international nurses start at the lowest end of Band 5 from obtaining full registration with the NMC. There is an opportunity to progress in the higher end of the scale or move up to Band 6 within a year. However, some Trusts take into account clinical experience outside the UK and are prepared to pay the salary level appropriate to your experience. We work with some these Trusts.

If these conditions are in your employment contract and you agreed to it, they may be able to enforce this agreement. Please check with us for specific advice.