If you haven’t done so already, you need to become a nurse! This will require you to study to become a nurse at a recognised institution, normally a degree programme that takes around 3-4 years. You then need to register as nurse with your country’s nursing regulator and start working as a nurse where you are. Once you’ve started working as a nurse you are now ready to apply for work in the UK. In the UK, there are 5 areas of nursing and midwifery you can work in:
There is another type of nurse, a dental nurse, which is regulated by a different body (the General Dental Council) and which has a different application process . We don’t cover this currently but we are hoping to add it in the future.
To know more about the different types of nursing, please click on the link before. Please note we do not have any control of any external websites and the links provided are for information only. We have no affiliation with ANY of our external links
Your passport needs to be the new biometric style passport with at least 6 months remaining. Depending on which country you are in, renewing your passport, (or applying for a new one) can take several months so we advise you check this before starting any application
To find a IELTS centre in your country, please click below
The NMC regulates and grants licenses to all nurses and midwives in the UK. You will need to register with them first to get a provisional license. Go to https://www.nmc.org.uk/registration/joining-the-register/register-nurse-midwife/trained-outside-uk/ to register and set up an account. If you have trained in an EU institution that is recognised by the NMC, then, super easy, you just need to send your documents in and you are registered! If you have trained elsewhere, then unfortunately this can be a much longer process. It involves submitting several documents, and passing two exams which make up the Test of Competence (TOC). To find out the exact process, please click on the link below or go directly to the NMC website where you can also set up your account
One you have registered with the NMC, It’s time to start applying for nursing jobs in the UK. There is a very wide range of roles, covering different specialities, areas of the UK and types of hospitals. We have put together a guide applying for nursing jobs in the UK, including a wide range of resources which cover CV writing, making winning applications, acing interviews and deciding where in the UK you want to move to. Click on the link below!
The country you live in currently will have an impact on how you can apply. The main ways to get a nurse job in the UK are either:
The World Health Organisation (WHO) maintains a list of countries whose healthcare systems are considered underdeveloped and struggle to provide an effective health service for their citizens. To avoid putting further strain on their health service, other countries and recruitment agencies are barred from actively recruiting from these countries. This will limit how you can apply. To check whether your country is on the red list, please click on the link below
If you don’t live in a UN barred country, then all the routes are open for you. You can either apply directly to the hiring organisation, or through the several recruitment agencies which specialise in this field. As there are hundreds of such agencies, we cannot provide a comprehensive list here. We suggest you do a websearch in your country and see what comes up. However we have provided a link to the UK government approved list of recruitment agencies below which you should check out. These have all signed up to an ethics charter and are checked regularly to make sure they are behaving ethically and don‘t use any underhand or fraudalent activities to dupe you with false promises of work. Please remember, it is illegal for any agency to charge you for any services they provide. Don’t be misled into handing over any money for a promise of work, and please report them to the address given on the UK ethical recruiters website. Getting a job through an agency is probably the easiest way to find a job as once they have interviewed you and are happy with your performance they will connect you to their list of health care organisations who they work with and do most of the paperwork for you. The downside is you will be limited to which employers and which areas of the UK you can find work with depending on who the agency has partnered with. If you want to apply directly to a organisation, please read the next section on applying from a red-list country
If you live in one of the so-called UN red list of barred countries, things are a little more complicated. You cannot be “recruited” which means organisations cannot be seen to be making any effort to recruit you or have any incentives for you to come work for them.
However, (somewhat ironically) there is no prohibition for healthcare professionals from these countries to apply directly for jobs (known as direct application) in other countries. What this means is if you live in a country that is on the red-list, you need to do all the research and applications yourself. You cannot go through an agency. Sadly, there are a lot of unscrupulous companies and agencies out there who will pretend there is no barred list and try to get you to hand over money in return for promise of jobs. Remember never pay money to any agency or anyone else who promises you healthcare work in return for a fee. This is illegal and you could become a victim of fraud and still have no job at the end of it. You can make the full application yourself as long as you put in a little research and build on your CV and make good, strong applications
Once you’ve secured your job offer it’s time to arrange all your travel, visas accomodation and so on. Head over to our to our step by step guide to see how all this is done!
You made it! Congratulations on your new job and life in the UK! To see what life is like in the UK working as a nurse, do check out the youtube video below and we wish you a great future in the UK!
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