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🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Nurses

What a nurse trained abroad needs to register in the United Kingdom

Read from the regulator's own documents. Each step shows what it costs, who usually pays, and the date we last checked it. Enter your details and we tell you which of these you already meet.

NMC registration via Test of Competence (CBT + OSCE)

Nursing and Midwifery Council · ~8 months · ~£1,618 · 9 steps

Two-part test. The CBT is taken at a Pearson VUE centre at home; the OSCE is taken at a UK test centre within 12 weeks of starting work on a Certificate of Sponsorship. No post-registration experience is required by the NMC, though employers usually ask for a year. Registration costs GBP 182 once both parts are passed.

  1. 1
    Registered as a nurse in your country of training, with the registration current
    Source ↗
  2. 2
    Nursing diploma or degree of at least three years, not by distance learning (assessed individually; BSc is the clean route)
    unconfirmed · Source ↗
  3. 3
    English: IELTS 7.0 (listening, reading, speaking) and 6.5 writing, or OET B with C+ writing; two sittings of the same test within 12 months may be combined
    ~8 weeks · ~£250 · you pay · Source ↗
  4. 4
    NMC eligibility and qualification evaluation (GBP 167, non-refundable)
    ~£167 · you pay · Source ↗
  5. 5
    Pass the NMC CBT (Part A numeracy + Part B clinical), GBP 83, at a Pearson VUE centre
    ~8 weeks · ~£83 · who pays varies · Source ↗
  6. 6
    Job offer with a Certificate of Sponsorship and a Health and Care Worker visa (GBP 324 for up to three years, no health surcharge)
    ~£324 · who pays varies · Source ↗
  7. 7
    Pass the NMC OSCE at a UK test centre (GBP 794 per attempt) within 12 weeks of your sponsorship start date
    ~12 weeks · ~£794 · employer usually pays · Source ↗
  8. 8
    Two years on a permanent Nigerian licence before the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria will verify your certificates for a foreign regulator (nurses trained in Nigeria)
    you pay · unconfirmed · Source ↗
  9. 9
    Overseas Employment Certificate from the Department of Migrant Workers, through a DMW-licensed recruitment agency or an employer the DMW allows to hire directly (Filipino workers)
    who pays varies · Source ↗

Rules checked 22 Oct 2026 · outcomeOS describes each regulator's published rules; it does not advise on your individual case. · Privacy · Terms

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