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🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Nurses from India

How to work as a nurse in the UK from India

A nurse from India registers with the NMC in 6 steps over about 8 months, with £432 in published fees and £794 more that your employer usually pays, and one thing is different from India: the UK's government-to-government agreement with India.

Checked 22 Oct 2026 · NMC ↗

What is different from India

If you live in India

Can UK employers recruit me?

Yes. India is on the green list of the UK's Code of Practice, with a government-to-government agreement: active recruitment is permitted from green countries, which are all those not on the red or amber list.

The agreement may set parameters, implemented by the country of origin, for how UK employers, recruitment organisations and agencies recruit, and the Code encourages them to recruit on its terms.

Ethical recruitment is determined by the country the individual is resident in, rather than their nationality or original country of training.

UK red list countries for health and care workers →

Your steps, in order

Nursing and Midwifery Council · ~8 months · 6 steps
  1. 1
    Registered as a nurse in your country of training, with the registration current
  2. 2
    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 ↗
  3. 3
    NMC eligibility and qualification evaluation (non-refundable)
    ~£167 · you pay · Source ↗
  4. 4
    Pass the NMC CBT (Part A numeracy + Part B clinical) at a Pearson VUE centre
    ~8 weeks · ~£83 · who pays varies · Source ↗
  5. 5
    Job offer with a Certificate of Sponsorship and a Health and Care Worker visa (up to three years, no health surcharge)
    ~£324 · who pays varies · Source ↗
  6. 6
    Pass the NMC OSCE at a UK test centre within 12 weeks of your sponsorship start date
    ~12 weeks · ~£794 · employer usually pays · Source ↗

Not listed: one more step we have not yet confirmed in the regulator's own documents. Every step →

The published fees leave out the English test and the visa or work permit.

What to do next

Tell us about your training, your registration and your experience, and we show which of the NMC's steps you have left, with each fee and how long it takes.

Sources

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