← Nurses in the UKoutcomeOS
🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Nurses from Pakistan

How to work as a nurse in the UK from Pakistan

A nurse from Pakistan 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 Pakistan: the UK's red list for international recruitment.

Checked 22 Oct 2026 · NMC ↗

What is different from Pakistan

If you live in Pakistan

Can UK employers recruit me?

Not actively. Pakistan is on the UK's red list: no active international recruitment by UK employers or agencies from red-list countries; individuals may apply directly.

The lists do not prevent individuals from applying to UK employers of their own accord, without being targeted by a recruitment agency or employer.

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

outcomeOS describes each regulator's published rules; it does not advise on your individual case. · What changed · Privacy · Terms

See which of these I already meet, freeThree minutes, free. Sign in at the end to see your results.