Introduction to Nursing Jobs in UK

Overseas nurses and midwives play an important role in health care provision in the UK. According to the NMC website they received 69,173  requests regarding information on the application process from April 2004 to April 2005 and during the same period the NMC's overseas assessment team considered and made decisions on 53,440 applications.

There are legal requirements to enter the UK as well as requirements in terms of language ability, education, training and experience as a nurse. Because details on entry into the UK may change, and because each application for entry onto the NMC register are assessed individually, we have tried to refer you to the appropriate source of up to date information rather than include all the details within this site.

Applicants from some countries will be required to undertake an adaptation program before they can be fully accepted on to the NMC register. Agencies who offer you jobs on behalf of UK employers will help you with your application for NMC registration, work permits etc.

In order to work as a Registered nurse in the UK, an overseas-trained nurse needs to:

• be able to speak English to a specified standard
• be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
• obtain an appropriate work permit for the UK
• obtain appropriate visas for entry to the UK  and  have an offer of work in the UK

Registration with The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the statutory regulatory body for nursing, midwifery and health visiting in the United Kingdom. All nurses who trained outside the UK need to be registered with the NMC in order to practice as a nurse in the UK. Nurses who wish to work in the UK must already be fully registered in their home country. Enrolled nurse qualifications obtained outside the UK are not recognized in the UK.

All applications for NMC registration are assessed on an individual basis in terms of experience and education. Some applicants may be registered straight away; others may need to undertake further clinical experience or training, either in their own country or in the UK.

Providing supervised clinical experience or training is expensive and we are not aware of any UK employers are currently in a position to do so for individual applicants. The only times that supervision or courses are being organized is after an employer has undertaken a recruitment campaign in a particular country.

How to apply for NMC registration

Contact the NMC Overseas Registration department who will send out an application pack.

NMC Overseas Registration
23 Portland Place
London W1N 4JT
UK

You can download a detailed document for  Registering as a nurse or midwife in the United Kingdom by Clicking Here or by visiting http://www.nmc-uk.org - The nursing and Midwifery Council of UK website.

Tel: +44 20 7333 6600
Fax: +44 20 7436 2924

When contacting the NMC you will need to include the following information:

• Title (Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms)
• First Name
• Surname (Family Name)
• Date of Birth
• Address
• Country of Training
• Part of the NMC register on which you wish to be included (state whether you are a General Nurse, Mental Health Nurse, Mental Handicap Nurse, Sick Children's Nurse or Midwife)