230 terms · checked against official sources
Healthcare registration glossary
Every abbreviation and foreign word between your degree and your first shift, explained in plain English: what it is, who issues it, how long it takes and what it costs. Each term links on to the full guides.
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- CCPS (Certificate of Current Professional Status)A CCPS (Certificate of Current Professional Status) is a document from a health regulator confirming your registration history and any fitness to practise sanctions, sent to a regulator in another country you are applying to. The GMC and NMC issue CCPS for UK-registered professionals, and both say it is valid for three months.
- Certificate of good standingA certificate of good standing is an official statement from a health regulator confirming that you are, or were, registered with it and whether any restrictions or fitness to practise findings apply. A regulator in the country you are moving to uses it to check your record before registering you, and it is usually valid for only three to six months.
- OSCE (objective structured clinical examination)An OSCE (objective structured clinical examination) is a practical exam in which you rotate through timed stations, such as a mock consultation, a clinical skill or a written task, and are marked against a fixed scheme. Regulators including the NMC, GMC and GDC use OSCEs to test the clinical and communication skills of internationally trained professionals.
- Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)A Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) is an electronic record, not a physical document, that a UK employer holding a Home Office sponsor licence assigns to a worker it wants to employ. Its unique reference number is what the worker uses to apply for a Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker visa.
- Approbation (German licence to practise)The Approbation is the German state licence that lets a doctor, dentist or pharmacist practise permanently and without restriction anywhere in Germany. It is granted by the authority of the federal state where you plan to work, once your training is found equivalent and you meet the conditions on conduct, health and German language.
- Defizitbescheid (deficit notice)A Defizitbescheid is the informal name for a German recognition notice that finds substantial differences between your foreign training and the German reference qualification. It lists those differences and tells you how to make them up, usually through a Kenntnisprüfung or an adaptation course, before you can be licensed.
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230 terms
A
- Adaptation period (Anpassungslehrgang)An adaptation period is a compensation measure in which you work in your profession in the new country under the responsibility of a qualified practitioner, sometimes with extra training, and are then assessed. Under Directive 2005/36/EC it can last up to three years; in Germany it is called an Anpassungslehrgang.
- AFM (Greek tax registration number)The AFM (Αριθμός Φορολογικού Μητρώου, Tax Registration Number) is the personal tax number issued by Greece's Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE). Health professionals moving to Greece need it to be paid, to sign a lease, to open accounts and to get their AMKA social security number.
- Agenda for Change (AfC)Agenda for Change (AfC) is the national pay and conditions system for NHS staff in the UK other than doctors, dentists and very senior managers, which places every job in one of nine pay bands using the NHS Job Evaluation Scheme.
- AHV number (Swiss social security number)The AHV number (AHV-Nummer in German, numéro AVS in French, OASI number in English) is Switzerland's 13-digit social security number, starting with 756. It identifies you in the old-age and survivors' insurance (AHV/AVS) and other social insurances, and foreign workers normally receive it automatically when they settle in Switzerland or start work.
- AIMA residence permit (autorização de residência), PortugalAn AIMA residence permit (autorização de residência) is the permit Portugal's Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) grants to non-EU nationals who live in Portugal, for example to work as a doctor or nurse. It is documented by a residence card (título de residência) and, for employment, is valid for two years at first.
- AMKA (Greek social security number)AMKA (Αριθμός Μητρώου Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης, Social Security Registration Number) is the compulsory number that identifies everyone in Greece's social insurance system. Doctors, nurses and other health professionals from outside the EU need an active AMKA to be insured, to have contributions paid on their salary and to use public healthcare.
- Anerkennungsverfahren (recognition procedure, Germany)The Anerkennungsverfahren is the German procedure in which a competent authority checks whether a foreign professional qualification is equivalent to a German reference qualification. For regulated health professions such as doctor and nurse it is a legal requirement before you can be licensed, and it ends with a recognition notice.
- Anmeldung (address registration in Germany)Anmeldung is the compulsory registration of your home address with the local registration office (Meldebehörde, often the Bürgeramt) in Germany. Under the Federal Registration Act you must register within two weeks of moving in, and the registration certificate (Meldebestätigung) you receive is needed for your residence permit, tax ID, bank account and payroll.
- ApostilleAn apostille is a certificate attached to a public document by a designated authority in the country that issued it, confirming that the signature, seal or stamp on the document is genuine so it can be used in another country under the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention. It does not confirm that the content of the document is true.
- Approbation (German licence to practise)The Approbation is the German state licence that lets a doctor, dentist or pharmacist practise permanently and without restriction anywhere in Germany. It is granted by the authority of the federal state where you plan to work, once your training is found equivalent and you meet the conditions on conduct, health and German language.
- Aprobační zkouška (Czech approbation examination)The aprobační zkouška (approbation examination) is the Czech exam that doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses and other health professionals trained outside the EU must pass, after nostrification of their degree, to have their competence to practise recognised by the Ministry of Health. It has a written part, a supervised practical part and an oral part.
- Aptitude test (EU recognition)An aptitude test is a compensation measure under EU recognition law: a test of your professional knowledge, skills and competences, run or recognised by the host country's competent authority, to show you can practise a regulated profession there despite substantial differences in your training. It is usually offered as an alternative to an adaptation period.
- Aufenthaltstitel (German residence title)An Aufenthaltstitel (residence title) is the umbrella term in German law for any document that lets a non-EU national enter and stay in Germany. Section 4 of the Residence Act lists the types: national visa, Aufenthaltserlaubnis (temporary residence permit), EU Blue Card, ICT cards, Niederlassungserlaubnis (settlement permit) and EU long-term residence.
- Authorisation to practise (Luxembourg, autorisation d'exercer)The authorisation to practise (autorisation d'exercer) is the licence that every regulated health professional in Luxembourg needs, issued by the Ministry of Health and Social Security. It costs €450 per licence and title for doctors and €75 for nurses and other health professions, and practising without one is an offence.
- Authorization to Test (ATT)An Authorization to Test (ATT) is the email a candidate receives once their nursing regulatory body has made them eligible to sit the NCLEX. It contains an authorization number, candidate identification number and expiration date, and you cannot schedule the NCLEX until you have it.
- Automatic recognition (EU sectoral professions)Automatic recognition is the rule in Directive 2005/36/EC that requires every EU member state to accept listed qualifications for doctors, general care nurses, dentists, midwives, pharmacists, vets and architects without re-examining the training. It applies only to qualifications issued in the EU or EEA that meet EU minimum training standards and appear in Annex V of the directive.
- Autorisation d'exercice (authorisation to practise, France)The autorisation d'exercice (authorisation to practise) is the ministerial decision that lets a doctor, dentist, midwife or pharmacist with a foreign diploma practise in France. The Centre national de gestion (CNG) prepares the file, a national commission gives its opinion, and a favourable decision is published as an order in the Journal officiel, after which you register with your professional order.
- Aviz de muncă (Romanian work permit, aviz de angajare)The aviz de muncă, officially the aviz de angajare (employment permit), is the authorisation a Romanian employer must obtain from the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI) before hiring a non-EU citizen. With it, the worker applies for a long-stay employment visa and, after arrival, a single residence and work permit.
B
- Berufsausübungsbewilligung (cantonal licence to practise, Switzerland)A Berufsausübungsbewilligung (licence to practise, autorisation de pratiquer) is the permit a Swiss canton issues to a health professional who works on their own professional responsibility, whether self-employed or employed. Doctors and nurses working under the supervision of a colleague in the same profession do not need one.
- Berufserlaubnis (temporary permit to practise)A Berufserlaubnis is a temporary, revocable permit from a German state authority that lets a doctor, dentist or pharmacist trained outside the EU work in their profession before receiving the full Approbation. For doctors it is limited by law to a total of two years and can be restricted to particular activities and workplaces.
- Beschleunigtes Fachkräfteverfahren (fast-track procedure for skilled workers)The beschleunigtes Fachkräfteverfahren (fast-track procedure for skilled workers) is a procedure under section 81a of the German Residence Act in which an employer, with the worker's power of attorney, asks the local foreigners authority to steer recognition, Federal Employment Agency approval and the visa together. It costs €411 and shortens several deadlines.
- BI-test (Netherlands)The BI-test (beroepsinhoudelijke toets, or professional content test) is the Dutch exam that doctors, dentists and nurses with qualifications from outside the EU/EEA take during the certificate of competence procedure. It shows in which areas their knowledge and skills match the Dutch level, and the CBGV uses the result to advise on recognition.
- BIG registrationBIG registration is entry on the Dutch BIG-register, the legal public register for professions in individual healthcare in the Netherlands. It is mandatory for 11 professions, including doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and physiotherapists, before they can work and use their protected title.
- Biometric residence permit (BRP), and what replaced itA biometric residence permit (BRP) was the card the Home Office issued to show a person's UK immigration status. GOV.UK says all BRPs have now expired and have been replaced by eVisas, though an expired BRP can still be used for a few account tasks until 31 December 2026 at the latest.
- BSN (burgerservicenummer, citizen service number)The BSN (burgerservicenummer, citizen service number) is the unique personal number everyone registered in the Dutch Personal Records Database (BRP) receives. You get it by registering with your municipality within five days of arriving if you will live in the Netherlands for more than four months, and you need it for payroll, health insurance, DigiD and BIG registration.
- Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency)The Bundesagentur für Arbeit (BA, Federal Employment Agency) is Germany's public employment service. For a health professional from outside the EU it matters in three ways: it usually has to approve the job before a work visa or residence permit is issued, its International Placement Services (ZAV) recruit nurses through programmes such as Triple Win, and it advises on recognition and job search.
C
- Carte Vitale (French health insurance card)The carte Vitale is the free, personal chip card issued by France's national health insurance (Assurance Maladie) that proves you are insured and lets doctors and pharmacies bill your care electronically. Newcomers order it online through their ameli account once they have a definitive social security number.
- CBGV (Commissie Buitenlandse Gediplomeerden Volksgezondheid)The CBGV (Commissie Buitenlandse Gediplomeerden Volksgezondheid, or Commission for Foreign Healthcare Graduates) is the independent Dutch commission that assesses whether foreign health qualifications meet Dutch standards and advises the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) on recognition and certificates of competence.
- CCPS (Certificate of Current Professional Status)A CCPS (Certificate of Current Professional Status) is a document from a health regulator confirming your registration history and any fitness to practise sanctions, sent to a regulator in another country you are applying to. The GMC and NMC issue CCPS for UK-registered professionals, and both say it is valid for three months.
- CCT (Certificate of Completion of Training)A CCT (Certificate of Completion of Training) is the certificate the General Medical Council awards to a doctor who has completed a GMC-approved UK specialty or GP training programme, which entitles them to join the GMC Specialist Register or GP Register.
- Cédula profissional (Portuguese professional licence card)A cédula profissional is the professional card and number that proves you are registered to practise a regulated profession in Portugal. Doctors and nurses receive it from their Ordem (Ordem dos Médicos, Ordem dos Enfermeiros) after inscription; diagnostic and therapeutic professionals receive it from the health ministry agency ACSS.
- CEFR levels (A1 to C2)The CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) is the Council of Europe's six-level scale of language ability, from A1 (beginner) to C2 (near-native). Visa rules and health regulators use it to set the language level you must prove, for example B2 English for a UK Health and Care Worker visa or B2 German for nursing recognition in Germany.
- Certificate of good standingA certificate of good standing is an official statement from a health regulator confirming that you are, or were, registered with it and whether any restrictions or fitness to practise findings apply. A regulator in the country you are moving to uses it to check your record before registering you, and it is usually valid for only three to six months.
- Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)A Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) is an electronic record, not a physical document, that a UK employer holding a Home Office sponsor licence assigns to a worker it wants to employ. Its unique reference number is what the worker uses to apply for a Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker visa.
- Certified translationA certified translation is a full translation of a document by a professional or officially authorised translator who confirms in writing that it is accurate, with their name, signature, contact details and date. Health regulators and visa authorities require one for any document not in their accepted language, and some, such as Germany and the Netherlands, require a sworn translator.
- Chancenkarte (Opportunity Card, Germany)The Chancenkarte (Opportunity Card) is a German residence title under section 20a of the Residence Act that lets a qualified person from outside the EU live in Germany for up to one year to look for a job or for recognition measures. Applicants qualify either as recognised skilled workers or by scoring at least 6 points for qualifications, German, experience, age and links to Germany.
- CIBG (executive agency of the Dutch Ministry of Health)The CIBG is the executive agency of the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) that keeps legal health registers. For internationally trained health professionals it is the body behind the BIG-register and the recognition of foreign health diplomas, so your application, correspondence and registration all go through the CIBG.
- CNP (Cod Numeric Personal, Romanian personal numeric code)The CNP (cod numeric personal) is Romania's personal numeric code, the unique identifier Romanian authorities use for each person. For foreign workers it is allocated by the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI), which since 2024 issues it together with the employment permit (aviz de angajare).
- Code of practice for international recruitment (England)The code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England is the Department of Health and Social Care's code that sets ethical rules for employers and recruitment agencies hiring health and care staff from abroad, including a ban on active recruitment from red-list countries and on charging candidates fees.
- Codice fiscale (Italian tax code)The codice fiscale is Italy's 16-character tax code, issued by the Agenzia delle Entrate (Revenue Agency), that identifies every person in dealings with Italian public bodies. Foreign doctors and nurses need it to sign contracts, be paid and register with the national health service.
- Colegiación (registration with a Spanish professional college)Colegiación is registration with the official professional college (colegio oficial) for your profession, usually the one for the province where you will mainly work. For doctors, nurses and other regulated health professions in Spain it is compulsory before you practise, and it gives you a registration number (número de colegiado).
- Compensation measures (aptitude test or adaptation period)Compensation measures are the aptitude test or adaptation period that a licensing authority can require when your training differs substantially from what it requires. Under Directive 2005/36/EC they must be justified and proportionate, an adaptation period can last up to three years, and you can usually choose which one to take.
- Conrad 30 waiverThe Conrad 30 waiver program lets each US state health department request waivers of the two-year home-country residence requirement for up to 30 J-1 foreign medical graduates per fiscal year, in exchange for at least 3 years of full-time work in H-1B status, generally in a medically underserved area.
- CORU recognition of qualificationsCORU recognition is the process by which CORU, Ireland's regulator for health and social care professionals, assesses a qualification gained outside Ireland against Irish standards of proficiency. Recognition is a separate step that must be completed before you can be registered and practise one of CORU's regulated professions.
- CPD (continuing professional development)CPD (continuing professional development) is the learning health professionals do after qualifying to keep their knowledge and skills up to date. Most regulators make it a condition of staying registered, though the amount varies: the NMC requires 35 hours every three years, while the GMC and HCPC set no minimum hours.
- CPR number (Denmark)A CPR number (CPR-nummer, from Det Centrale Personregister, the Central Person Register) is Denmark's 10-digit civil registration number. Foreign health professionals get one by registering in person at their municipality's Citizen Service or an International Citizen Service centre once they have a residence permit and a Danish address, and need it for pay, tax, banking and health care.
- Credentials evaluation (WES, CGFNS CES)A credentials evaluation is a report by an independent organisation that verifies your foreign qualifications and states how they compare with the US standard. US state licensing boards, employers and universities rely on them; for nurses the most widely used is TruMerit's (formerly CGFNS) Credentials Evaluation Service Professional Report, while WES is a general academic evaluator.
- Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP)The Critical Skills Employment Permit is an Irish work permit issued by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE) for occupations on the Critical Skills Occupations List, which includes doctors, registered nurses, midwives and many health and social care professionals. It needs a job offer of at least 2 years and leads to Stamp 4.
D
- D-number (Norway)A D-number (D-nummer) is an 11-digit Norwegian identification number for foreign citizens who do not meet the conditions for a national identity number (fødselsnummer). It is recorded by the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten) and must be ordered for you by an authority or enterprise, such as UDI, the Tax Administration or a bank.
- DBS checkA DBS check is a criminal record check issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service in England and Wales. Employers request one before you start many health and care roles, and from 5 October 2026 an enhanced check costs £41.
- Decreto di riconoscimento (Italian recognition decree)A decreto di riconoscimento is the decree in which Italy's Ministry of Health recognises a health qualification obtained abroad as valid for practising the corresponding profession in Italy. For non-EU qualifications it is the first official step for doctors, nurses and other health professionals, before registration with an Ordine.
- Defizitbescheid (deficit notice)A Defizitbescheid is the informal name for a German recognition notice that finds substantial differences between your foreign training and the German reference qualification. It lists those differences and tells you how to make them up, usually through a Kenntnisprüfung or an adaptation course, before you can be licensed.
- Dependant visa (bringing your partner and children on a UK work visa)A dependant visa lets the partner and children of someone on a UK work visa, such as the Health and Care Worker or Skilled Worker visa, live in the UK with them. Each family member applies separately, and their permission is linked to the main applicant's visa.
- DigiD (Dutch digital identity login)DigiD (Digitale Identiteit) is the Dutch government's personal login that you use to prove who you are online with government bodies, healthcare providers, insurers and pension funds. You need a BSN and a registered address in the Netherlands to apply, and you activate it with a code sent to you by post.
- Diploma supplement and transcriptA diploma supplement is a standard document issued by a higher education institution that explains a qualification's level, content and results, and a transcript is the official record of every module, grade and hour you completed. Regulators use them to compare your training with their own standard, for example to check clinical hours or decide on compensation measures.
- Directive 2005/36/EC (Professional Qualifications Directive)Directive 2005/36/EC is the EU law that tells a member state how to recognise professional qualifications obtained in another member state for regulated professions such as doctor, nurse, midwife, dentist and pharmacist. It sets up automatic recognition for those sectoral professions, a general system for the rest, and fixed deadlines and safeguards for every application.
E
- e-card (Austrian social insurance card)The e-card is Austria's social insurance chip card, issued to every insured person and their insured dependants to prove health insurance cover. It shows your name and social insurance number, carries the European Health Insurance Card on the back and is the key to the e-card system and the ELGA electronic health record.
- EAD (Employment Authorization Document)An EAD (Employment Authorization Document) is the US work permit card, Form I-766, that USCIS issues to people whose status allows them to work but who are not tied to a single sponsoring employer, such as green card applicants with a pending adjustment of status and J-2 spouses. You apply on Form I-765.
- EB-3 visa and the green card route for nursesEB-3 is the US employment-based third preference immigrant visa category for skilled workers, professionals and other workers, leading to a green card (permanent residence). Registered nurses and physical therapists are Schedule A occupations, so their employers can file the I-140 petition directly with USCIS without first going through Department of Labor recruitment.
- ECFMG certificationECFMG certification is issued by ECFMG, a division of Intealth, to international medical graduates who have had their medical credentials verified and passed USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CK and a clinical and communication skills Pathway. A valid certificate is required to enter accredited US residency training and to take USMLE Step 3.
- EGN (Bulgarian unified civil number) and LNChThe EGN (единен граждански номер, unified civil number) is Bulgaria's 10-digit personal identity number, kept by the civil registration directorate GRAO. Foreigners on a long-stay residence permit are usually identified instead by an LNCh (личен номер на чужденец, personal number of a foreigner), printed on the residence permit issued by the Ministry of Interior.
- EIR exam (Enfermero Interno Residente)The EIR exam is Spain's annual national selective test for nurses who want a paid specialist training post (enfermero interno residente), for example as a midwife (matrona) or mental health nurse. It is run by the Ministry of Health alongside the MIR for doctors.
- Employment permits (Ireland)An employment permit is the document, issued by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE), that a non-EEA national generally needs to work for an employer in Ireland. It names the employer, the occupation and the location, and most health professionals hold either a Critical Skills or a General Employment Permit.
- EMŠO (Slovenian personal identification number)EMŠO (enotna matična številka občana, unique master citizen number) is the 13-digit personal identification number recorded in Slovenia's Central Population Register. A foreigner is given one only when they exercise rights or obligations in Slovenia, such as work, health insurance, tax or a residence permit, through the office responsible for that purpose.
- EPIC verificationEPIC (Electronic Portfolio of International Credentials) is ECFMG's service for primary source verification of doctors' credentials: ECFMG checks your degree or other credential directly with the institution that issued it and sends a verification report to the regulator you choose. The GMC uses it to verify the primary medical qualification of doctors who qualified outside the UK.
- ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service)ERAS, the Electronic Residency Application Service, is the AAMC's online system for building a residency application and sending it, with supporting documents, to US residency programs. International medical graduates register with a token from ECFMG, which acts as their Designated Dean's Office.
- Estonian language proficiency exam (eesti keele tasemeeksam)The Estonian language proficiency exam (eesti keele tasemeeksam) is the free state exam run by Harno, the Education and Youth Board, at levels A2, B1, B2 and C1. Foreign health professionals use it to prove the Estonian the law requires for their job, C1 for doctors and B2 for nurses and midwives.
- EU Blue CardThe EU Blue Card is a residence permit for highly qualified workers from outside the EU, issued by each participating EU country under common EU rules, for a job that meets a national minimum salary. In Germany doctors, dentists, pharmacists and academically trained nurses can use a lower salary threshold, but a licence to practise is also required.
- European Professional Card (EPC)The European Professional Card (EPC) is an electronic certificate, issued through the EU's IMI system, that proves your qualification has been recognised for work in another EU country or that you meet the conditions for temporary work there. Since 18 January 2016 it has been available for general care nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, mountain guides and real estate agents.
- EVC (épreuves de vérification des connaissances, France)The EVC (épreuves de vérification des connaissances, knowledge verification tests) are the competitive written exams that doctors, dentists, midwives and pharmacists with a diploma from outside the EU must pass to start France's route to an authorisation to practise. The Centre national de gestion (CNG) runs them once a year, with a fixed number of posts per specialty.
- Evidence of English: majority English-speaking countries and exemptionsEvidence of English is the proof a visa authority or health regulator asks for that you can communicate in English. Besides a test such as IELTS or OET, it can be nationality, a qualification taught in English or recent practice in a majority English-speaking country, but each body keeps its own list of countries and its own rules.
- eVisa and UKVI accountAn eVisa is the digital record of your identity, UK immigration status and the conditions attached to it, such as whether you can work. It has replaced physical documents like the BRP, and you access it through a free UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account.
F
- Fachsprachprüfung (medical language test)The Fachsprachprüfung is the medical German language test that internationally trained doctors, and other health professionals, take in Germany to prove they can communicate safely at work. For doctors it is run by the state medical chamber, is oriented to CEFR level C1 in a professional context, and is a condition for the Approbation or a Berufserlaubnis.
- Fitness to practiseFitness to practise means having the skills, knowledge, health and character to work in your profession safely and effectively. It is also the name of the process a regulator such as the GMC, NMC or HCPC uses to investigate concerns about a registered professional.
- Form DS-2019 (Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor Status)Form DS-2019, the Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor (J-1) Status, is the document a Department of State-designated sponsor issues through SEVIS to show you are accepted into an exchange program. For international medical graduates in US residency, the sponsor is Intealth (ECFMG), and you use the DS-2019 to apply for a J-1 visa and to enter the United States.
- Form I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers)Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, is the USCIS petition asking that a foreign worker be allowed to become a US permanent resident in an employment-based category (EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3). For international nurses it is usually filed by the US employer with a Schedule A application; doctors may have it filed by an employer or file it themselves with a National Interest Waiver.
- Form I-797 (Notice of Action)Form I-797, Notice of Action, is the family of notices USCIS sends to confirm it has received, approved, rejected or needs more evidence for an application or petition. For international nurses and doctors it is the paper trail of an I-140 or H-1B case: the receipt notice carries the case number and the approval notice is proof of the decision.
- Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record)Form I-94, the Arrival/Departure Record, is the record U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) creates when a foreign national is admitted to the United States. It shows your class of admission and how long you may stay, and employers, licensing boards and USCIS use it to check your status.
- Foundation Programme (FY1 and FY2)The Foundation Programme is the two-year paid training programme, run by the UK Foundation Programme Office, that bridges medical school and specialty training in the UK: Foundation Year 1 (FY1) on provisional GMC registration, then Foundation Year 2 (FY2) on full registration.
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- Garda vettingGarda vetting is the criminal record and background check that the National Vetting Bureau of An Garda Síochána, Ireland's police service, carries out for anyone doing relevant work with children or vulnerable persons. Health employers such as the HSE must receive a vetting disclosure before you start that work, and some regulators require it for registration.
- General Employment Permit (Ireland)The General Employment Permit (GEP) is an Irish employment permit, issued by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, that lets a non-EEA national work for a named employer in any occupation not on the Ineligible List of Occupations. In healthcare it covers roles such as health care assistants, which have their own minimum salary, and some hospital doctor posts.
- General system of recognition (EU)The general system of recognition is the part of Directive 2005/36/EC (Articles 10 to 14) under which an EU country compares a professional's training with its own and recognises it, possibly after an aptitude test or adaptation period. It covers regulated professions without automatic recognition, such as physiotherapy, and sectoral cases that do not meet the automatic conditions.
- GESY (Cyprus General Healthcare System)GESY (Γενικό Σύστημα Υγείας, General Healthcare System, also written GHS) is Cyprus's national health insurance scheme, run by the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO). Employees pay a contribution from their salary, and eligible residents enrol online and register with a personal doctor to use public and contracted private care.
- GMC Online accountGMC Online is the General Medical Council's secure online account for doctors, physician associates and anaesthesia associates. You use it to book PLAB, add English test results, apply for registration, pay your annual fee, keep your details and revalidation information up to date and request certificates.
- GMC reference numberA GMC reference number is the unique seven-digit number the General Medical Council gives to each doctor it deals with. It stays with you for your whole career and is used to find you on the medical register, but on its own it does not show that you hold registration or a licence to practise.
- Greek licence to practise (βεβαίωση άσκησης επαγγέλματος)In Greece the licence to practise is now officially a certificate to practise (βεβαίωση άσκησης επαγγέλματος, formerly άδεια). Doctors get it from the Panhellenic Medical Association (PIS); nurses get it from the public health service of their Region after registering with the Hellenic Nurses Association (ENE).
- Gutachtenstelle für Gesundheitsberufe (GfG)The Gutachtenstelle für Gesundheitsberufe (GfG, Expert Office for Health Professions) is a central office within the ZAB in Bonn that prepares equivalence reports, identifies the German reference qualification and checks the authenticity of documents for the state authorities that recognise foreign health qualifications. It works for those authorities, not for individual applicants.
H
- H-1B visaThe H-1B is a temporary US work visa for specialty occupations that need at least a bachelor's degree, petitioned by a US employer and decided by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). It is used by international medical graduates in residency and practice, and by some other health professionals.
- Health and Care Worker visaThe Health and Care Worker visa is a UK work visa, decided by the Home Office, for qualified doctors, nurses, health professionals and adult social care professionals with a job offer from an approved NHS, NHS-supplier or adult social care employer. It costs less than the Skilled Worker visa and holders and their families do not pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.
- Henkilötunnus (Finnish personal identity code)A henkilötunnus (often shortened to hetu) is the Finnish personal identity code, an 11-character number recorded in the Population Information System kept by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV). Foreign health professionals usually receive one automatically when Migri grants a residence permit, or by registering in person with DVV.
- High cost area supplement (London weighting)The high cost area supplement (HCAS), often called London weighting, is extra pay for NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts whose work base is in inner London, outer London or the fringe areas around London. From 1 April 2026 it is 20%, 15% or 5% of basic salary, within set minimum and maximum amounts.
- Highly skilled migrant (kennismigrant), NetherlandsA kennismigrant, or highly skilled migrant, is a non-EU worker employed in the Netherlands by an employer the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) recognises as a sponsor, on a salary at or above the IND threshold. The permit lasts up to 5 years, and health professionals in protected professions must also be BIG-registered.
- Homologación (Spain)Homologación is the procedure in which Spain's Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities recognises a foreign university degree as equivalent to the Spanish degree that gives access to a regulated profession, such as medicine or nursing. It is governed by Real Decreto 889/2022 and is required before a non-EU-trained professional can practise in Spain.
- HPR number (Norwegian Health Personnel Register)An HPR number is the identification number a health professional has in Helsepersonellregisteret (HPR), Norway's public register of health personnel run by the Norwegian Directorate of Health (Helsedirektoratet). Your authorisation or licence is recorded there rather than on a paper certificate, so the HPR entry is your proof that you may practise.
- HSE (Health Service Executive)The HSE (Health Service Executive, in Irish Feidhmeannacht na Seirbhíse Sláinte) is the public body set up under the Health Act 2004 to run Ireland's public health and social care services. It employs nurses, doctors and allied health professionals directly, funds voluntary hospitals whose pay follows the same national scales, and recruits internationally.
- HSE consolidated pay scalesThe HSE consolidated pay scales, formally the Department of Health consolidated salary scales, are the official tables of annual pay for every grade in Ireland's public health service. They are approved by the Department of Health, published by the HSE, and the current edition took effect on 1 June 2026.
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- IDW diploma evaluation (Netherlands)An IDW diploma evaluation is a credential evaluation from the Dutch organisation IDW (Internationale Diplomawaardering), run by Nuffic and SBB for the government, that states which Dutch education level your foreign diploma compares with. It is advice for employers and education, not professional recognition, so it does not let you work in a BIG-registered profession such as doctor or nurse.
- IELTS AcademicIELTS Academic is the academic version of the International English Language Testing System, an English test jointly owned by the British Council, IDP IELTS and Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Health regulators in the UK and Ireland use it, alongside OET, as proof that an internationally trained professional can communicate safely in English.
- IMC registration divisions (General, Supervised, Trainee Specialist, Specialist)IMC registration divisions are the categories of the register kept by the Medical Council of Ireland. Every doctor practising in Ireland must be registered in the division that fits their role, mainly the General, Supervised, Trainee Specialist or Specialist Division.
- IMGTI (International Medical Graduate Training Initiative)The IMGTI (International Medical Graduate Training Initiative) is a programme run by the HSE's National Doctors Training and Planning unit with the Irish postgraduate medical training bodies. It brings doctors in training from overseas to Ireland, usually for two years of structured clinical training, after which they return home.
- IMI (Internal Market Information System)IMI, the Internal Market Information System, is the European Commission's secure online tool that lets public authorities in EU and EEA countries exchange information, including checking professional qualifications, processing European Professional Cards and sending alerts about health professionals barred from practice. It is used by authorities, not by applicants.
- Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS)The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is a fee most people pay as part of a UK visa or immigration application so they can use the NHS during their stay. Health and care workers eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa, and their dependants, do not pay it.
- Immigration Service Delivery (ISD)Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) is the unit of Ireland's Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration that decides who can visit, study or live in Ireland. For international health workers it handles entry visas, registration of your immigration permission and Irish Residence Permit, renewals, Stamp 4 upgrades and family reunification.
- INAMI-RIZIV number (Belgium)An INAMI-RIZIV number is the 11-digit identification number that Belgium's National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI in French, RIZIV in Dutch) gives to a health professional so that their care can be billed to health insurance and patients reimbursed. You can only get one after the FPS Public Health has issued your visa to practise.
- IND (Immigration and Naturalisation Service, Netherlands)The IND (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst, Immigration and Naturalisation Service) is the agency of the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security that decides on applications from everyone who wants to live in the Netherlands, including work and family residence permits and naturalisation. For non-EU doctors and nurses, it issues the highly skilled migrant permit that an IND-recognised employer applies for.
- Indefinite leave to remain (ILR)Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) is UK settlement: permission from the Home Office to live, work and study in the UK without a time limit. Health and Care Worker and Skilled Worker visa holders can currently apply after 5 years on a qualifying visa, subject to GOV.UK's requirements.
- Indemnity coverIndemnity cover is an arrangement that pays compensation if a patient is harmed by a health professional's negligence. UK regulators including the GMC, NMC and HCPC make appropriate cover a legal condition of practising, and in the NHS it is usually provided through the employer.
- Intealth (parent of ECFMG and FAIMER)Intealth is the private nonprofit organization that brings together ECFMG and FAIMER, established in 2021. Through its ECFMG division it certifies international medical graduates for US residency, sponsors J-1 physicians, supports their ERAS applications and verifies credentials through EPIC.
- Irish Residence Permit (IRP)The Irish Residence Permit (IRP) is the card that Immigration Service Delivery issues to non-EEA nationals who register permission to stay in Ireland for more than 90 days. It shows your stamp, such as Stamp 1 or Stamp 4, and when your permission expires, and it replaced the older GNIB card.
- Iscrizione all'albo (registration with an Italian Ordine)Iscrizione all'albo is registration in the professional register (albo) kept by your provincial Ordine, such as the OMCeO for doctors and dentists or the OPI for nurses. In Italy it is the step that lets you practise after the Ministry of Health has recognised your foreign qualification.
- Isikukood (Estonian personal identification code)The isikukood is Estonia's 11-digit personal identification code, entered in the population register and used to identify you to the state, employers and health services. Foreign health professionals usually need one before the Health Board's compliance examination work practice can begin.
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- J-1 visa for physicians (ECFMG sponsorship)The J-1 physician visa is a US exchange visitor visa for foreign national doctors entering accredited graduate medical education (residency or fellowship). ECFMG, a division of Intealth, is the sponsor for all J-1 physicians in clinical training and issues the DS-2019 form used to apply.
- JulkiTerhikki (Finland's public register of health care professionals)JulkiTerhikki is the free public search service for Terhikki, Finland's central register of health care professionals, kept by the Finnish Supervisory Agency (Lupa- ja valvontavirasto, LVV), which took over from Valvira on 1 January 2026. It shows whether a doctor, nurse or other professional has the right to practise in Finland and any restrictions on it.
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- Karta pobytu (Polish residence card)The karta pobytu is the residence card Poland issues to a foreigner once a voivode (regional governor) grants a residence permit, such as a temporary residence and work permit or an EU Blue Card. It confirms your identity and your right to stay; the permit itself is decided first, and the card is issued after the decision.
- Kennitala (Icelandic ID number)A kennitala is the 10-digit national ID number that Registers Iceland (Þjóðskrá) gives everyone who lives in Iceland. Doctors, nurses and other health staff from outside the EEA receive one through their work-based residence permit, when the Directorate of Immigration asks Registers Iceland to register their legal domicile.
- Kenntnisprüfung (knowledge test)The Kenntnisprüfung (knowledge test) is the exam that health professionals with qualifications from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland take in Germany to prove their knowledge is equivalent to German training, when their documents show substantial differences. For doctors it is an oral-practical exam with a patient, and passing it leads to the Approbation (full licence).
- Key Employee Initiative (KEI), MaltaThe Key Employee Initiative (KEI) is a fast track to Malta's single permit for third-country nationals offered a managerial or highly technical post paying at least €45,000 a year. Identità aims to process complete KEI applications in five working days.
- Kunskapsprov (Swedish proficiency test)The kunskapsprov (knowledge or proficiency test) is the exam that doctors, nurses and other health professionals trained outside the EU and EEA must pass on the way to a Swedish licence. Universities run it on behalf of Socialstyrelsen: Umeå University for doctors and the University of Gothenburg for nurses.
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- LAGeSo (Landesamt für Gesundheit und Soziales Berlin)LAGeSo (Landesamt für Gesundheit und Soziales, the Berlin State Office for Health and Social Affairs) is the Berlin authority that recognises foreign health qualifications and licenses health professionals who want to work in Berlin. Its Landesprüfungsamt für Gesundheitsberufe handles the Approbation for doctors, dentists and pharmacists and the professional title permit for nurses, midwives and therapists.
- Landesprüfungsamt (state examination and licensing office)A Landesprüfungsamt (state examination office) is the authority in a German federal state that runs the state medical and health profession exams and, in many states, grants the Approbation or Berufserlaubnis to doctors, dentists and pharmacists trained abroad. Its exact name and remit differ by state, such as the Landesprüfungsamt für Medizin und Pharmazie in Baden-Württemberg or LAGeSo's Landesprüfungsamt für Gesundheitsberufe in Berlin.
- Latvian personal code (personas kods)The Latvian personal code (personas kods) is the personal identity number the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA, in Latvian PMLP) records for each person in the Register of Natural Persons. Foreign health professionals usually receive one when they are granted a temporary or permanent residence permit, and it then identifies them to employers, tax and health authorities.
- Latvian state language certificate (valsts valodas prasmes apliecība)The Latvian state language certificate (valsts valodas prasmes apliecība) is the official proof of your Latvian level from the state language proficiency test run by the State Education Development Agency (VIAA). Foreign-trained doctors, nurses and midwives need a result at level C1 before the Health Inspectorate will register them to practise.
- Legitimation (Swedish licence to practise)Legitimation is the Swedish licence to practise a regulated health profession, issued by the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen). Sweden has 22 licensed health professions, and a doctor, nurse or other professional trained outside the EU and EEA must complete a five-step route before Socialstyrelsen issues it.
- LEK (Lekarski Egzamin Końcowy, Poland's final medical examination)The LEK (Lekarski Egzamin Końcowy) is Poland's final medical examination, a 200-question test run twice a year by the Medical Examinations Centre (CEM) in Łódź. Passing it is one of the conditions for a full right to practise as a doctor in Poland; dentists sit the equivalent LDEK.
- Licence to practiseA licence to practise is the legal permission, granted by a health regulator, to work in a regulated health profession. In the UK the General Medical Council grants doctors registration with a licence to practise, while for nurses and most other professions being on the register is itself the permission to practise.
- Licensed sponsor (register of licensed sponsors)A licensed sponsor is a UK employer that holds a sponsor licence from the Home Office, which lets it assign certificates of sponsorship to workers from overseas. Licensed employers appear on the public register of licensed sponsors published on GOV.UK.
- Liechtenstein residence permit for employment (Aufenthaltsbewilligung B)A Liechtenstein residence permit for employment (Aufenthaltsbewilligung, the B permit) lets a non-EEA, non-Swiss national live and work in Liechtenstein for more than a year. The Migration and Passport Office (Ausländer- und Passamt, APA) grants it only on a Liechtenstein employer's application, for qualified workers in posts no local or EEA cross-border candidate can fill.
- Lithuanian state language exam (valstybinės kalbos mokėjimo kategorijos egzaminas)The Lithuanian state language exam (valstybinės kalbos mokėjimo kategorijos egzaminas) is the official test of Lithuanian run by the National Education Agency (NŠA). Health care workers who deal with patients need category II, which equals CEFR level B1, and VASPVT asks for the certificate before it issues a practice licence.
- Locally employed doctor (trust grade)A locally employed doctor (LED) is a doctor employed by an NHS trust on a local contract rather than a nationally negotiated one; titles include trust grade, trust doctor, clinical fellow and FY3, and it is the most common first NHS job for international medical graduates.
- LocumA locum is a doctor or other health professional who covers a post temporarily, for example during a vacancy, leave or a rota gap; in the NHS locums work through a trust's staff bank, an agency or a fixed-term locum contract, and must hold the same registration as anyone in the substantive role.
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- Medical Council registration number (Ireland)A Medical Council registration number is the unique number, of up to 6 digits, that identifies a doctor on the Irish Medical Council's register of medical practitioners. It is the quickest way to search the public register and appears on doctors' letters, referrals and prescriptions.
- MedReg (Swiss register of medical professions)MedReg (Medizinalberuferegister) is Switzerland's public register of the university medical professions: doctors, dentists, pharmacists, chiropractors and vets. Run by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), it records diplomas, postgraduate titles, language skills and cantonal licences, and everyone practising these professions in Switzerland must be entered in it.
- Migrationsverket (Swedish Migration Agency)Migrationsverket (the Swedish Migration Agency) is the Swedish authority that decides work and residence permits. Foreign doctors, nurses and other health staff from outside the EU apply to it for a work permit, and from June 2026 the salary must be at least 90 per cent of Sweden's median, or 75 per cent for doctors, dentists and nurses working towards a Swedish licence.
- Migri (Finnish Immigration Service)Migri (Maahanmuuttovirasto, the Finnish Immigration Service) is the Finnish agency that decides residence permits, citizenship and asylum. Foreign doctors, nurses and other health staff apply to it, through the Enter Finland service, for a residence permit for an employed person, a specialist permit or an EU Blue Card.
- MIGRIS (Lithuanian Migration Information System)MIGRIS is the Lithuanian Migration Information System, the online portal at www.migracija.lt run by the Migration Department under the Ministry of the Interior. Employers use it to submit the mediation letter for a foreign worker, and foreign doctors and nurses use it to fill in residence permit applications, upload documents and book their visit.
- MIR exam (Médico Interno Residente)The MIR exam is Spain's annual national selective test for doctors who want a paid specialist training post (médico interno residente) in the Spanish health system. It is run by the Ministry of Health, and foreign-trained doctors can take part once their degree is recognised and they meet the language and nationality rules.
- Működési nyilvántartás (Hungarian practising register)The működési nyilvántartás (practising register) is the register, kept by the National Directorate General for Hospitals (OKFŐ), that entitles a health professional in Hungary to work independently. You can only be entered with a qualification already in the basic register (alapnyilvántartás), and entry lasts for a 5-year cycle.
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- NACID (Bulgarian ENIC-NARIC centre)NACID (Национален център за информация и документация, National Centre for Information and Documentation) is Bulgaria's ENIC-NARIC centre in Sofia. It gives free academic recognition of foreign higher education degrees, but its certificate does not give the right to practise a regulated profession such as medicine or nursing.
- NAREG and GesReg (Swiss health professions registers)NAREG (Nationales Register der Gesundheitsberufe) and GesReg (Gesundheitsberuferegister) are Switzerland's public registers of the non-university health professions, kept by the Swiss Red Cross. GesReg covers nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, midwives, dietitians, optometrists and osteopaths under federal law; NAREG covers other professions such as paramedics, radiographers, dental hygienists and podiatrists under an intercantonal agreement.
- National Insurance numberA National Insurance number is your personal UK reference for tax and National Insurance contributions, in the format two letters, six numbers and a letter, such as QQ123456B. It stays the same for life; many visa holders already have one, shown on the back of their BRP or in their UKVI account.
- National Interest Waiver (NIW)The National Interest Waiver (NIW) lets a person qualifying for the EB-2 green card category, as an advanced-degree professional or someone of exceptional ability, ask USCIS to waive the job offer and labor certification because their work is in the US national interest. It allows self-petitioning on Form I-140 and has a specific version for physicians who serve underserved areas.
- NCLEX-RNThe NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses) is the licensing exam set by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) that nurses, including internationally educated nurses, must pass before a US state or territory board of nursing will license them as a registered nurse.
- NHS Band 5NHS Band 5 is the Agenda for Change pay band for most newly registered clinical professionals in the NHS, including staff nurses, radiographers, physiotherapists and podiatrists; in England in 2026/27 it pays £32,073 to £39,043 a year before any London supplement.
- NHS EmployersNHS Employers is the employers' organisation for the NHS in England. It negotiates pay and terms with NHS trade unions, publishes the Agenda for Change pay scales and terms and conditions handbook, sets the NHS employment check standards and maintains the Ethical Recruiters List under the Code of Practice for international recruitment.
- NHS JobsNHS Jobs (jobs.nhs.uk) is the official online recruitment service for the NHS in England and Wales, run by the NHS Business Services Authority. Employers advertise vacancies there; you apply either in NHS Jobs itself or, for some employers, through their own recruitment system such as Trac.
- NHS Pension SchemeThe NHS Pension Scheme is the workplace pension for NHS staff in England and Wales, run by the NHS Business Services Authority. It is a defined benefit career average scheme: you pay 5.2% to 12.5% of your pensionable pay, your employer pays 23.7%, and each year's pension is revalued until you retire.
- NHS trust and NHS foundation trustAn NHS trust is a public body in England that runs NHS services such as hospitals, mental health, community or ambulance services; an NHS foundation trust is a type of trust set up as a public benefit corporation with members and a council of governors, giving it more local accountability and independence from central government.
- NIE number (Número de Identidad de Extranjero)The NIE (número de identidad de extranjero, foreigner identity number) is the personal, unique number Spain's National Police give foreign nationals for all their dealings with Spanish authorities. It is an identification number only: it does not give you the right to live or work in Spain.
- NIF (Número de Identificação Fiscal), PortugalThe NIF (número de identificação fiscal, also called número de contribuinte) is Portugal's nine-digit tax identification number, issued by the tax authority (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira). Foreign health professionals need it early: the Ordens, AIMA and employers all ask for it.
- NMBI decision letterAn NMBI decision letter is the letter the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) sends to a nurse or midwife trained outside Ireland when their qualification needs a compensation measure, an aptitude test or a period of adaptation, before it can be recognised. NMBI says it is normally valid for 12 months from the date of issue.
- NMBI registration number (PIN)An NMBI registration number, which the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland calls your Personal Identification Number (PIN), identifies you on the Register of Nurses and Midwives in Ireland. Employers use it to check your registration status, divisions and expiry date on NMBI's Check the Register.
- NMC CBT (computer-based test)The NMC CBT is the computer-based test that forms part one of the Nursing and Midwifery Council's Test of Competence for nurses and midwives trained outside the UK. It has a numeracy part and a clinical part, is delivered by Pearson VUE in test centres in most countries, and must be passed alongside the OSCE before the NMC will register you.
- NMC PINAn NMC PIN is the unique registration code the Nursing and Midwifery Council gives every nurse, midwife and nursing associate on its register. It is eight characters long, in the format two numbers, a letter, four numbers and a letter, and is used to check your registration.
- NMC test of competenceThe NMC Test of Competence (ToC) is the Nursing and Midwifery Council's two-part assessment, a computer-based test (CBT) and a practical OSCE, used to check the skills and knowledge of nurses, midwives and nursing associates applying to join the UK register from overseas or rejoining after a long time away from practice.
- Nostrification (Nostrifizierung, nostrifikace, nostryfikacja)Nostrification is the formal recognition of a foreign university degree as equivalent to a domestic degree, carried out by a university in countries such as Austria, Czechia and Poland. For doctors and nurses trained outside the EU it is usually the first step, followed by language and licensing requirements set by the health regulator.
- NPI number (National Provider Identifier)An NPI (National Provider Identifier) is the unique 10-digit number the US government assigns to health care providers for use in health insurance and billing transactions. It is issued through NPPES, run by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and stays the same when you change job, name or address.
- NT2 (Dutch as a second language) examThe NT2 exam (Staatsexamen Nederlands als tweede taal) is the Dutch state exam in Dutch as a second language, set by the College voor Toetsen en Examens and run by DUO. Programme I proves Dutch at B1 and Programme II at B2, and the BIG register requires it from foreign-qualified health professionals who need B1 or B2 Dutch.
- Nursys and the Nurse Licensure CompactNursys is the national database run by NCSBN for verifying US nurse licences and discipline. The Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) is an agreement between member states that lets a nurse with one multistate licence practise in all compact states without extra licences.
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- Observership and clinical attachmentAn observership, called a clinical attachment in the UK, is a short unpaid placement in which an internationally trained health professional shadows clinicians in a hospital to learn how the local health system works, without treating patients.
- Occupational health clearanceOccupational health clearance is the confirmation from an NHS employer's occupational health service, given after a job offer and before you start, that you can safely do the role, with any adjustments, immunisations or blood-borne virus checks the job requires.
- OET (Occupational English Test)OET (Occupational English Test) is an English language test written for healthcare professionals, owned by Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment. Regulators such as the GMC, NMC, NMBI and the Medical Council accept it as proof of English, usually at grade B in each sub-test.
- OIB (Osobni identifikacijski broj, Croatian personal identification number)The OIB (osobni identifikacijski broj) is Croatia's permanent 11-digit personal identification number, used by every public body in its official records. Foreigners receive it from the police when they register their stay in Croatia, or from the Tax Administration (Porezna uprava) when another reason arises, free of charge.
- ORE (Overseas Registration Exam)The ORE (Overseas Registration Examination) is the General Dental Council's two-part exam for dentists whose primary qualification was gained outside the UK and EEA and is not recognised for UK registration. Passing Part 1 (knowledge) and Part 2 (practical clinical skills) lets you apply to join the UK dentists register.
- OSCE (objective structured clinical examination)An OSCE (objective structured clinical examination) is a practical exam in which you rotate through timed stations, such as a mock consultation, a clinical skill or a written task, and are marked against a fixed scheme. Regulators including the NMC, GMC and GDC use OSCEs to test the clinical and communication skills of internationally trained professionals.
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- Passeport talent (talent card, medical and pharmacy professions)Passeport talent was the name of France's multi-year residence card for skilled foreign workers; it is now the carte de séjour pluriannuelle talent. Its category talent - profession médicale et de la pharmacie lets doctors, dentists, midwives and pharmacists with an authorisation under the French public health code live and work in France for up to four years without a separate work authorisation.
- Pearson VUE (NCLEX test delivery)Pearson VUE is the test delivery company that registers candidates for the NCLEX and runs the exam at Pearson Professional Centers in the US and abroad, on behalf of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). Pearson says it is now to be known as Pearson Professional Assessments.
- PERM labor certificationPERM labor certification is the Department of Labor (DOL) decision that lets a US employer hire a foreign worker permanently, after the employer shows there are not enough able, willing, qualified and available US workers and that wages will not be undercut. It comes before most employment-based I-140 petitions, but registered nurses and physical therapists skip it through Schedule A.
- Permesso di soggiorno (Italian residence permit)The permesso di soggiorno is the residence permit that lets a non-EU national stay in Italy for longer than three months, for example to work as a nurse or doctor. It is issued by the Questura (police headquarters) of the province where you live, as an electronic card with your photo and fingerprints.
- Personnummer (Swedish personal identity number)A personnummer is the Swedish personal identity number that the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) gives everyone registered in the Swedish Population Register. Foreign health professionals usually get one when they move to Sweden to live for a year or more, and Socialstyrelsen needs it, or a coordination number, before issuing a licence.
- PESEL number (Polish personal identification number)PESEL is Poland's 11-digit personal identification number, recorded in the national population register (Powszechny Elektroniczny System Ewidencji Ludności). Foreigners receive one automatically when they register their residence in Poland for a stay of over 30 days, or can apply for one at any municipal office if an authority needs it.
- Pflegefachfrau / Pflegefachmann (registered nurse, Germany)Pflegefachfrau (female) and Pflegefachmann (male) are the protected German titles for a qualified generalist nurse under the Nursing Professions Act (Pflegeberufegesetz, PflBG). Using either title needs a permit from the state authority, which foreign-trained nurses get after recognition of their training, B2 German and checks on health and conduct; the gender-neutral Pflegefachperson can be chosen instead.
- PLAB (Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board)PLAB (Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board) is the General Medical Council's two-part test for doctors who qualified outside the UK, EEA and Switzerland. Passing PLAB 1 and PLAB 2 shows you have the knowledge and skills of a doctor starting the second year of the UK Foundation Programme, and lets you apply for GMC registration with a licence to practise.
- Police clearance certificateA police clearance certificate is an official record from a country's police or justice authority stating whether you have criminal convictions there. Health professionals usually need one from each country they have lived in for a set period, for visas, employer vetting or registration.
- Portfolio pathway (formerly CESR and CEGPR)The Portfolio pathway is the General Medical Council route to the UK Specialist Register or GP Register for doctors who have not completed a GMC-approved UK training programme, but can show with evidence that they have the knowledge, skills and experience of a UK specialist or GP. It replaced CESR and CEGPR on 30 November 2023.
- PPS number (Personal Public Service Number)A PPS number (Personal Public Service Number, or PPSN) is the personal reference number issued by Ireland's Department of Social Protection that you use for tax, social welfare and public services. It is always 7 numbers followed by one or two letters, and your employer needs it to tax you correctly.
- PreceptorshipPreceptorship is a structured period of support, guidance and development that UK employers give newly registered nurses, midwives, nursing associates and allied health professionals, including those joining from overseas, to help them move into confident independent practice.
- PRES (Pre-Registration Examination System)PRES (Pre-Registration Examination System) is the Medical Council of Ireland's exam route for doctors seeking registration in the General or Trainee Specialist Division who do not meet other registration criteria. It has two parts: PRES Level 2, a written test of clinical knowledge, and PRES Level 3, a clinical assessment of communication, interpretation and practical skills.
- Primary source verificationPrimary source verification is the checking of a credential, such as a medical degree or licence, directly with the institution or authority that issued it, rather than relying on a copy. Regulators use it to stop fraudulent documents, and for doctors it is often done by ECFMG through its EPIC service.
- Priority date and visa retrogressionA priority date is your place in the US green card queue: for employment cases, the date the labor certification was accepted by the Department of Labor or, where none is needed, the date USCIS accepted the I-140 petition. Visa retrogression is when the cut-off dates in the State Department's Visa Bulletin move backwards because demand exceeds the visas available.
- Protected titleA protected title is a professional title, such as "registered nurse" or "physiotherapist", that the law reserves for people on the relevant regulator's register. Using it without being registered, with intent to deceive, is a criminal offence in the UK.
- Prøve i Dansk 3 (Danish 3 Exam)Prøve i Dansk 3 (the Danish 3 Exam, often PD3) is the state Danish exam that completes module 5 of Danish Education 3 for adult foreigners. The Danish Patient Safety Authority requires doctors, dentists and nurses trained outside the EU/EEA to pass it with at least 10 in oral communication and 7 in both reading comprehension and written communication.
- PWZ (prawo wykonywania zawodu, Poland's right to practise)PWZ (prawo wykonywania zawodu) is the right to practise a regulated health profession in Poland, granted to doctors and dentists by a regional medical council and to nurses and midwives by a regional council of nurses and midwives. It comes with a PWZ number, which for doctors is a unique 7-digit number recorded in the Central Register of Doctors.
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- Recognition partnership visa, Germany (§ 16d)The recognition partnership (Anerkennungspartnerschaft) is a German residence permit under Section 16d(3) of the Residence Act that lets a non-EU professional enter Germany with a job offer and complete the recognition of their qualification while working. It needs German at level A2 and a written agreement with an employer, and lasts up to 3 years.
- Registered General Nurse (RGN)Registered General Nurse (RGN) is the designation for a nurse on the General Nurses Division of the Register of Nurses and Midwives kept by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI). In Ireland only nurses registered in that division may use the RGN title.
- Residency and the Match (NRMP)Residency is the graduate medical training every doctor must complete to be licensed in the USA, and the Match is the process run by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) that places applicants into residency positions using the rank order lists of applicants and programmes.
- Revalidation (GMC and NMC)Revalidation is the process by which UK doctors and nurses regularly show their regulator that they are up to date and fit to practise. Doctors revalidate with the GMC, usually every five years, and nurses, midwives and nursing associates revalidate with the NMC every three years.
- Right to work checkA right to work check is the check every UK employer must carry out before employing someone, to confirm they are allowed to do the job. Workers with an eVisa usually prove their right to work online with a share code; British and Irish citizens show a passport or use a digital identity provider.
- Rodné číslo (Czech and Slovak birth number)The rodné číslo (birth number) is the personal identification number used in Czechia and Slovakia, built from your date of birth with a different month code for women. Foreigners with a long-term residence permit are assigned one by the Ministry of the Interior; others can apply for one if they need it, for example for work or study.
- Rot-Weiß-Rot-Karte (Red-White-Red Card, Austria)The Rot-Weiß-Rot-Karte (Red-White-Red Card) is Austria's points-based residence and work permit for skilled workers from outside the EU, issued by the residence authority after the Public Employment Service (AMS) checks the job and your points. Nurses, doctors and many therapists apply as skilled workers in shortage occupations, but must also have their qualification recognised before they can practise.
- RPPS number (Répertoire partagé des professionnels de santé)The RPPS number is the unique, permanent 11-digit identifier given to every health professional recorded in France's national shared directory of health professionals, the Répertoire partagé des professionnels de santé. It is assigned automatically when you register with your professional order or registration authority, and it appears on your CPS card, prescriptions and care sheets.
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- SAS doctor (specialty doctor and specialist)An SAS doctor is a specialty or specialist doctor in the NHS: an experienced, permanent doctor who is neither a consultant nor in a training programme, employed on the national SAS contracts introduced on 1 April 2021.
- Schedule A (US shortage occupations: nurses and physical therapists)Schedule A is the Department of Labor's list of occupations, in 20 CFR 656.5, for which it has already decided there are not enough US workers. Group I covers professional (registered) nurses and physical therapists, so their US employers can file the labor certification directly with USCIS on the I-140 green card petition, without the PERM recruitment process.
- Scope of practiceScope of practice is the range of activities a health professional has the knowledge, skills and experience to carry out safely within their role. The HCPC defines it as the limit of your knowledge, skills and experience, and in the USA each state's nurse practice act sets the legal scope for nurses.
- SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System)SEVIS, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, is the web-based system the US Department of Homeland Security uses to keep records on F and M students, J exchange visitors such as J-1 physicians, and the schools and sponsors that host them. Every DS-2019 is produced in SEVIS, and J-1 applicants pay the I-901 SEVIS fee before their visa interview.
- Share code (right to work and immigration status)A share code is a one-off code you generate on GOV.UK from your UKVI account so that an employer, landlord or other organisation can check your UK immigration status online. GOV.UK says a share code lasts 90 days and can be used as many times as needed before it expires.
- Single permit (Belgium)The single permit (gecombineerde vergunning in Dutch, permis unique in French) is Belgium's combined work and residence permit for non-EU workers staying more than 90 days. The employer applies to the region where the job is, which decides on the work part, and the federal Immigration Office then decides on residence.
- Single permit (Malta)Malta's single permit is one permit that combines an employment licence and a residence permit, allowing a non-EU national to live in Malta and work for a named employer for more than six months. It is issued by Identità's Expatriates Unit and the employer, not the worker, applies.
- SIRI (Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration)SIRI (Styrelsen for International Rekruttering og Integration, the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration) is the Danish agency that decides work-based residence permits. For health professionals it runs a residence permit for people seeking Danish authorisation, which lets doctors, dentists and nurses from outside the EU/EEA live in Denmark, learn Danish, sit the tests and do adaptation employment.
- Skilled Worker visa, and how it relates to the Health and Care Worker visaThe Skilled Worker visa is the main UK work visa for people with a job offer in an eligible occupation from a Home Office licensed sponsor. The Health and Care Worker visa is a version of it for eligible health and care jobs with the NHS, NHS suppliers and adult social care, with lower fees and no Immigration Health Surcharge.
- SOC occupation code for sponsorshipA SOC occupation code is the 4-digit Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 2020) code that a UK sponsor puts on your certificate of sponsorship to describe your job. It decides whether the job is eligible for the Health and Care Worker or Skilled Worker visa and which salary rules apply.
- Specialty training (UK)Specialty training is the structured, GMC-approved postgraduate training that UK doctors enter after the Foundation Programme, recruited nationally through Oriel, which leads to a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) and entry to the GMC Specialist or GP Register.
- Stamp 1 (Ireland)Stamp 1 is the Irish immigration permission that lets a non-EEA national work or run a business in Ireland, subject to conditions, and it is the stamp most nurses, doctors and therapists receive when they arrive on an employment permit. Immigration Service Delivery grants and registers it, and it is shown on the Irish Residence Permit card.
- Stamp 1G (Ireland)Stamp 1G is an Irish immigration permission that lets the holder work without an employment permit but not run a business or be self-employed. Immigration Service Delivery gives it to eligible spouses and partners of employment permit holders, and to non-EEA graduates of Irish colleges looking for work under the Third Level Graduate Programme.
- Stamp 4 (Ireland)Stamp 4 is an Irish immigration permission, granted by the Department of Justice through Immigration Service Delivery, that lets a non-EEA national live in Ireland and take up employment without an employment permit. Critical Skills Employment Permit holders can usually apply for it after 21 months of employment on the permit.
- State licensure (USA)State licensure is the US system in which each state, not the federal government, licenses health professionals. Doctors are licensed by a state medical board and nurses by a state board of nursing, and a licence from one state does not, on its own, let you practise in another.
- Steuer-ID (German tax identification number)The Steuer-ID (steuerliche Identifikationsnummer, IdNr) is a permanent 11-digit tax identification number that the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) gives to everyone registered in Germany. It is sent by post after your first address registration, and your employer needs it to apply the right income tax class to your salary.
- Supervised practiceSupervised practice is a period in which a health professional works under the oversight of a registered colleague as a condition of registration, recognition or return to practice. Examples include the Medical Council of Ireland's Supervised Division, adaptation periods under EU recognition rules and HCPC return-to-practice updating.
- Swiss B permit (residence permit)The B permit (Ausweis B, permis B) is Switzerland's residence permit for foreign nationals who live and work there for longer than a year. Cantonal migration offices issue it; EU and EFTA nationals with a contract of at least 12 months get a five-year B permit, while non-EU nationals can only get one within annual federal quotas and after their employer proves no suitable local or EU candidate was found.
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- TAJ number (Társadalombiztosítási Azonosító Jel, Hungary)The TAJ number (Társadalombiztosítási Azonosító Jel, social insurance identification number) is Hungary's 9-digit identifier for health insurance, social and pension records. It identifies you as a patient when you use publicly funded health care and is proved by a TAJ card issued by the government offices (kormányhivatal).
- TB test for a UK visaThe TB test for a UK visa is a tuberculosis screening, usually a chest x-ray at a Home Office approved clinic, that you need if you are coming to the UK for 6 months or more and have been living in a listed country. A clear result gives a certificate, valid for 6 months, that you include with your visa application.
- telc Deutsch B1-B2 Pflegetelc Deutsch B1-B2 Pflege is a German language exam for nursing professionals run by telc, testing reading, listening, writing and speaking at CEFR levels B1 and B2. German state recognition offices accept the B2 result (telc Deutsch B2 Pflege) as proof of the German needed for the nursing title.
- Tessera sanitaria (Italian health card)The tessera sanitaria is Italy's free personal health card, issued by the Agenzia delle Entrate to everyone enrolled in the national health service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, SSN). For a non-EU worker it normally expires with the residence permit and is renewed through the local health authority (ASL).
- Third-country qualificationA third-country qualification is a professional qualification obtained outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland. EU countries assess it under their own national rules rather than the EU's automatic recognition system, so doctors and nurses trained in countries such as India, the Philippines or the Gulf usually face a detailed comparison and often an exam or adaptation period.
- TIE card (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero)The TIE (tarjeta de identidad de extranjero, foreigner identity card) is the card Spain's police issue to non-EU nationals with a visa or authorisation to stay more than six months. It identifies you, shows your NIE and proves your legal status in Spain.
- Tisus (Test in Swedish for University Studies)Tisus (Test i svenska för universitets- och högskolestudier, Test in Swedish for University Studies) is an advanced Swedish test run by Stockholm University. A pass gives eligibility in Swedish for Swedish university studies, which is one of the kinds of proof Socialstyrelsen accepts when health professionals apply for a licence.
- Titre de séjour (French residence permit)A titre de séjour is any French residence document that lets a non-EU national live in France beyond a visit, issued by the prefecture and applied for online through the ANEF platform. For health professionals it is usually a long-stay visa that acts as a residence permit (VLS-TS), then a salaried worker card or the multi-year talent card for medical and pharmacy professions.
- Trac JobsTrac Jobs (trac.jobs) is a recruitment system that many NHS trusts use to receive and manage job applications. Their adverts still appear on NHS Jobs, but when you press apply you are sent to Trac, where you need a separate account to complete the form and follow your application.
- Triple Win (German government nurse recruitment programme)Triple Win is a German government programme, run since 2013 by the Federal Employment Agency's International Placement Services (ZAV) and GIZ, that recruits qualified nurses from partner countries for jobs in German hospitals and care homes. Placement, German language training and integration support are free for applicants, and recruitment runs only through partner-country government agencies.
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- UDI (Norwegian Directorate of Immigration)UDI (Utlendingsdirektoratet, the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration) is the Norwegian agency that processes residence permits, including the skilled worker permit used by foreign doctors, nurses and other health staff. For regulated health professions UDI requires Norwegian authorisation or recognition from Helsedirektoratet before it can grant the permit.
- UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI)UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is the part of the Home Office that decides UK visa and immigration applications, including the Health and Care Worker and Skilled Worker visas. It also runs the UKVI account where your eVisa is held and the online services you use to prove your status.
- UKMLA (UK Medical Licensing Assessment)The UKMLA, which the General Medical Council calls the Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA), is a two-part assessment of the core knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to practise medicine in the UK. UK medical students pass it as part of their degree, and international doctors meet the same standard by passing PLAB, which is compliant with the MLA requirements.
- USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services)USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) is the agency of the Department of Homeland Security that decides immigration petitions and applications filed inside the United States, including the I-140 green card petitions filed for international nurses and the H-1B petitions filed for physicians. It does not issue visas abroad or licenses to practice.
- USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination)The USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination) is the three-step exam sequence that doctors must pass to be licensed to practise medicine in the USA. International medical graduates must pass Step 1 and Step 2 CK for ECFMG Certification, then Step 3 to complete the licensing sequence.
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- Visa Bulletin (US Department of State)The Visa Bulletin is the monthly publication of the US Department of State that shows, for each green card category and country, the cut-off dates that decide whose immigrant visa or green card can move forward. For international nurses on the EB-3 route, it decides when an approved I-140 can turn into permanent residence.
- Visa to practise (Belgium, health professionals)In Belgium, the visa (visum, visa) for a health professional is the federal licence to practise a healthcare profession, issued free of charge by the FPS Public Health. It is not a travel or immigration visa: with a non-European diploma you first obtain equivalence from a language Community, then apply for the visa with language proof and a certificate of good professional conduct.
- VisaScreen certificateA VisaScreen certificate is the federal health care worker certificate issued by TruMerit (formerly CGFNS) through its International Commission on Healthcare Professions, confirming that a foreign-trained nurse or allied health worker's education, licences and English meet US standards. US law requires it before certain health workers can receive a temporary or permanent occupational visa.
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- ZAB Statement of Comparability (Zeugnisbewertung)A ZAB Statement of Comparability is an official German document, issued by the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) on behalf of all 16 federal states, that describes a foreign university degree and compares it with German degrees. It is used for visas and non-regulated jobs, but it is not professional recognition and does not let you work as a doctor or nurse.
- Zaměstnanecká karta (Czech employee card)The zaměstnanecká karta (employee card) is a Czech long-term residence permit that lets a non-EU citizen live and work in Czechia for more than 3 months, issued by the Ministry of the Interior for a specific job. For health professionals it is usually linked to the Ministry of Health decision that allows them to work, including during the practical part of the aprobační zkouška.
Guides and tools
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In-depth guides to the exams, tests and applications on every route, and free tools to work out yours.
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Health and Care Worker visa: eligibility, costs and dependants
Who qualifies for the UK Health and Care Worker visa, the occupation code for each profession, salary and English rules, fees and the surcharge exemption, the care worker dependant restrictions, switching and settlement, from GOV.UK.
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- Free toolRoute finderWho do I register with, and what are the steps?
- Free toolCost estimatorWhat will registration cost me in official fees?
- Free toolNHS pay bandsWhat would I earn in the NHS, and at which band?
- Free toolVisa cost calculatorWhat will the Health and Care Worker visa cost my family?
- Free toolSalary checkerDoes this salary meet the published visa salary rule?
- Free toolSettlement datesWhen can I apply to settle, and do my trips abroad count against me?
- Free toolBlue Card salaryDoes my salary offer meet the Blue Card threshold?
- Free toolNHS take-home payWhat will I take home each month on an NHS band?
- Free toolHSE take-home payWhat will I take home on an HSE pay scale?
- Free toolEnglish score checkerDo my English test scores meet my regulator's rules?
- Free toolTimeline calculatorHow long will registration take me?