Cardiff and Vale UHB Jobs, Pay & Visa Sponsorship

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board describes itself as one of the largest NHS organisations in Europe.

It employs about 17,000 staff and spends around £1.4 billion a year on health services for around 472,400 people in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.

It runs two main university hospitals and a children's hospital, and as a tertiary centre it serves a wider population across Wales, and often the UK, for complex services such as neurosurgery and cardiac care.

The University Hospital of Wales at Heath Park hosts the adult and children's major trauma centre for South Wales and the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales, which gives tertiary care to children across Mid, West and South Wales.

For internationally trained professionals, the board is a licensed sponsor and recruits through NHS Jobs. Its published international activity centres on doctors, through a Welsh Government recruitment scheme and medical clinical attachments; nurses, midwives and allied health professionals apply to advertised posts. Pay follows NHS Wales scales, which differ from England's, and resident doctors in Wales moved to a new contract from August 2026.

Run by

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (NHS Wales)

Leadership

• Chris Bown, Interim Chief Executive Officer
• David Fluck, Executive Medical Director
• Jason Roberts, Executive Nurse Director

Switchboard

029 20747747

• Major trauma

  The adult and children's major trauma centre for South Wales is at the University Hospital of Wales.

• Neurosurgery

  The health board describes UHW as Wales' only specialist neurosurgery hospital.

• Cardiac services

  Tertiary cardiac services for patients across Wales.

• Children's services

  Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales provides tertiary care for children across Mid, West and South Wales.

• Nephrology and transplant

  Kidney and transplant services based at the University Hospital of Wales.

• Medical and dental education

  A university health board with a medical and dental education department.

• The health board reports that it has recruited overseas specialist doctors, mainly from Kerala in India, through a Welsh Government scheme run by the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP) International Recruitment Team with GMC approval, and that it holds welcome events to connect them with clinical teams and international nursing leads.
• It offers medical clinical attachments (observation placements) for doctors with a recognised medical qualification and GMC registration who are not currently employed by an NHS body, and a refugee doctors referral programme with Cardiff Council. Applicants need occupational health clearance, DBS or an equivalent overseas police check, and verification of identity and qualifications. It does not offer attachments to people without a recognised medical qualification or GMC eligibility.
• We did not find a current international nurse recruitment page on the board's jobs site describing OSCE support or relocation help, so nurses should check live adverts and ask the recruitment team.
• Home Office sponsor register: we checked the register of licensed sponsors (workers) on GOV.UK on 21 October 2026, in the version dated 20 October 2026. Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is listed in Cardiff with an A rating for the Skilled Worker route. Being listed means the organisation can assign certificates of sponsorship; it does not mean every vacancy is open to sponsorship, so check the advert and ask the recruiting team.

• Nurses and midwives: registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). If you trained outside the UK you pass the NMC test of competence (a computer-based test and the OSCE) and show English at NMC level, for example IELTS Academic 7 in listening, reading and speaking and 6.5 in writing, or OET grade B with C+ in writing.

• Doctors: registration with a licence to practise from the General Medical Council (GMC). Most international graduates qualify through PLAB 1 and PLAB 2 or an acceptable postgraduate qualification, and the GMC asks for IELTS Academic 7.5 overall with at least 7.0 in each area, or OET Medicine grade B in every skill.

• Allied health professionals such as physiotherapists and radiographers: registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) through its international route, with an HCPC-accepted English test unless you qualified in a country on its list.

• Visa: if you do not already have the right to work in the UK, you need a job offer and a certificate of sponsorship from an approved employer, then usually the Health and Care Worker visa. GOV.UK sets the eligibility, salary and fee rules, not the employer.

1. 1

   Start UK registration

   Registration with the GMC, NMC or HCPC covers the whole UK. Book your English test and begin your regulator's international route.
2. 2

   Look at Welsh national schemes

   International doctors can watch for Welsh Government recruitment run by NWSSP, which the health board has used to recruit specialist doctors.
3. 3

   Search NHS Jobs

   Cardiff and Vale advertises through NHS Jobs. Its jobs page at cavuhb.nhs.wales/jobs gives application tips.
4. 4

   Apply and track on TRAC

   Complete a separate application for each role. The board says you can check your progress at any time on your TRAC account.
5. 5

   Consider a clinical attachment

   If you are GMC-registered and not yet working in the NHS, a clinical attachment can give you UK experience before applying.
6. 6

   Offer, checks and visa

   After an offer and pre-employment checks, apply for the Health and Care Worker visa on GOV.UK with your certificate of sponsorship.

• Band 5 (newly registered nurse or midwife)

  £32,557 to £39,631

  Intermediate point £35,114 after 2 years, top after a further 2 years.

• Band 6

  £40,559 to £48,841

  Intermediate point £42,805 after 2 years, top after a further 3 years.

• Band 7

  £50,129 to £57,365

  Intermediate point £52,712 after 2 years, top after a further 3 years.

• Foundation doctor F1 and F2 (2026 Resident Contract)

  £41,400 and £51,750

  2026/27 values including the 3.5% award.

• Registrar (2026 Resident Contract)

  £56,925 to £80,730

  Five spine points over the registrar years.

• Specialty doctor (2021 contract)

  £64,292 to £102,689

  2026/27.

• Consultant

  £114,099 to £166,585

  2026/27, by years completed as a consultant.