NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Jobs, Pay & Visa Sponsorship

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) is the largest NHS organisation in Scotland and one of the largest in the UK.

It serves a population of 1.3 million, employs around 41,000 staff, runs 23 hospitals of different types and has an annual budget of £4.4 billion.

In the year April 2023 to March 2024 it recorded 408,000 emergency attendances, 130,000 emergency admissions, 187,000 elective admissions, 1.1 million outpatients and 14,500 births.

Its main hospitals include the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Children on the same Govan campus, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre at Gartnavel, Inverclyde Royal, the Vale of Leven and several ambulatory care hospitals. The board says the 14-floor Queen Elizabeth University Hospital is one of the largest acute hospitals in the UK.

The board provides and manages a whole range of health services, including hospitals and general practice, and it pays NHS Scotland rates, which differ from those in England.

Run by

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHS Scotland health board)

Leadership

• Prof Jann Gardner, Chief Executive
• Dr Scott Davidson, Medical Director
• Prof Angela Wallace, Nurse Director

Switchboard

0141 201 1100

• Renal medicine and transplantation

  Major specialist services at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

• Neurosciences and spinal injuries

  The Institute of Neurological Sciences and the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries Unit serve the West of Scotland.

• Major trauma

  The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital is the major trauma centre for the West of Scotland.

• Cancer

  The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre at Gartnavel is the region's major cancer centre.

• Children's services

  The Royal Hospital for Children shares the Govan campus with the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

• Vascular surgery

  Listed among the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital's major specialist services.

• Regional services

  Services for the west of Scotland ranging from cancer and forensic mental health to burns and oral health.

• We did not find an international recruitment programme for nurses, midwives or doctors on NHSGGC's own recruitment pages, and no published details of OSCE support, relocation or visa costs.
• The board's recruitment page sends applicants to the NHS Scotland job portal, where its vacancies are advertised. International applicants usually apply directly to advertised posts once they hold, or are working towards, NMC, GMC or HCPC registration, and ask the recruiting manager whether the post can be sponsored.
• Its vacancy pages promote Glasgow to applicants from elsewhere, noting the region's two international airports.
• 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. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is listed in Glasgow 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 NMC, GMC or HCPC is UK-wide, so the steps are the same as for England. Book your English test and begin your regulator's international route.
2. 2

   Search NHS Scotland jobs

   Go to apply.jobs.scot.nhs.uk, the NHS Scotland job portal linked from the board's recruitment page, and filter for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
3. 3

   Check sponsorship

   If you need a visa, check the advert and contact the named manager to confirm the post can be sponsored.
4. 4

   Apply online

   Create an account on the portal and complete the application. NHSGGC's job application support page has guidance.
5. 5

   Offer and checks

   After interview and a conditional offer, complete pre-employment checks, including right to work.
6. 6

   Apply for your visa

   With a certificate of sponsorship, apply for the Health and Care Worker visa on GOV.UK.

• Band 5 (newly registered nurse or midwife)

  £34,544 to £43,039

  Points £34,544, £36,911 (from year 3) and £43,039 (from year 5).

• Band 6

  £43,231 to £52,679

  Points £43,231, £45,135 (from year 3) and £52,679 (from year 6).

• Band 7

  £52,845 to £61,466

  Points £52,845, £54,863 (from year 3) and £61,466 (from year 6).

• Foundation doctor year 1 (FHO1)

  £39,649 to £41,977

  Basic salary from 1 April 2026; new FY1 doctors start at point 1.

• Foundation doctor year 2 (FHO2)

  £46,286 to £52,340

  Basic salary; banding supplements of 20% to 100% are added for out-of-hours work.

• Specialty registrar (StR)

  £49,217 to £77,389

  Basic salary from 1 April 2026, before banding supplements.

• Specialty doctor (2022 Scotland contract)

  £66,404 to £103,475

  2026/27.

• Consultant

  £115,331 to £153,247

  2026/27, by seniority point.