University Hospital Galway Jobs & International Recruitment

University Hospital Galway (UHG) is on Newcastle Road in Galway city. With Merlin Park University Hospital in the east of the city it forms Galway University Hospitals (GUH), which provide emergency and elective care on an inpatient, outpatient and day basis across the two sites.

Together, UHG and Merlin Park employ approximately 3,000 whole time equivalent staff.

UHG is a Model 4 hospital providing 24/7 acute surgery, acute medicine and critical care. GUH is a designated supra-regional centre for cancer and cardiac services, serving a catchment of around one million people along the west of Ireland from Donegal to North Tipperary. It also runs the region's largest maternity unit, with 2,562 births in 2024, a Level 2 neonatal intensive care unit and a sexual assault treatment unit.

UHG is run directly by the HSE and sits in the HSE West and North West health region, whose academic partner is University of Galway. The region says it serves a population of 830,000 and employs over 20,000 staff across seven hospitals.

For an international applicant, UHG posts are HSE posts: advertised through the region's careers listings and Rezoomo, paid on the HSE consolidated salary scales, and covered by the HSE's international recruitment arrangements, including its relocation package. Many job titles appear in English and Irish, but the adverts set out the requirements in English.

Run by

Health Service Executive (HSE West and North West)

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+353 91 544544

• Cancer care

  A designated supra-regional cancer centre for the west and north west, including regional gynaecological oncology.

• Cardiac services

  A designated supra-regional centre for cardiac services in the west and north west.

• Acute medicine, surgery and critical care

  As a Model 4 hospital, UHG provides 24/7 acute surgery, acute medicine and critical care.

• Maternity and neonatal care

  The largest of five maternity units in the region, with fetal medicine, a Level 2 NICU and a sexual assault treatment unit.

• Laboratory medicine

  Laboratories across UHG and Merlin Park, including haematology, staffed by medical scientists.

• UHG does not publish a separate international recruitment programme. Its posts are HSE posts, so the HSE's international recruitment arrangements apply. The HSE says all candidates moving from outside Ireland can apply for its international recruitment relocation package: up to €4,160 if you are based in the EU or UK and up to €4,710 if you are based outside the EU, paid against receipts for up to three months. It also says it covers initial costs including regulator registration fees, visa fees, the RCSI aptitude test fee, language testing and qualification validation fees.
• The HSE says many international nurses and health and social care professionals are recruited through a small number of employment agencies that manage the full recruitment process on its behalf, and that you can also apply directly to any advertised post you are qualified for.
• UHG and Merlin Park vacancies are listed on the HSE West and North West careers page at saolta.ie/jobs, with each advert showing the grade, contract type and HSE area, and linking to Rezoomo for the online application.
• Adverts give named contacts for informal enquiries about the role. Use them to ask about adaptation placements for nurses awaiting NMBI registration, rosters and relocation before you accept.

• Registration with the Irish regulator for your profession before you practise: the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) for nurses and midwives, the Irish Medical Council (IMC) for doctors, CORU for professions such as physiotherapy, radiography and medical science, and the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) for pharmacists. Qualifications gained outside the EU are assessed first, and NMBI or CORU may set a compensation measure such as an aptitude test or a period of adaptation.

• Doctors apply to the IMC in the division that fits the post. The IMC says doctors seeking the General or Trainee Specialist Division may be required to sit the Pre-Registration Examination System (PRES), and that a pass in the UK PLAB 2 can exempt you. The IMC also points to registration in the Supervised Division as another route; check its eligibility chart for the division that fits your post.

• English: NMBI asks for IELTS Academic overall 7.0 (7.0 in three components and 6.5 in one) or OET with B in three components and C+ in one, from a single sitting less than two years old. The IMC, CORU and PSI set their own tests and scores.

• An employment permit if you are not an EEA, UK or Swiss citizen. The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE) issues the Critical Skills Employment Permit for occupations on its Critical Skills list, including doctors, nurses and midwives. It needs a two-year job offer; for public sector roles covered by a pay agreement the salary is the agreed rate; nurses and midwives need a qualification NMBI accepts. The fee is €1,000, with 90% refunded if refused, and DETE asks for applications at least 12 weeks before the start date.

• Non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs) may instead hold a two-year Multi-Site General Employment Permit, which Irish Immigration Service Delivery links to Stamp 1H and describes as carrying similar benefits to a Critical Skills permit.

• Pre-employment checks: the HSE recruitment process includes screening, interview, Garda vetting, recognition of qualifications and an occupational health check before a formal offer. If you need an entry visa, you apply after the permit is granted, and you register your immigration permission once you arrive.

1. 1

   Start your registration

   Apply to NMBI, the IMC, CORU or the PSI, and read each job specification for the registration it requires.
2. 2

   Find a vacancy

   Go to saolta.ie/jobs, the HSE West and North West careers listing, and filter for University Hospital Galway or Merlin Park. Posts are also on HSE jobs search.
3. 3

   Apply through Rezoomo

   Each advert links to Rezoomo for the online application. Check the closing time as well as the date; Galway adverts can close early in the day, for example at 10am.
4. 4

   Interview

   Interviews are held as soon as possible after the closing date, normally with at least one week's notice. Panels may be formed for future vacancies.
5. 5

   Checks, permit and arrival

   After Garda vetting, occupational health and registration checks, apply for a Critical Skills Employment Permit at least 12 weeks before your start date, then an entry visa if needed, and register your immigration permission when you arrive.