Work abroad as a dietitian: UK, Ireland, EU and US (2026)

1. 1

   Check that your training is clinical dietetics

   Every regulator here assesses dietetics, not general nutrition. Compare your course with the standard you will be measured against, such as the HCPC or CORU standards of proficiency, and make sure supervised clinical practice is documented. If your internship was a separate programme, keep its paperwork too.
2. 2

   Collect your education evidence early

   Ask your university for transcripts, module descriptions and a statement of supervised practice hours by setting. The HCPC needs its course information form completed and stamped; Germany needs evidence of the content and duration of your training; the USA needs a foreign degree evaluation. Universities are often the slowest part of the process.
3. 3

   Pass the language test for your country

   For the UK, IELTS 7.0 (no element below 6.5) or OET Dietetics 1400 with no element below 300. For Ireland, IELTS Academic 7.0 (no element below 6.5) or OET B in three components and C+ in one. Germany needs German B2 and the Netherlands Dutch B2 plus English reading. Check the result's validity: the UK and Ireland both want certificates under two years old.
4. 4

   Get certificates of good standing and identity documents ready

   Regulators check your current registrations. Germany also asks for a certificate of good conduct and a medical certificate no more than three months old at submission. Get translations from sworn translators where the authority requires them.
5. 5

   Apply and pay the assessment fee

   Submit to the HCPC (£678.38 scrutiny fee), CORU (€510 recognition fee), the German authority in the state where you will work (€25 to €430) or the CIBG (currently free). In the USA, the process starts with your degree evaluation and an ACEND-accredited programme or a reciprocity route, then CDR exam eligibility.
6. 6

   Respond to gaps or compensation measures

   If assessors find gaps you may be offered an HCPC test of competence, a CORU adaptation period or aptitude test, a German adaptation period or knowledge test, or extra training advised by the Dutch CBGV. Read the decision letter closely: it lists exactly which areas fall short.
7. 7

   Register or pass the exam

   Once accepted, pay the registration fee and get your registration number (HCPC, CORU), your authorisation to use the title (Germany) or your diploma recognition (Netherlands). In the USA, sit the CDR exam at a Pearson VUE centre, then apply for a state licence where your state requires one.
8. 8

   Find a job and sort out the visa

   Apply for posts that match your band or grade: Band 5 in the NHS, staff grade in the HSE, or hospital and rehabilitation roles in Germany. The UK route is the Health and Care Worker visa (SOC 2259). In other countries the work permit depends on the recognised qualification, so do not move until recognition is in hand or the authority confirms you can enter for a compensation measure.

Pay comes from official scales where they exist. UK and Ireland figures are national public-sector scales; Germany and the Netherlands have no single national figure we could confirm; the US figure is the BLS national median. Currency and year are given in each row.

• UK£32,073 to £39,043 (Band 5), rising to £39,959 to £48,117 at Band 6 (NHS Agenda for Change, 2026/27)NHS Health Careers says dietitians typically start on Band 5. London adds a high cost area supplement.
• Ireland€45,514 to €65,068 (Dietician); €65,197 to €76,767 (Senior Dietician) (HSE scales from 1 June 2026)Clinical specialist dietician €72,119 to €83,689. The dietetics adaptation point is €39,590. Long service increments apply on top.
• GermanySet by employer or collective agreement; no national figure confirmedPublic hospitals usually pay under collective agreements. Ask employers which agreement and pay group applies.
• NetherlandsSet by the sector collective agreement (CAO); figures not confirmedHospital and care employers pay under their CAO scales. Check the scale in the job advertisement.
• USA$76,400 median annual pay (BLS, May 2025)Dietitians and nutritionists combined. Pay varies widely by state and setting.

See your NHS band and annual pay

Once registered, dietitians move up through clinical specialism, leadership or advanced practice. The grades and titles below are the ones the official pay scales use.

1. 1

   Specialist dietitian

   Specialise in an area such as renal, diabetes, oncology, paediatrics or critical care. In the NHS this is usually Band 6; in the HSE the Senior Dietician and Clinical Specialist Dietician grades cover this level.
2. 2

   Advanced practice

   Advanced roles combine expert clinical work with education and research. The HSE has a Candidate Advanced Practice Dietician grade, and NHS advanced or highly specialist roles are often Band 7 or 8a.
3. 3

   Management

   Lead a dietetic department or service. The HSE scales include Dietician Manager and Dietician Manager in Charge grades; NHS service leads are typically Band 8a and above.
4. 4

   Board certification in the USA

   RDNs can add CDR board certification as a specialist, for example in areas such as advanced practice, after meeting CDR's practice requirements.
5. 5

   Public health and community nutrition

   Work in prevention, health promotion and community programmes. These posts exist in every country here, but are more often funded locally, so pay and grading vary.

1. 1

   Applying with a nutrition science degree that has little or no supervised clinical dietetics. Every regulator here assesses clinical practice, and a missing placement is the most common reason for refusal or a compensation measure.

2. 2

   Sending a course information form or transcript that does not show supervised practice hours by setting. Assessors cannot accept what is not documented.

3. 3

   Using the wrong English test or score rule: the HCPC accepts OET Dietetics at 1400 with no element below 300, while CORU wants grade B (350) in three components and C+ (300) in one.

4. 4

   Letting a language certificate expire. The UK and Ireland both require results less than two years old when you apply.

5. 5

   Assuming a Gulf or home-country licence transfers. None of these regulators recognises another country's licence on its own; they assess the qualification that first let you practise.

6. 6

   Starting the US route expecting a paper assessment. The CDR requires a graduate degree, ACEND-accredited education and supervised practice, and an exam, unless you are covered by one of its reciprocity agreements.

7. 7

   Applying to the wrong German state. The competent authority is the one for the state where you plan to work, so a job offer or a clear target region helps.

8. 8

   Getting translations from non-sworn translators. German authorities require documents in German translated by sworn or authorised translators.

• Review of your qualifications, transcripts, experience and current registration

• Check against the published requirements of the regulators you choose

• Check of how recent your practice is and whether any gap in practice affects your route

• English or other language requirement for each route, with any exemption you may qualify for

• Comparison of routes and countries, with the trade-offs explained

• List of the exams, aptitude tests or adaptation periods each route is likely to involve

• Written roadmap: exams, English test, documents, fees and timeline

• Budget built from the official regulator, exam and verification fees, kept separate from our own fee

• Flags for slow steps to start first, such as primary source verification and language learning

• A call to walk you through the plan and answer your questions

What our eligibility assessment includesPackages and fees