Work as an optometrist in the UK: GOC route and OSCE (2026)

• You qualified as an optometrist outside the UK and have three years' full-time (or equivalent part-time) optometry training at a level equivalent to a UK post-baccalaureate qualification.
• You are legally qualified to practise optometry in a country outside the UK.
• You have practised for at least one year, unsupervised and after qualifying, within the last ten years.
• You are registered with the regulator in your country of practice, where optometry is regulated.
• You have IELTS Academic or IELTS for UKVI (Academic) at 7.0 overall, at least 7.0 in speaking and at least 6.0 in every other section, from an official test centre.
• Your qualification has been verified through Qualification Check before you submit your application.
• If you qualified in the USA or Canada at an ACOE-accredited school, you need a current licence and a certificate of good standing from your state or provincial board for direct entry.
• To start the Scheme for Registration you need a UK placement with a supervisor who is a College member and has completed supervisor training, and GOC student registration.
• If you need a visa for the Scheme, the College asks for your passport, degree evidence, your signed placement contract, proof of address, your GOC approval letter and the enrolment form before it issues a certificate of sponsorship.

Check your route with the route finder

• GOCGeneral Optical Council

  Optometrists and dispensing opticians

  How to register with the GOC

1. 1

   Check which route applies to you

   Read the GOC's international optometrists page and the USA and Canada page. If you hold an ACOE-accredited qualification, you use direct entry. If you trained elsewhere, check the GOC's Non-UK Optometry Qualifications Evaluation Guidance, because it explains how your country's qualification compares with the new requirements and what the 2027 changes may mean for you.
2. 2

   Pass IELTS with 7.0 in speaking

   Take IELTS Academic or IELTS for UKVI (Academic) at a test centre. You need 7.0 overall, 7.0 in speaking and at least 6.0 in listening, reading and writing. IELTS for UKVI is the safer choice if you also want to use the result for your visa. One Skill Retake and online tests do not count.
3. 3

   Complete the self-assessment form

   Fill in the GOC's registering from overseas self-assessment form. The GOC replies within three working days with the application form and a list of documents if you appear eligible. Keep copies of everything you send.
4. 4

   Verify your qualification and submit the application

   Complete the Qualification Check verification, which contacts your university directly and carries its own fee. Then email the application form and documents to the GOC; it does not accept posted copies. Applications are closed if the QC check is not finished before you submit.
5. 5

   Pay each GOC fee within 14 days

   The GOC invoices the £130 scrutiny fee, then the £455 assessment fee once your file is complete, then the £205 interview fee if you are invited. Each must be paid within 14 days or the application is cancelled, and none is refundable. Missing a payment is an avoidable way to lose months.
6. 6

   Prepare for the online interview

   Two non-UK assessors interview you on Microsoft Teams for 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes. They discuss your application against the GOC's stage 1 and stage 2 competencies and the patient experience expected of a UK graduate. Be ready to describe real cases, including referrals, contact lenses, binocular vision and children, and to provide evidence for anything new you mention.
7. 7

   Read your outcome letter carefully

   You may be directed to the Scheme for Registration, the Scheme with trailing competencies, adaptation courses first, or rejected. For adaptation courses, you find a provider and send the GOC a proposal for approval before starting. The letter is valid for two years, so plan the next steps straight away.
8. 8

   Find a pre-registration placement and sponsorship

   Apply to high street chains, independent practices or hospital departments that take pre-registration optometrists. If you need a visa, the College of Optometrists can issue a Temporary Worker GAE certificate of sponsorship once your employment is confirmed, and you must apply for the visa within three months of it being issued.
9. 9

   Complete the Scheme for Registration

   Register as a student with the GOC, enrol with the College (£4,657) and complete Stage One, Stage Two and the OSCE. You have 2 years and 3 months, but the GAE visa lasts at most 24 months, so plan to finish within that. Many trainees finish in 15 months.
10. 10

    Join the full register and start practising

    Apply to the GOC's register of optometrists after passing the OSCE, then sort out your visa for qualified work and any NHS listing you need, such as the NHS England National Performers List with an enhanced DBS check. Only then can you test sight independently.

• GOC interview

  An online structured interview with two non-UK assessors on Microsoft Teams, lasting 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes, after the paper equivalence assessment. It explores your application and experience against UK competencies. The GOC sends the outcome letter within 14 days.

• College of Optometrists OSCE

  The final assessment of the Scheme for Registration. It has 15 five-minute stations with one minute of reading time before each, and actors play patients. Stations test history taking and diagnosis, communication, data interpretation such as visual fields, and practical skills such as ophthalmoscopy, retinoscopy, slit lamp examination, cover test and focimetry. It usually runs four times a year in London or Liverpool, with resits at £762.

• IELTS

  IELTS Academic or IELTS for UKVI (Academic) only, at an official test centre: 7.0 overall, 7.0 speaking, minimum 6.0 in other sections.

• The GOC accepts IELTS Academic and IELTS for UKVI (Academic) only. No other English test is accepted, including OET.
• You need 7.0 overall, with at least 7.0 in speaking and at least 6.0 in each other section.
• The test must be taken at an official test centre. Online versions such as IELTS Indicator and IELTS One Skill Retake are not accepted.
• US and Canadian optometrists using direct entry must meet the same IELTS scores.
• To join the NHS England National Performers List, the GOC says optometrists who qualified outside the UK and Ireland need English evidence (IELTS 7) and three months' continuous employment in the last two years in a country where English is the first language, with two clinical references.
• The Health and Care Worker and Skilled Worker visas need English at CEFR B2, proved through a Secure English Language Test, an English-taught degree assessed by Ecctis, or nationality. An IELTS for UKVI result can cover both the GOC and the visa.

Estimate your total cost

• The GOC replies to the self-assessment form within three working days.
• The GOC completes initial scrutiny within 28 days of the scrutiny fee being paid.
• The GOC completes the equivalence assessment within four months of the assessment fee being paid.
• Interview scheduling can take up to two months, and the outcome letter arrives within 14 days of the interview.
• The College says the Scheme for Registration must be completed within 2 years and 3 months and many trainees finish in 15 months. The College confirms enrolment within 10 working days, but warns of delays at busy times.
• In total, plan for about two years from first application to full registration on the current route. The 2027 process may shorten this for some applicants.

Most optometrists work in high street practices, where pay is set by the employer. In NHS hospital eye services, optometrists are paid on Agenda for Change. NHS Health Careers says hospital trainee optometrists typically start on Band 4, qualified optometrists on Band 6, specialist optometrists at Band 7 and principal optometrists at Bands 8a to 8b. Figures are NHS Employers 2026/27 annual pay points from 1 April 2026 for England; London posts add a high cost area supplement.

• Band 4 (hospital pre-registration optometrist)

  £28,392 to £31,157

• Band 6 (qualified hospital optometrist)

  £39,959 to £48,117

  Intermediate point £42,170.

• Band 7 (specialist optometrist)

  £49,387 to £56,515

• Band 8a (principal optometrist)

  £57,528 to £64,750

• Band 8b (principal optometrist)

  £66,582 to £77,368

• High street practice: Set by employerThere is no national scale for private practice.

See your NHS band and annual pay

• High street optical chains and independent practices, which also take most pre-registration trainees.
• NHS hospital eye departments, including glaucoma, medical retina, paediatric and contact lens clinics.
• Domiciliary eye care providers visiting care homes and people at home.
• Community eye care services such as minor eye conditions and enhanced services commissioned by the NHS.
• Universities and research institutions.
• Wales and Scotland, which have their own enhanced NHS eye examination schemes with extra accreditation.

• Optometrists are occupation code 2252, which GOV.UK lists as eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa and as higher skilled for the Skilled Worker visa.
• During the Scheme for Registration, many international trainees use a Temporary Worker Government Authorised Exchange (GAE) visa sponsored by the College of Optometrists. It lasts up to 24 months and cannot be extended if you do not finish in time.
• The College says that after the Scheme you can apply for a Skilled Worker visa, with your employer as sponsor, from inside the UK or from your home country.
• The Health and Care Worker visa needs a job with the NHS, an organisation providing medical services to the NHS, or adult social care, and a licensed sponsor. Whether a high street practice qualifies depends on the employer; ask them which visa route they sponsor.
• GOV.UK says you will usually need to be paid at least £25,000 or the going rate for the job, whichever is higher. The fee is £324 for up to 3 years or £628 for more than 3 years, and Health and Care Worker visa holders do not pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.
• The GOC does not give visa advice or sponsorship. For questions about switching visas, the College suggests UKVI or an immigration lawyer.

1. 1

   A DHA, DOH, MOHAP, SCFHS, QCHP or other GCC optometry licence does not transfer. The GOC assesses the qualification you trained in and your experience, not your Gulf licence.

2. 2

   Your Gulf experience counts toward the one year of unsupervised practice in the last ten years, and is what the assessors discuss at interview. Keep records of the types of patients you saw, such as children, binocular vision, contact lenses and referrals.

3. 3

   You must be registered with the regulator where you practise. Ask each Gulf authority you have been licensed with for a letter of good standing or verification, because the GOC checks your registration status.

4. 4

   GCC countries are not treated as English-speaking for this route, and the GOC accepts only IELTS. Plan for 7.0 overall with 7.0 in speaking, whatever language your degree was taught in.

5. 5

   NHS England's Performers List asks for three months' recent employment in a country where English is the first language. Experience in the Gulf may not meet this, so check with the NHS England area team before you plan to do NHS sight tests.

• Application plan with every step, fee and deadline

• Document checklist tailored to you, and a review of each document before upload

• Timeline built around the regulator's closure windows and document validity periods

• Help completing the application forms accurately and consistently

• Support with profession-specific evidence, such as the HCPC standards of proficiency mapping

• Guidance on certificates of good standing, references and certified translations

• Preparation for identity checks and declarations on health and character

• Tracking your application and help responding to regulator requests

• Next steps after the decision: exams, adaptation, PIN or licence and your first job

Regulators make all registration decisions and set all fees. Our fee is separate from the regulator's fees, exam fees and translation costs.

What our registration and licensing support includesPackages and fees