Work as a pharmacist in the UK: OSPAP and GPhC route (2026)

• A pharmacist qualification from outside the EEA (or an unrecognised EEA qualification), with all the education and training needed to register in the country where you qualified.
• A UK ENIC Statement of Comparability. If your degree is not assessed as at least a UK bachelor's in pharmacy with three academic years of pharmacy content, you must also complete the GPhC's international comparative assessment framework.
• English: Academic IELTS with at least 7 overall and 7 in each skill, or Pharmacy OET with at least B in each skill, at one sitting, usually less than two years old.
• A letter of good standing from the regulator where you qualified, and from any healthcare regulator you have been registered with in the past five years.
• An academic transcript sent directly by your university, and two references (one academic, one from your current or most recent employer).
• A place on an OSPAP course, starting within two academic years of the GPhC's eligibility decision.
• A foundation training post through the national recruitment scheme for England and Wales, or the Scottish process.
• Completion of every step, and your registration application, within four years of starting OSPAP.
• The right to study and then work in the UK.

Check your route with the route finder

• GPhCGeneral Pharmaceutical Council

  Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians

  How to register with the GPhC

1. 1

   1. Get your degree compared by UK ENIC

   Order a Statement of Comparability from UK ENIC, which charges for the service. If your degree is not rated at least equivalent to a UK bachelor's in pharmacy, prepare your syllabus and the GPhC's international comparative assessment. Doing this first avoids wasting the GPhC application fee.
2. 2

   2. Pass IELTS or OET

   Take Academic IELTS (at least 7 in every skill) or Pharmacy OET (at least B in every skill) in one sitting. The GPhC will not consider an OSPAP eligibility application without English evidence. Check your chosen universities' English requirements too, as they may differ.
3. 3

   3. Apply to the GPhC for OSPAP eligibility

   Send the paper application with certified copies of your degree, ENIC statement and passport, and ask your university and regulator to send your transcript and letter of good standing directly. The fee is £830 and non-refundable. The GPhC says it will update you within eight weeks, and recommends it receives your application before 31 July for a course starting that autumn.
4. 4

   4. Secure an OSPAP place and a student visa

   The GPhC tells your chosen universities you are eligible, but each university decides whether to offer a place. You pay tuition to the university and need to support yourself during the year. If you need a visa to study, check the student visa rules on GOV.UK.
5. 5

   5. Apply for foundation training a year ahead

   The national recruitment scheme opens in June for training starting the following year, so you may need to apply before your OSPAP starts. Late applications are never accepted, and you cannot apply to employers directly. Missing this window is the most common way people lose a year.
6. 6

   6. Complete OSPAP

   OSPAP is one year full time, with taught modules and assessments set by the university. Passing shows you meet the UK MPharm graduate criteria but does not award an MPharm. You may be exempt from some teaching but not from assessments.
7. 7

   7. Complete 52 weeks of foundation training

   Train for at least 52 weeks under a designated supervisor at an approved site in England, Scotland or Wales, recording progress in an e-portfolio. Apply for foundation trainee status on myGPhC before you start. If you are not already entitled to work in the UK, your training employer will need to sponsor a work visa.
8. 8

   8. Pass the Common Registration Assessment and register

   Apply on myGPhC to sit the assessment (£208) when invited; it runs in summer and autumn at UK test centres. After passing, apply to register (£128) and pay the first-year fee of £310 once your result and training sign-off are confirmed. Arrange professional indemnity cover before you start practising.

• Common Registration Assessment, Part 1

  40 pharmacy and healthcare calculations, answered by typing in a number, in 120 minutes. Computer based at UK test centres. A calculator is allowed: an approved model or the onscreen calculator.

• Common Registration Assessment, Part 2

  120 questions in 150 minutes on the safe and effective pharmacy care of the public: 90 single best answer questions and 15 sets of extended matching questions. You must pass both parts at the same sitting, with a maximum of three attempts.

• OSPAP assessments

  Set by the university running your OSPAP. All assessments must be passed, even where you are exempt from some taught content.

• IELTS or Pharmacy OET

  Not part of the route itself, but required before you apply. Academic IELTS needs at least 7 in every skill; Pharmacy OET needs at least B in every skill. OET@Home is not accepted.

  Read the guide

• Academic IELTS (including IELTS for UKVI, but not Life Skills): at least 7 overall and at least 7 in reading, writing, listening and speaking, at one sitting.
• Pharmacy OET on paper or computer: at least B in each of reading, writing, listening and speaking, at one sitting. OET@Home is not accepted.
• Results should be less than two years old when you apply; older results may be accepted with evidence you have maintained your English.
• A pharmacy qualification of at least three years taught and examined in English in a majority English-speaking country (not the UK) can count instead.
• At least two years of practice as a registered pharmacist or pharmacy technician in a majority English-speaking country can count, with a detailed employer reference.
• For a work visa, GOV.UK sets its own English requirement (CEFR B2 for new Health and Care Worker applicants). Check whether your test result also meets the visa rules.

Estimate your total cost

• UK ENIC and English test: allow one to three months before you apply to the GPhC.
• OSPAP eligibility: the GPhC says it will update you within eight weeks of receiving your application.
• OSPAP: one academic year, usually starting in September or October.
• Foundation training: 52 weeks, applied for through the recruitment scheme that opens each June for the following year.
• Registration assessment and registration: sittings in summer and autumn, with results about five weeks later for the November 2026 sitting, then fixed registration dates.
• Overall, plan for around three years from eligibility application to registration; the GPhC requires you to finish within four years of starting OSPAP.

NHS pharmacists in England are paid on the Agenda for Change pay scales. NHS Health Careers says pharmacists usually start on Band 6, and many move to Band 7 and above with experience and specialist roles. The figures below are the NHS Employers pay scales for 2026/27, effective 1 April 2026. Community pharmacy and private employers set their own pay, which NHS Health Careers says is typically in line with Agenda for Change rates. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own pay agreements.

2026/27, England

• Band 6, entry (0-2 years in band)

  £39,959

• Band 6, intermediate (2-5 years)

  £42,170

• Band 6, top (5+ years)

  £48,117

• Band 7, entry (0-2 years in band)

  £49,387

• Band 7, intermediate (2-5 years)

  £51,932

• Band 7, top (5+ years)

  £56,515

• High cost area supplements: Paid on top in London and some surrounding areasSee NHS Employers for current rates.

See your NHS band and annual pay

• Community pharmacy chains and independent pharmacies
• NHS hospital trusts and health boards (Agenda for Change pay)
• GP practices and primary care networks, as clinical pharmacists
• NHS integrated care boards and medicines optimisation teams
• The pharmaceutical industry, in regulatory, medical information and quality roles
• Foundation training sites recruited through the national recruitment scheme (for your training year only)

• Pharmacists (occupation code 2251) are listed as eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa when working for the NHS, an NHS supplier or in adult social care.
• You need a certificate of sponsorship from a Home Office approved employer. You usually need to be paid at least £25,000, or the going rate if higher; NHS roles use the national pay scales table on GOV.UK.
• The visa costs £324 for up to three years or £628 for more than three years, with no immigration health surcharge. You need at least £1,270 in savings held for 28 consecutive days.
• GOV.UK requires CEFR B2 English for new Health and Care Worker applicants. Its exemption for people who passed a regulator's English assessment names doctors, dentists, nurses and midwives, so pharmacists should check how to meet the rule.
• OSPAP is a study course, so you will need the right to study in the UK for that year. Check student visa rules on GOV.UK.
• Pharmacists are also an eligible occupation for the Skilled Worker visa, which has a higher general salary threshold, for employers outside the NHS and its suppliers.

1. 1

   A DHA, DOH, MOHAP, SCFHS, QCHP or other Gulf pharmacist licence does not exempt you from OSPAP, foundation training or the registration assessment. Everyone qualified outside the EEA follows the same route.

2. 2

   The GPhC needs a letter of good standing from the regulator where you qualified and from every healthcare regulator you have been registered with in the past five years, so request letters from each Gulf authority you have held a licence with. The letter is valid for six months and must reach the GPhC within three months of issue.

3. 3

   Practice in the Gulf does not count as practice in a majority English-speaking country, so plan to take Academic IELTS (7 in every skill) or Pharmacy OET (B in every skill).

4. 4

   Your Gulf employer can provide the employer reference the GPhC asks for, on headed paper with an official stamp, from an official organisation email if sent electronically.

5. 5

   Gulf experience may help you secure an OSPAP place or exemptions from some taught content, but you still sit all assessments and the full 52-week foundation year.

6. 6

   Budget for a year of study without a salary (OSPAP), then a salaried foundation year. Time your resignation around the national recruitment scheme deadlines, which open each June for the following year.

• 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