Registration route finder
Pick your profession and the country you want to work in. See the regulator, the steps and the exams for that route, with links to the full guide.
Nurses in the United Kingdom
To work as a registered nurse in the UK you need NMC registration. Here is the full route for nurses trained abroad, from the eligibility check to your first NHS band 5 post.
Regulator
- NMCNursing and Midwifery CouncilOfficial site(opens in a new tab)
Key steps (9)
- 1Get your English evidence readyMost nurses trained in non-English-speaking countries need IELTS Academic or OET.
- 2Gather your documentsYou need your qualification certificate, your registration certificate and a certificate of good standing, plus certified translations of anything not in English.
- 3Make your eligibility and qualification applicationCreate a MyNMC account, choose your field of nursing and submit your identity, qualification and registration details with the £167 evaluation fee.
- 4Pass the CBTBook the CBT with Pearson VUE.
- 5Find a UK employerApply directly to NHS trusts or other employers that recruit internationally and hold a sponsor licence.
- 6Apply for the Health and Care Worker visaYour employer gives you a certificate of sponsorship.
- 7Complete the registration applicationSubmit your health, character and English language evidence, confirm your indemnity arrangement and pay the £182 registration fee.
- 8Pass the OSCE in the UKThe OSCE is 10 stations at an NMC-approved UK test centre: an APIE scenario across four stations, four skills stations and two on values, behaviours and evidence-based practice.
- 9Get your NMC PIN and start as a registered nurseAfter the ID check and verification, the NMC aims to decide within 30 days of receiving everything.
Exams and assessments
- CBT (Test of Competence Part 1)A computer-based multiple-choice test delivered by Pearson VUE at centres in most countries.Read the guide
- OSCE (Test of Competence Part 2)A practical 10-station exam at an NMC-approved test centre in the UK: currently the University of Northampton, Ulster University and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.Read the guide
- English language testIELTS Academic or OET.Read the guide
English and language
- IELTS Academic: 7 in listening, 7 in reading, 6.5 in writing, 7 in speaking.
- OET: B (350 or above) in listening, reading and speaking; C+ (300 or above) in writing.
- Scores must be from a test taken no more than two years before the NMC assesses your application.
How long it takes
- English test and documents: the stage that varies most, from weeks to several months depending on your scores and how quickly your regulator issues good standing.
- Qualification assessment: the NMC says it aims to assess your qualification within 14 days once it has your application and your regulator's response.
- CBT: book once the NMC confirms you need the Test of Competence; three attempts within one year.
Method
How it works
- Step 1
Profession and country
Your choice selects our guide for that profession in that country. - Step 2
Regulator, steps, exams
It shows the regulator, the steps in order and each exam, with a link to the regulator's page and official website. - Step 3
Where you trained
Optional. It adds what our guides say for people from that country, such as Gulf-licensed applicants. - Step 4
No guide yet
Where we have no guide for the pair, it says so, shows the profession guide's notes and links it.
Every route
Published registration guides by country
FAQ
Questions about registration routes
It depends on your profession and the country. In the UK, for example, nurses and midwives register with the NMC, doctors with the GMC and most allied health professions with the HCPC. Pick your profession and destination in the route finder to see the regulator for your route.
From our published guides for each profession and country, which are written from the regulators' and exam bodies' own pages and list their sources. The finder shows the first sentence of each step; the full guide has the detail.
The finder says so and shows what our profession guide says about that country: the protected title, the requirements, the exams and the regulator, where the profession is regulated there. It then links the profession guide, which covers every country we write about.
The steps are usually the same, but where you trained can change which documents you need, how they are verified and whether you need an English test. If you are already licensed in the Gulf, the finder shows what our guide says for Gulf-licensed applicants. Guides for other countries of training are added as we publish them.
The United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States: the destinations MedicSail works with.
No. Only the regulator can decide whether you are eligible. The finder shows the published route so you know what to expect; our free eligibility check looks at your own documents.
Use the registration cost estimator, which lists every official fee our guide states for the same route, with its source, and adds them up in the destination's currency.
Each guide shows the date it was last checked against its sources. Regulators change their processes, so check the regulator's own page before you apply.
Sources
Where the figures come from
- 1GMC: General Medical Council (official website)
- 2NMC: Nursing and Midwifery Council (official website)
- 3GDC: General Dental Council (official website)
- 4GPhC: General Pharmaceutical Council (official website)
- 5GOC: General Optical Council (official website)
- 6HCPC: Health and Care Professions Council (official website)
Show all 18 sourcesShow fewer sources
- 7IMC: Irish Medical Council (official website)
- 8NMBI: Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (official website)
- 9CORU: CORU, Health and Social Care Professionals Council (official website)
- 10PSI: Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (official website)
- 11PHECC: Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (official website)
- 12Dental Council: Dental Council of Ireland (official website)
- 13Approbation: State licensing authorities (Approbation) (official website)
- 14BIG: BIG register (CIBG) (official website)
- 15ECFMG: ECFMG (Intealth) (official website)
- 16NCSBN: NCSBN and state boards of nursing (official website)
- 17NABP: National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (official website)
- 18CGFNS: CGFNS International (official website)
Free tools
More planning tools
Cost estimator
What will registration cost me in official fees?Every official fee for your route, itemised and totalled in the destination's currency, with the source and the date we checked it.Best for: budgeting the moveOpen the toolNHS pay bands
What would I earn in the NHS, and at which band?Agenda for Change bands and pay points for 2026/27, and the band each profession usually starts at in the NHS.Best for: comparing pay offersOpen the toolVisa cost calculator
What will the Health and Care Worker visa cost my family?What the published GOV.UK fees add up to for you and your family on a Health and Care Worker visa, set against a standard Skilled Worker visa, with the savings to show and your employer's costs.Best for: budgeting the visaOpen the toolSalary checker
Does this salary meet the published visa salary rule?Compare an NHS or health job offer with the salary rule the Immigration Rules publish for its occupation code, band or grade, nation and hours.Best for: checking a job offerOpen the toolSettlement dates
When can I apply to settle, and do my trips abroad count against me?Count the dates the published rules use for UK indefinite leave to remain and for Irish Stamp 4, long-term residence and citizenship, with your trips abroad checked against the absence limit.Best for: planning settlementOpen the toolBlue Card salary
Does my salary offer meet the Blue Card threshold?Compare a job offer with the published 2026 EU Blue Card salary thresholds in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, France and Sweden, and with the Dutch highly skilled migrant amounts.Best for: checking a job offerOpen the toolNHS take-home pay
What will I take home each month on an NHS band?Your Agenda for Change band and pay point after income tax, National Insurance, NHS Pension and student loan, for England, Wales or Scotland in 2026/27.Best for: budgeting your payOpen the toolHSE take-home pay
What will I take home on an HSE pay scale?Your HSE grade and point on the scale after Single Scheme pension, income tax, USC and PRSI, on the 1 June 2026 pay scales and 2026 Irish tax rates.Best for: comparing irish offersOpen the toolEnglish score checker
Do my English test scores meet my regulator's rules?Enter your IELTS, OET or other English test scores and see, skill by skill, whether they meet the NMC, GMC, HCPC, NMBI and other regulators' published rules, including combined sittings and expiry dates.Best for: checking test scoresOpen the toolTimeline calculator
How long will registration take me?See how long registration takes with the NMC, HCPC, NMBI, Medical Council, CORU or BIG register, stage by stage, from each regulator's published service standards.Best for: planning your start dateOpen the tool