The Route to Professional Registration for Nurses & Doctors
Overseas nurses and doctors wanting to migrate to the UK are required to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) or the General Medical Council (GMC).
If you live outside the UK and European Economic Area (EEA), you can apply to be on the NMC or GMC Register, providing standards are met.
It’s worth noting that registering with the NMC or GMC will not give you the right to work in the UK.
The NMC registration route
If you’re a nurse educated outside of the (EEA), the only route to registration is through a two-part application process.
- Part 1 – you will need to complete a computer based multiple choice exam.
- Part 2 – a practical objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) that will be held in the UK.
If you have trained outside the EEA, you will not be eligible for automatic recognition of your qualification under the EU Directives.
You will also need to complete an eligibility and qualification application, a test of competence and a registration application to officially register with NMC.
The GMC registration route
If you’re an international doctor who wants to migrate to the UK, you’ll need to complete GMC registration.
To be eligible for full registration, a doctor must be able to meet one of the following:
- Finish the first year of the Foundation Programme (F1) in the UK.
- Be an EC national and have either: a formal qualification listed in The Directive on Recognition of Professional Qualifications
- Or, an acceptable primary medical qualification from outside the EEA with evidence of an acceptable internship or clinical experience.
- Be an international medical graduate with an acceptable primary medical qualification from a country outside of the UK or the EEA.
You’ll need to be able to prove you have enough clinical experience to practise medicine in the UK. This can be proven in one of four ways by either passing the PLAB test, obtaining sponsorship by a GMC approved sponsor, obtaining an acceptable postgraduate qualification or being eligible for entry onto the specialist or GP register.
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