UK Nursing Jobs for Overseas Nurses in 2026: NMC Registration, Salary and Full Costs

Nursing is one of the few professions where the United Kingdom still actively sponsors workers from overseas. While the UK closed its care worker route to new applicants abroad in July 2025, registered nurses remain eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa, which is cheaper and faster than the standard work visa.

The catch is that you cannot simply apply with your home-country licence. You must first join the register of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), and that process has its own tests, fees and deadlines. This guide walks through each stage in the order you will meet it, with the figures that apply in late 2026.

Who can apply

The route is open to nurses who trained outside the UK and hold a qualification that the NMC accepts as comparable to a UK nursing programme. You will normally need:

• A nursing diploma or degree and current registration with the regulator in the country where you trained or last practised
• Proof of English language ability at the level the NMC sets
• A job offer from a UK employer that holds a Home Office sponsor licence, such as an NHS trust or an approved private provider
• A clean professional record and good health and character declarations

Step 1: Prove your English

The NMC accepts two tests. You only need one of them:

You may combine scores from two sittings taken within 12 months of each other, provided no single score falls too far below the requirement. Many nurses find OET easier to prepare for because the tasks are based on clinical situations, but both tests are accepted equally. If you trained and were examined in English, or have recently practised in a majority English-speaking country, the NMC may accept that evidence instead, so check its English language guidance before paying for a test.

Step 2: Apply to the NMC and pass the CBT

Create an account on the NMC website, submit your qualification for evaluation and pay the application fee. Once the NMC confirms you are eligible, you book the Computer Based Test (CBT), which is Part 1 of the Test of Competence. It is a multiple-choice exam covering numeracy and clinical theory, delivered at Pearson VUE test centres, so you can sit it in your home country.

Make sure you book the CBT for the correct field of nursing (adult, children’s, mental health or learning disabilities). Sitting the wrong version means paying to sit the right one.

Step 3: Get a job offer and a Certificate of Sponsorship

A UK employer can only assign you a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) after you have passed the CBT and met the English requirement. This is why it pays to finish those two steps before you start applying seriously. Good places to look are the NHS Jobs website, individual NHS trust career pages and the careers pages of large private hospital and care home groups.

One point is especially relevant to applicants from Nigeria, Ghana and several other African countries. These countries are on the “red list” in the UK’s Code of Practice for international recruitment, which means UK employers and agencies are not allowed to actively recruit there. It does not stop you from applying on your own to a vacancy an employer has advertised. It does mean you should be suspicious of any agency that claims to be running an NHS recruitment drive in a red-list country.

Step 4: Apply for the Health and Care Worker visa

With a CoS in hand you can apply online up to three months before your start date. The Health and Care Worker visa has three advantages over the standard Skilled Worker visa:

• Lower fee. £324 per person for a visa of up to three years, or £628 for more than three years
• No healthcare surcharge. You and your dependants are exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge, which costs other workers £1,035 per person per year
• Quick decisions. Most applications from outside the UK are decided within about three weeks

You must also show £1,270 in savings held for 28 consecutive days, unless your employer confirms on the CoS that it will cover your costs for the first month. Most NHS trusts do. Registered nurses can bring a partner and children as dependants, and a dependant partner is allowed to work.

Step 5: Pass the OSCE in the UK

The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is Part 2 of the Test of Competence and can only be taken in the UK. It has ten stations that test assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation and clinical skills. Key rules:

• You have up to 12 weeks from the start date on your CoS to sit your first attempt
• You may work as a pre-registration nurse while you prepare
• You get up to three attempts and must pass within eight months of your visa start date
• After a failed attempt you must wait at least 10 working days and only re-sit the stations you failed

Most employers run an OSCE preparation programme and pay for at least the first attempt. If you do not pass within the permitted attempts, the employer must stop sponsoring you, so take the preparation seriously.

Step 6: Receive your PIN

After you pass, you pay the registration fee and the NMC issues your PIN. Processing can take up to 35 days. From that point you are a registered nurse and move onto the full Band 5 salary.

How much does NMC registration cost?

The NMC raised several fees on 1 October 2026. The test fees did not change.

An OSCE re-sit costs £397 if you failed seven or fewer stations. On top of the NMC fees, budget for your English test, document verification, a tuberculosis test if your country requires one, the visa fee and your flight. Many NHS trusts reimburse some or all of these, but the offer letter should say so in writing. Do not rely on a verbal promise.

What do nurses earn in the UK?

NHS staff in England are paid on the Agenda for Change scale. These are the annual rates that took effect on 1 April 2026:

Before your PIN arrives you will usually be paid on a lower band, often Band 3 or Band 4. Staff working in and around London receive a high cost area supplement, and unsocial hours (nights, weekends and bank holidays) attract enhanced rates. Income tax, National Insurance and pension contributions come off the gross figure, so ask the employer for an estimated take-home amount before you compare offers.

Mistakes that cost applicants time and money

• Paying an agent for a job offer. Genuine UK employers do not charge candidates for a job or a Certificate of Sponsorship
• Letting test results expire. English test results are valid for two years for NMC purposes, so do not sit the test long before you are ready to apply
• Signing a repayment clause without reading it. Some contracts require you to repay recruitment costs if you leave early. Ask for the exact amount and how it reduces over time
• Accepting a care assistant role as a shortcut. New overseas applications for care worker and senior care worker roles are closed, and offers of this kind made to people abroad are a common scam

Can it lead to permanent residence?

Under the current rules you may be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years on the route, if you meet the other requirements. The UK government has been reviewing how long migrants must wait before settling, so check the latest position on GOV.UK when you plan your timeline.

Related guides

• UK Skilled Worker Visa in 2026: Salary Threshold, Fees and Who Still Qualifies
• Health Insurance for Working Abroad: What the UK, Germany, Canada, Australia and the USA Require in 2026
• Do You Need an Immigration Lawyer for a Work Visa? Costs, Benefits and How to Avoid Fake Agents

Official sources

• Nursing and Midwifery Council: trained outside the UK
• GOV.UK: Health and Care Worker visa
• NHS Employers: pay scales 2026/27
• NHS Jobs

Figures were checked in October 2026. Fees, pay and immigration rules change, so confirm the current position on the official pages above before you pay for anything. This article is general information and not immigration advice.