Nursing licence routes by country: how to register as a nurse abroad (2026)

If you trained as a nurse in one country and want to work in another, you need a licence from the nursing regulator of the country you move to. In every country in this guide, your home licence alone is not enough to work as a registered nurse. The good news is that most routes follow the same pattern, so once you understand one, the others make sense.

This guide compares the routes for the countries international nurses ask about most. It tells you who the regulator is, the main steps, which English or language test is accepted, and where to start. Each country has its own detailed guide on this site, with fees and scores. We checked the official pages linked here on 17 October 2026. This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Rules change, so always check the regulator’s own website before you pay for anything.

The pattern most routes follow

1. A check of your qualification. The regulator, or a service it uses, checks your nursing education, your licence and your identity.
2. An exam or clinical assessment, if the regulator asks for one. This may be a computer test (such as the NCLEX-RN), a practical exam (an OSCE), or a period of supervised practice.
3. Proof of English or the local language. Most English-speaking regulators accept OET and IELTS Academic. Germany asks for German.
4. Registration. You join the register and get a licence or practising certificate.
5. A visa, as a separate step. A licence lets you practise. It does not give you the right to live or work in the country.

The routes at a glance

For English test scores in each country, see OET or IELTS for nurses.

United Kingdom: the NMC

You must be on the NMC register to work as a registered nurse in the UK. The NMC’s guide for people trained outside the UK has these stages: check you are ready, complete the eligibility and qualification application, take the Test of Competence, complete the registration application, and then the NMC evaluates your application (NMC). The Test of Competence has two parts: a computer-based test (CBT), which most people take in their home country, and a practical OSCE in the UK.

For English, the NMC accepts three kinds of evidence: an accepted test, a nursing qualification taught and examined in English, or one year of recent practice in a country where English is the majority language (NMC). The only tests it accepts are IELTS Academic and OET (NMC accepted tests).

To get the Health and Care Worker visa you need a confirmed job offer from a UK employer approved by the Home Office and a certificate of sponsorship from that employer (GOV.UK). Fees, scores and test centres are in our UK guide and the Health and Care Worker visa guide.

Ireland: the NMBI

NMBI compares your qualification with Irish standards for the division you want to join. If it finds gaps, you complete a compensation measure: an adaptation period in an Irish hospital or the RCSI aptitude test. Registration follows the recognition stage (NMBI).

Two NMBI rules are worth knowing before you start. You must upload your own documents and only you, not an agent, can pay the fee. And NMBI tells applicants not to move to Ireland or leave their current job until they have a registration decision. A job offer does not speed up your application (NMBI).

NMBI accepts IELTS Academic (including IELTS for UKVI) and OET. It accepts one test result only and does not combine sittings (NMBI English). See our Ireland guide for the permit.

United States: state boards, the NCLEX-RN and VisaScreen

There is no national nursing licence in the US. Each state licenses its own nurses, requirements vary, and every board requires you to pass an exam: the NCLEX-RN for registered nurses (NCSBN).

The usual order is:

1. Choose a state and read its board of nursing website. Many boards ask for a credentials evaluation. TruMerit (formerly CGFNS) says its CES Professional Report is accepted by all 50 state boards, and it lists which boards require it (TruMerit).
2. Register for the NCLEX-RN with Pearson VUE. Your registration stays open while the board decides whether you are eligible. When it does, you get an Authorization to Test (NCLEX).
3. Get VisaScreen for the visa. US law requires registered nurses to complete a screening before they can get an occupational visa or green card. VisaScreen checks your education, every licence you have held and your English, and nurses must have passed the NCLEX-RN or TruMerit’s Nurse Qualifying Exam. At-home English tests are not accepted (TruMerit VisaScreen).

Details are in our guides to the NCLEX-RN, VisaScreen and CGFNS, US nursing jobs and the best US states for international nurses.

Canada: NNAS and the provinces

Each province licenses its own nurses. The National Nursing Assessment Service (NNAS) describes itself as an internationally educated nurse’s “first step towards becoming a nurse in Canada” (NNAS). You can apply if you studied nursing outside Canada and have never been licensed in Canada in that profession. Canadian citizens and residents who trained abroad must apply too (NNAS eligibility).

Ontario is different. The College of Nurses of Ontario asks you to have your education documents validated by one of its approved credential assessment providers, and RN applicants write the NCLEX-RN (CNO). The NCLEX-RN is the registration exam for anyone in Canada, except Quebec, who applies to become a registered nurse (CNO fees). British Columbia and Alberta have their own steps, explained in our Canada guide.

Australia: the NMBA Self-check and streams

Every internationally qualified nurse starts with the NMBA Self-check. You must do it yourself: it cannot be completed by a third party or agent (NMBA). The Self-check puts you in a stream. Stream B is for nurses whose qualification is relevant but not substantially equivalent to an approved Australian one. After paying the assessment fee, Stream B nurses complete Orientation Part 1, a portfolio, a multiple-choice exam (the NCLEX-RN) and an OSCE in Australia, in that order, before they can apply for registration (NMBA).

The NMBA accepts five English tests: IELTS Academic, OET, PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT and Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency (Ahpra). See our Australia guide for scores, fees and the work visa.

New Zealand: the NCNZ

You must first verify your documents with TruMerit before you apply to the Nursing Council. The documents cover your identity, your registrations in the last 10 years, your nursing qualifications, your English and 1,800 hours of nursing practice after registration. After that you apply to the Council, complete two free online courses on culturally safe practice and a criminal history check, and do a competence assessment if required. Some registered nurses must pass tests of competence: a theory exam and a clinical OSCE (NCNZ).

The Council accepts OET and IELTS Academic. It does not accept PTE or online tests taken at home (NCNZ English). More in our New Zealand guide.

Germany: recognition and German

Germany works differently from the English-speaking countries. General nursing (Pflegefachperson) is a regulated profession, so your foreign qualification must be recognised before you can work as a nurse (Anerkennung in Deutschland). The recognition authority belongs to the federal state where you want to work. The government’s Recognition Finder names the right authority when you enter the profession and the town.

According to the Recognition Finder:

• The authority compares your training with German training, taking your work experience into account. It also checks your personal suitability, your health and your German.
• If your training is not found equivalent, you can usually choose between a knowledge test and an adaptation period to close the gap.
• German at level B2 is required. Most applicants must also pass a specialist language exam. Native speakers and people who trained in German are exempt from that exam.
• A recognition partnership is possible: you work for an employer in Germany while you complete recognition. It requires German at least at level A2 and an employer in Germany.

German law sets out the recognition partnership in section 16d(3) of the Residence Act. You and the employer sign an agreement: you start the recognition procedure straight after you arrive, and the employer lets you complete the steps needed during your job. The permit is first issued for up to one year and can be extended up to three years in total. Section 16d(1) also gives a residence permit for completing an adaptation measure and the exams that follow it (Residence Act, § 16d).

If you do not speak German yet, plan your language learning before anything else, because the B2 rule applies whatever your nursing experience.

The Gulf: UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar

UAE. The health authorities (MOHAP, DOH, DHA and the Sharjah Health Authority) issued the Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR) together. Each authority applies it within its own emirate (DOH). Nurses who hold a valid licence and a certificate of good standing from one of the 20 countries the PQR lists, including the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Germany and Singapore, are exempt from the licensing exam, provided they qualified within the last 3 years or have no gap in practice. A pass in the NCLEX also exempts you from the licensing exam (PQR, April 2025). See our UAE guide.

Saudi Arabia. You apply to the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties on Mumaris Plus. You can apply for professional classification from outside the country. Non-Saudis need their qualification and experience certificates verified by SCFHS’s authentication company (Dataflow). Depending on your case, classification is a direct decision, a practical evaluation or an electronic written exam. You then apply for professional registration before you start work, which needs legal residence in Saudi Arabia (SCFHS). See our Saudi guide and the Prometric exam guide.

Qatar. The Department of Healthcare Professions licenses nurses. Its qualifying exam is computer-based and run through Prometric (DHP). Its guidelines for nurses ask registered general nurses for a nursing bachelor’s degree or diploma and 2 years of clinical experience after registration. Your employer’s representative reviews and submits your application. If you passed the NCLEX in the previous five years, you are exempt from the Prometric exam (DHP guidelines). See our Qatar guide.

Singapore: the SNB

In Singapore the job comes first. You need an offer from an eligible healthcare institution with inpatient services. The hospital’s HR department checks your eligibility with the Singapore Nursing Board and then applies for your registration. You may have to sit a licensure exam. SNB says it does not work with employment agents (SNB). See our Singapore guide.

A licence is not a job or a visa

Registration and immigration are separate. A licence lets you practise. It does not give you the right to live or work in the country. In the UK, for example, the visa needs a job offer from an approved sponsor (GOV.UK). Singapore asks for the job offer before registration even starts.

So, as you work through your licence, look at the job side too:

• Search nursing jobs with visa sponsorship and jobs you can apply for from abroad.
• Read the list of hospitals and agencies that sponsor international nurses.
• Check each job ad for the licence it asks for, and whether a licence “in progress” is accepted. If the ad does not say, ask the employer.
• Compare pay with our nurse salaries by country guide.

Agencies and fees

You can do every step on the routes above yourself. Several regulators insist on it. NMBA says an agent cannot complete your Self-check. NMBI says you must upload your own documents and only you can pay its fee. SNB does not work with employment agents.

Employers often use recruitment agencies, and a good agency can help you through the process. But you should never pay anyone for a job offer. In England, the government’s code of practice says international health workers will not be charged fees for recruitment services to get a job in the UK (UK Code of Practice). Our guides to ethical recruitment and scams and agency vs direct hire explain the warning signs.

Repayment clauses: read them before you sign

Some international nurse contracts have a repayment clause. If you leave before a set date, you repay some of the costs the employer paid for you, such as your flights, visa or exams.

The UK code of practice sets clear limits for employers in England (UK Code of Practice):

• The clause must be written in the employment contract and follow the principles of transparency, proportionate costs, timing and flexibility.
• It may include only expenses the employer paid for you, such as relocation, visa fees and regulatory exam fees.
• It may not reclaim costs the employer must pay to recruit you, such as the agency fee, the immigration skills charge, the sponsor licence fee, the certificate of sponsorship or the cost of the interview process.
• No interest may be charged, and payment in cash is not acceptable.
• The amount should fall over time. The code’s example over 3 years: 100% of the itemised costs if you leave within 12 months, 50% within 13 to 24 months, 25% within 25 to 36 months, and nothing after 36 months.

Other countries have their own rules. Before you sign anywhere, ask:

1. Which costs exactly are in the repayment clause, and what is the total?
2. Does the amount go down over time, and when does it reach zero?
3. Does it apply if the employer ends the contract, or if you fail an exam?
4. Who pays for your licence exams, English test and visa if you do not get through?
5. Can I have the contract in writing before I resign from my current job?

Frequently asked questions

Which country is easiest for nurses to get a licence in?

There is no single answer, because it depends on your training, your language and your experience. A nurse with a licence from one of the countries the UAE lists can skip the UAE licensing exam. The NCLEX-RN is the exam in the US and in Canada outside Quebec, is part of Australia’s Stream B, and a pass exempts you from the licensing exam in the UAE and, if recent, in Qatar. Germany requires German at B2.

Can I use one licence to work in another country?

Not directly. Each country’s regulator registers you itself. But some results carry over: the NCLEX-RN is used in the US, Canada outside Quebec and Australia’s Stream B, and an NCLEX pass exempts you from the licensing exam in the UAE and, if taken in the last five years, in Qatar.

Do I need a job offer before I apply for registration?

In most countries, no. You can start with the NMC, NMBI, NMBA, NCNZ or a US state board on your own. Singapore is the exception: the hospital that hires you applies to the SNB for you. In Qatar, your employer’s representative submits your licence application.

Which English test should nurses take?

IELTS Academic and OET are accepted in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Australia also accepts PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT and Cambridge, but New Zealand does not accept PTE. Check the scores for your country in our OET or IELTS guide before you book.

Should I pay an agency to help with my nursing licence?

You should never pay anyone for a job offer. You can do each regulator’s steps yourself, and some regulators, such as the NMBA and NMBI, say the applicant must do certain steps personally. Read our guide to ethical recruitment and scams.

Related

• How to become a registered nurse in the UK
• How to become a nurse in Ireland
• NCLEX-RN guide for international nurses
• How to become a nurse in Canada
• How to become a nurse in Australia
• OET or IELTS for nurses
• Registered nurse jobs, jobs with visa sponsorship and jobs you can apply for from abroad