Job Spectra
Job Spectra
An Indian-trained nurse applies to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to register, usually passing a computer-based test (CBT) and a practical exam (OSCE) and proving English. A UK employer approved by the Home Office must then offer a job and issue a certificate of sponsorship for the Health and Care Worker visa. Nobody can guarantee any of these steps.
How can an Indian nurse get a nursing job in the UK?
An Indian-trained nurse applies to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to register, usually passing a computer-based test (CBT) and a practical exam (OSCE) and proving English. A UK employer approved by the Home Office must then offer a job and issue a certificate of sponsorship for the Health and Care Worker visa. Nobody can guarantee any of these steps.
Three things have to line up: NMC registration (the regulator's permission to work as a nurse), a job offer from a UK employer the Home Office has approved as a sponsor, and a visa. The NMC step is separate from the visa and from the job. A visa does not register you as a nurse, and an offer letter does not replace NMC registration. This page covers the nurse route. For the wider job search and sponsor checks, read our guide to jobs in the UK for Indians; for the general work visa rules, see the UK Skilled Worker visa guide.
Everything below was read from official pages in October 2026 (NMC, GOV.UK, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS Employers). Fees and rules change, so confirm each figure on the linked official page before you pay or book.
| Stage | Who runs it | What the official page shows (October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Eligibility and qualification application | NMC | Qualification evaluation fee £167, non-refundable. NMC aims to assess the qualification within 14 days once it has what it needs, including a response from your regulator. |
| Test of Competence: CBT | NMC, run by Pearson Professional Assessments | Numeracy part (15 questions, 30 minutes) and clinical part (100 questions, 2 hours 30 minutes). £83 for both parts. |
| Test of Competence: OSCE | NMC, approved UK test centres | 10 stations. £794 for the first sitting. Three approved centres: University of Northampton, Ulster University, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. |
| English language evidence | NMC | One of three evidence types: an accepted test (academic IELTS or OET), a nursing qualification taught and examined in English, or one year of recent practice in a majority English-speaking country. |
| Health, character, indemnity, registration fee | NMC | Registration fee £182, paid when you submit the registration application. NMC aims to consider a complete application within 30 days. |
| Job offer and certificate of sponsorship | UK employer approved by the Home Office | GOV.UK says you need a confirmed job offer and a certificate of sponsorship before you apply for the visa. |
| Health and Care Worker visa | UK Home Office (GOV.UK) | Application fee £324 per person for up to 3 years or £628 for more than 3 years; savings of at least £1,270 unless exempt; no healthcare surcharge. Usual decision time 3 weeks. |
As shown by the NMC in October 2026, the total cost of fees and tests is £1,226 if you take both the CBT and the OSCE once. That is the evaluation fee (£167), CBT (£83), OSCE (£794) and registration fee (£182). NMC says this does not include your visa, flights, accommodation or travel in the UK, and that the costs could be higher if you need to resit tests. NMC also says its fees increased on 1 October 2026.
Resit fees listed by the NMC: CBT full resit £83, clinical part only £70, numeracy part only £50; OSCE full resit £794 if you fail eight or more stations, and £397 if you fail up to seven stations.
On the visa side, GOV.UK shows an application fee of £324 per person for a stay of up to 3 years and £628 for more than 3 years, and says you must show at least £1,270 in your bank account for 28 days in a row (day 28 within 31 days of applying), unless you are exempt or your employer certifies on the certificate of sponsorship that it will cover your first month. It also says that you and your family do not pay the healthcare surcharge on this visa. Test and visa fees are separate from any IELTS or OET fee, flights or Indian-side document costs, which these pages do not price.
NMC's how-to-guide page still showed an evaluation fee of £140 when we read it in October 2026, while its costs page shows £167. We use the costs page, which is the one that says fees rose on 1 October 2026. Confirm at the moment you pay.
These are two separate checks. NMC decides whether your English is enough to register. GOV.UK's visa page then says nurses who have already passed an English language assessment accepted by their professional body do not need to prove their English again for the visa. Check the live pages for your own case.
| Test | Scores NMC states | Validity |
|---|---|---|
| Academic IELTS (UKVI version also accepted) | At least 7 in reading, listening and speaking and at least 6.5 in writing | 2 years from the test date |
| OET | At least grade B (350) in reading, listening and speaking and at least grade C+ (300) in writing | 2 years from the test date |
GOV.UK says to qualify for a Health and Care Worker visa you must be a qualified doctor, nurse, health professional or adult social care professional, in an eligible job, with a Home Office approved employer, a certificate of sponsorship and a minimum salary. The employer must be the NHS, an organisation providing medical services to the NHS, or an organisation providing adult social care.
GOV.UK's list of occupation codes you can apply with from outside the UK includes midwifery nurses (2231), registered community nurses (2232), registered specialist nurses (2233), registered nurse practitioners (2234), registered mental health nurses (2235), registered children's nurses (2236), other registered nursing professionals (2237) and nursing auxiliaries and assistants (6131). Ask your employer for the code on your certificate.
On pay, GOV.UK says you will usually need to be paid at least £25,000 or the going rate for your job if higher. For most other health jobs it says to check the national pay scales table by NHS pay band and area. The pages do not give a single salary for a newly registered overseas nurse; ask the employer which band and pay will be on your contract.
Care worker (6135) and senior care worker (6136) codes appear on GOV.UK only under the heading for extending, updating or switching, and the page says care workers in England need an employer registered with the Care Quality Commission. That is a different route from a registered nurse's, so a care assistant job offer is not a nursing job.
The Department of Health and Social Care publishes a code of practice for international recruitment of health and care personnel in England (last updated 27 March 2025). It says the red list is drawn from the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List 2023, and that no active recruitment is permitted from red-list countries. Its Annex A lists the red countries (for example Bangladesh, Ghana, Nigeria and Pakistan) and two amber countries (Kenya and Nepal). India is not on the red or amber lists in Annex A.
Annex B of the code lists India among four green countries that have a government-to-government agreement with the UK for health and care workforce recruitment (the others are Malaysia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka). The code says active recruitment is permitted from green countries, and that agreements may set parameters for how UK employers and agencies recruit. The code's text we read does not tell Indian nurses what those parameters are; the agreements themselves are published in a GOV.UK collection. The page also says the WHO list is reviewed every 3 years and that the next update is expected in 2026. It does not say whether a new list has been published, so check the NHS Employers country list page.
The code also sets rules that protect you. It says international health and care personnel will not be charged fees for recruitment services in gaining UK employment, and that employers must not contract agencies that charge candidates fees. It says that employers may, at their discretion, meet visa fees or professional registration fees. Repayment clauses, if your contract has one, must be transparent, in writing, explained before you accept, proportionate and tapering over time, with a worked example over 3 years. Its own case study describes a nurse in India shown an unexplained £14,000 clause as a breach.
UK agencies that supply staff to the NHS are meant to appear on the NHS Employers ethical recruiters list, which NHS Employers says it updates monthly (latest update shown: 1 October 2026). Being on it is not the same as being licensed by India's Ministry of External Affairs, so check both: how to check an agent on eMigrate.
The Ministry of External Affairs' list of 17 ECR countries, as summarised in our ECR passport guide, does not include the United Kingdom, so emigration clearance for ECR passport holders applies to the listed destination countries, not to the UK. The same guide reports that the Ministry treats nurses with qualifications recognised under the Indian Nursing Council Act as ECNR. Check your passport category and the live rules on the eMigrate portal and confirm with the Ministry before you travel.
Job Spectra is operated by Spectravault Group LLP, with offices in Deira Dubai, Bengaluru and Sugauli, Bihar. We do not currently hold an eMigrate recruiting-agent registration, and we cannot register you with the NMC, book your tests or guarantee a job or a visa. Our Trust Center sets out our policy of charging no upfront job fees. You can browse current openings or submit your CV, but verify any UK employer on the official sponsor register and any recruiter on the official lists yourself.
Last reviewed 2026-10-19. Information only, not legal advice.
Yes, if they register with the NMC, get a job offer and certificate of sponsorship from a Home Office approved employer, and obtain a visa such as the Health and Care Worker visa. The DHSC code of practice lists India as a green country with a government-to-government agreement, so active recruitment is permitted, though nothing guarantees an offer.
Apply through the NMC's overseas route: submit the eligibility and qualification application and pay the evaluation fee, take the Test of Competence if asked, give English language, health and character evidence, confirm professional indemnity, pay the registration fee and wait for NMC to verify your information. Confirm each step on the NMC how-to guide.
As shown on the NMC costs page in October 2026: evaluation fee £167, CBT £83, OSCE £794 and registration fee £182, a total of £1,226 if you pass first time. NMC says fees increased on 1 October 2026 and that resits cost extra. Visa, flights and accommodation are not included.
NMC states academic IELTS scores of at least 7 in reading, listening and speaking and at least 6.5 in writing in one sitting, or OET grade B in reading, listening and speaking and C+ in writing. Results are valid for two years. NMC also accepts other evidence types, so read its language page before booking a test.
NMC says that if you do not hold a relevant European qualification that meets its automatic-recognition requirements, you will need to take the Test of Competence, which has two parts: the CBT and the OSCE. You can take them in either order but must pass both within two years of each other. NMC says a pass stays valid for five years.
NMC says the CBT is run by Pearson Professional Assessments, with test centres in most countries. The OSCE is held at NMC approved centres, listed as the University of Northampton, Ulster University and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. We did not verify which Indian cities offer the CBT, so check with Pearson.
Registered nurses usually apply for the Health and Care Worker visa. GOV.UK shows an application fee of £324 per person for up to 3 years and £628 for more than 3 years, savings of £1,270 unless exempt, and no healthcare surcharge. A decision usually takes 3 weeks. Confirm figures on GOV.UK.
No. The DHSC code of practice, last updated 27 March 2025, shows red countries based on the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List 2023, and India is not among them or among the amber countries. Annex B lists India as green with a government-to-government agreement. The WHO list was due a review in 2026, so check for updates.
No. The DHSC code says international health and care personnel will not be charged fees for recruitment services, and no one can guarantee that you pass NMC tests or receive a job. Check any recruiter on eMigrate and, for UK agencies supplying the NHS, the NHS Employers ethical recruiters list.
No. Care worker and senior care worker codes are on GOV.UK under the heading for extending, updating or switching, and the pages do not plainly say overseas applicants can use them. A registered nurse job needs NMC registration. Get the route in writing before paying anything.