Pathway hub
Nigeria to United Kingdom registered nurse pathway
Jurisdiction scope
England recruitment code and United Kingdom immigration
Last verified
Relevant official-body pillar
GOV.UK / UK Visas and Immigration

Purpose

Why this decision point exists

Apply the ethical recruitment constraint accurately while keeping immigration and NMC registration separate.

Who needs it

Check whether it applies

Applicants resident in Nigeria and employers or agencies within the recruitment code's scope.

Requirements

What to check at this step

Common mistakes

Where applicants trip up

  • Describing the red list as a ban on direct applications, visas or NMC registration.

One fact at a time

Official facts

Each value appears with its effective date and cited source. We never assume an optional fact applies to you, and we never convert currencies.

No confirmed numeric fact is shown for this page. Check the linked official pages for current fees, timing, and requirements; a missing value is not zero.

The order of decisions

Where this step sits in the reviewed pathway

Work through the decision points in this order, and expect the responsible body to change, add, or remove requirements for your circumstances.

  1. Step 1

    Confirm the UK-wide overseas-trained NMC route

    Use the NMC overseas-trained route for professional registration. If employment is involved, check recruitment against the England recruitment code and check immigration separately under the Health and Care Worker visa rules.

  2. Step 2

    Provide identity, qualification and registration evidence

    Complete the NMC ID Check with acceptable identity evidence and provide the required qualification information. The qualification must allow, or have allowed, registration in the country of training; NMC seeks confirmation from the relevant regulator or, where applicable, the education institution.

  3. Step 3

    Pay for and await NMC qualification evaluation

    NMC evaluates the qualification after the required application material and third-party confirmations are complete. The evaluation outcome determines whether a Test of Competence is required.

  4. Step 4

    Meet the NMC English-language evidence standard

    Use an evidence route the NMC accepts: an approved test, a pre-registration nursing or midwifery qualification taught and examined in English, or recent practice in a majority English-speaking country. Each route has detailed evidence rules of its own.

  5. Step 5

    Complete the Test of Competence only if required

    Complete CBT and OSCE only if the NMC requires it after qualification evaluation. The two parts may be taken in either order under NMC rules; OSCE is delivered by an approved United Kingdom provider.

  6. Step 6

    Complete health, character, identity and registration decision

    Provide the required health and character declarations, police or identity evidence and referee responses, then pay the registration fee and await the NMC decision.

  7. Step 7

    Follow the residence-based recruitment code and obtain work permission

    Nigeria is on the red list under the England recruitment code, so organisations and agencies must not actively recruit people living in Nigeria. You can still apply yourself to a specific advertised vacancy that the sponsoring employer hosts and recruits directly. The rule follows where you live; it says nothing about your nationality and it does not block NMC registration.

Evidence record

Official source ledger

Each entry records who published the source, what it covers, and when it was last checked.

  1. UK Visas and Immigration

    Health and Care Worker visa: Apply from outside the UK

    Scope
    United Kingdom immigration
    Last verified
    Open official source (external site)
  2. UK Visas and Immigration

    Health and Care Worker visa: How much it costs

    Scope
    United Kingdom immigration
    Last verified
    Open official source (external site)
  3. UK Visas and Immigration

    Health and Care Worker visa

    Scope
    United Kingdom immigration
    Last verified
    Open official source (external site)
  4. United Kingdom Department of Health and Social Care

    Code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England

    Scope
    England recruitment code; Wales follows the code and separate arrangements apply elsewhere in the UK
    Last verified
    Open official source (external site)
  5. UK Visas and Immigration

    Tuberculosis tests for visa applicants

    Scope
    United Kingdom immigration
    Last verified
    Open official source (external site)