Language requirements for UK Nurse | IELTS for UK Nurse

Information for Language requirements for UK Nurse

When you apply to register with us we need to be satisfied you have the necessary knowledge of English to communicate effectively. Communication is defined as speaking, reading, listening and writing, and your evidence must demonstrate competence in these four skills.

There are a number of pieces of evidence that NMC will accept.

You have recently achieved the required score in one of the English language tests accepted by the NMC. You must achieve the required score in each of the four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking
A recent pre-registration nursing or midwifery qualification that was taught and examined in English.
Registration and practice of at least one year in a country where English is the first and native language, and an English language assessment was required for registration.

Your evidence of English language will be assessed against the following criteria. It should be:

recent, objective and independent
capable of being verified that your evidence is authentic.
able to clearly demonstrate that you can read, write, communicate and interact with patients, service users, relatives and healthcare professionals in English

Important

If you cannot send the evidence NMC request or NMC is not satisfied with what you send then NMC won’t be able to consider your application. they highly recommend you make sure you can meet NMC language evidence requirements before you apply. If you feel this is unlikely you may wish to complete a language test before applying.

International English Language Test System (IELTS)

If you have completed an IELTS examination you must provide an IELTS certificate that confirms:

at least 6.5 in the writing sections
at least 7.0 in the listening, writing and speaking sections, and
at least 7.0 overall.

I watch everything and think these are essential resources for helping you study AND PASS the IELTS exam.

Occupational English Test (OET)

If you have completed an OET examination you must provide a certificate that confirms:

at least a B grade in listening and reading, and
at least a C+ grade in writing

NMC will only accept results from OET tests taken from February 2016 onwards.

I watched everything and think these are essential resources for helping you study AND PASS the OET exam.

You can achieve the required mark across two test sittings if:

you sit the tests within six months of each other, and
you are tested in all four skills at the same time, and
if you take an IELTS test, all scores in both sittings are above 6.5 and you achieve 7.0 or higher in all four fields when the results of both sittings are viewed together, or
if you take the OET, all grades in both sittings are above Grade C+ and you achieve Grade B or higher in all four fields when the results of both sittings are viewed together.

Test scores are valid for two years.

Example scenarios

This application would be accepted. The applicant has scored 7 in all categories, and no score is lower than 6.5.

This application would not be accepted. The applicant has a score lower than 6.5.

OET Example

This application would be accepted. The applicant has scored B in all categories, and no score is lower than C+.

This application would not be accepted. The applicant has scored lower than C+.

Trained in English

If you wish to rely on evidence that you recently trained in English you must be able to satisfy us that:

the course was taught and examined in English, and
the programme demonstrates your ability in reading, writing, speaking and listening in a range of environments.

You will need to provide us with the following.

A university transcript of training, and
A letter of reference from your training institution (or ask your training institution to complete sections 8a and 8b on the form to accompany your transcript of training).

Your evidence must confirm that the programme was composed of at least 50 percent clinical interaction. At least 75 percent of that must be with patients, service users, their families and other healthcare professionals must have taken place in English.

Please note, by ‘recent’ we mean evidence related to English language competence that is less than two years old at the point of making an application to us. If the information you provide is not clear, we will need to request further information from you.

Registered and practiced in English

If you who wish to rely on evidence that you have registered and practised in English you must be able to satisfy us that:

you have completed an English language assessment or examination as part of your registration outside of the UK
you have one year post registered practice in an English speaking setting
your registration is in a country where English is the first and native language.

You will need to provide us with the following.

A letter of good standing from your licensing authority
Details of the English language assessment that you undertook as part of your registration.
A supporting reference (or sections 4a and 4b of the reference form for employer 1 and 2 to be completed by your employers).

Please note that if we are unable to identify whether you completed an English language assessment as part of your registration then we may require additional confirmation of the registration requirements from the licensing authority where you are registered.

See detailed information on how to register?