NMCMATE

How to become a nurse in the UK: the route from overseas

Written and checked against the NMC’s published sources by The NMCMATE editorial team.Last checked .

The whole route, in order, so you can see where the Test of Competence sits in it and what you can get on with while the rest is waiting on paperwork. This is an overview, and we link to the NMC and the Royal College of Nursing for the parts they document better than anyone else could.

The route, step by step

  1. Create a MyNMC account and check you are eligible

    Online, from anywhere

    MyNMC replaced NMC Online in February 2026, so an older guide telling you to sign in to NMC Online is out of date rather than wrong about the step. You need a nursing qualification the NMC recognises and current registration in the country you trained in.

    You can start this today

  2. Evidence your English

    A test centre, or your existing qualifications and practice

    IELTS Academic and OET are the two tests, and they are not the only routes: the NMC also accepts evidence that you were educated in English or have practised in it. People who qualify under those routes routinely miss them and sit a test they did not need.

    £200, paid to the test provider, roughly and upwardYou can start this today

  3. Pay the qualification evaluation fee

    Online, to the NMC

    The NMC assesses your qualification against its standards and tells you what you will be asked to sit. It is not refundable and it is paid before you know the answer, which is why it is worth having the rest of your documents in order first.

    £140, paid to the NMC

  4. Pass the computer-based test, part one of the Test of Competence

    A Pearson VUE test centre in your own country

    115 questions in two separately timed parts: 15 numeracy questions in 30 minutes and 100 clinical questions in 2 hours 30 minutes. You pass or fail each part on its own. This is the one step that does not require you to be in the UK, and the one this site prepares you for.

    £83, paid to Pearson VUEYou can start this today
    Sit a full mock in two timed parts

  5. Submit your documents for verification

    Online, with originals checked later

    Qualifications, identity, registration and references. This is the stage that takes the longest and the one you have least control over, which is the argument for having the CBT behind you before it starts rather than after it finishes.

  6. Pass the OSCE, part two of the Test of Competence

    In person, at a test centre in the UK

    10 stations in about three hours. Four are the linked scenario stations around one patient, four are clinical skills performed on manikins, and two are written. You must pass every station. It is sat in the UK, so it comes after a visa and a flight for most candidates, and that is why failing it is expensive in ways the fee does not show.

    £794, paid to your allocated test centre
    Rehearse the scenario and written stations

  7. Pay the registration fee and get your PIN

    Online, to the NMC

    Paid once both parts are passed. Your PIN is what lets you practise as a registered nurse in the UK, and an annual fee keeps you on the register after that.

    £153, paid to the NMC

Where candidates come unstuck

  • Leaving the CBT until the documents are ready. It is the one step you can start today, from where you are, it gates the rest, and the document stage is the one nobody can hurry.
  • Assuming the English requirement is one fixed route. There is more than one way to meet it, and the alternative evidence routes are missed by people who qualify for them.
  • Reading a total and budgeting for it once. The mandatory fees come to £1,170 on this route, the English test is £200 to £310 on top, and a resit is on top of that again.
  • Booking the OSCE before you are in the UK with somewhere to stay. It is in person and a resit is at the same test centre.
  • Taking a recruiter or an agent as the authority on the rules. Many are good, and none of them set the requirements. Check anything that matters against the NMC directly.

Common questions

What are the steps to register as a nurse in the UK from overseas?
A MyNMC account and an eligibility check, English language evidence, the qualification evaluation fee, the computer-based test, document verification, the OSCE in the UK, then the registration fee and your PIN. The two tests together are the Test of Competence.
Which part of the Test of Competence comes first?
The CBT. It is booked through Pearson VUE, which has test centres in most countries, so it does not require you to be in the UK. The OSCE does.
How many mock exams should I sit before the CBT?
At least three full mocks, sat the way the real thing is sat: both parts, separately timed, in one go. One mock tells you almost nothing, because a single paper is 115 questions out of a blueprint that can be sampled many ways, and the first one is usually spent learning the format rather than the content. Three is our suggestion rather than a rule, and nobody can tell you a number of mocks that makes a pass certain.
Do I need IELTS to register with the NMC?
Not necessarily IELTS specifically. The NMC accepts OET as well, and there are alternative evidence routes if you were educated or have practised in English. Check the current requirements with the NMC, which sets them.
What does the whole thing cost?
£1,170 in fees on the Test of Competence route, which is what the NMC itself publishes: the evaluation fee, the two exam fees and the registration fee. An English language test and anything to do with travel or a visa is on top of that. The NMC fees rise on 1 October 2026.
How long does the whole process take?
It varies enormously with your documents, test dates and, if you are being sponsored, your employer. We will not give you a figure, because the honest answer depends on things nobody on this site can see.

Where these figures come from

Practise for it

Questions weighted the way the NMC weights the real paper, with a worked explanation on every one. Ten free a day, no card needed.

Start free See the question bank

This page is one part of the exam. Work through the whole thing with the NMC CBT study guide.