How to Move to the UK as a Nurse

Moving to the UK as a Nurse: A Life-Changing Opportunity to Live and Work Abroad

considering Moving to the UK as a Nurse?

This post dives into the benefits and challenges of moving to the UK as a nurse and highlights the key differences between nursing in the US and the UK. If you’re a nurse relocating from another part of the world, don’t worry—this post has you covered, too!

Moving to the UK as a Nurse Comes With Some Great Perks

The UK is currently facing a significant shortage of nurses, putting pressure on its healthcare system. Factors like an aging population, the lasting effects of the pandemic, and the impact of Brexit, have all contributed to the growing demand for nursing professionals, particularly from abroad!

Nurses are currently eligible for a Health and Care Worker Visa, which comes with several advantages, including being exempt from paying the Immigration Health Surcharge—a hefty fee that most visa holders must pay to access healthcare through the NHS.

Additionally, some NHS trusts offer relocation packages or financial assistance, particularly for roles in areas with significant shortages. These packages can help cover travel, temporary accommodation, or part of the relocation costs! .

In fact, when I moved from the US to the UK to work for the NHS, I received several job offers, each with a relocation package. The first position I was offered was in a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), located in a beautiful coastal area of England. It came with a generous offer of £8,000 (roughly $10,000) for moving expenses, which would have covered most of our relocation.

Ultimately, I decided that the intensity of the PICU setting wasn’t the right fit for me. Instead, I chose a different position that covered my plane ticket and my first month’s accommodation at a lovely Airbnb. Combined with the fact that I didn’t have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge, the Health and Care Visa proved to be a wonderful opportunity for our family to relocate to the UK.

Getting Your Credentials Recognized in the UK

If you’re wondering whether the UK will accept your foreign credentials, the answer is no. But here’s the good news: you don’t need to go back to school! By following the steps outlined below, you can become eligible to practice in the UK.

Nurses moving to the UK from abroad need to have their credentials recognized by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), which is the UK’s regulatory body for nurses. The first step is applying for NMC registration, where you’ll need to provide proof of your qualifications, work experience, and English language skills.

You will also need to gain professional registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) through the NMC’s Test of Competence (ToC). This includes a theory exam and a practical test, known as the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). The OSCE consists of two parts:

• Part One is a computer-based test (CBT), a multiple-choice examination that applicants can take from their home countries, making it accessible worldwide.
• Part Two is the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), a practical exam held in the UK at one of five approved test centers.

To pass the ToC and join the NMC register, applicants must also pass an English language exam.

Working for the NHS as a Nurse

Once you have your nursing credentials recognized and you are the the register in the UK, you are ready to start job-hunting! A good place to begin your search is right on the NHS website. But before you dive in, there is some key information that you will be need to understand in order to find a job that is not only the right fit for your skills, but is eligible for Health and Care Visa.

Understanding the Pay Bands

Brace yourself… like most positions throughout the UK, the pay for nurses is significantly less than in the US. In the US, registered nurses make an average of around $82,750 per year (about $39.78 per hour), with higher wages in states like California and New York. In the UK, most nurses start on Band 5 of the NHS pay scale, earning between £28,407 and £34,581 a year (about $34,400–$41,900 USD), which works out to roughly £14–£17 per hour (about $17–$20.70 USD).

Keep in mind that in order to be eligible for sponsorship, your position in the UK will need to meet certain financial requirements. You’ll usually need to be paid at least £29,000 per year, or the lower ‘going rate’ for your job, whichever is higher.

Here are the current Agenda for Change pay rates…

Band	Experience	Salary	Examples of Roles
5	< 2 years	£29,970	Newly Qualified Nurse
	2-4 years	£32,324
	4+ years	£36,483
6	< 2 years	£37,338	Examples of roles at band 6- Nursing specialist or Senior Nurse
	2-5 years	£39,405
	5+ years	£44,962
7	< 2 years	£46,148	Examples of roles at band 7- Advanced Nurse / Nurse Practitioner
	2-5 years	£48,526
	5+ years	£52,809
8a	< 2 years	£53,755	Examples of roles at band 8a- Modern Matron or Chief Nurse
	2-5 years	£56,454
	5+ years	£60,504
8b	< 2 years	£62,215	Examples of roles at band 8b – strategic management, head of education and training
	2-5 years	£66,246
	5+ years	£72,293

Sponsorship

Not every position is eligible for visa sponsorship for international applicants. As you search for jobs, you can check whether a position offers sponsorship by scrolling to the bottom of the job listing. If the position is eligible, you’ll see a section that looks something like this:

Supervision

The UK places a much greater emphasis on supervision compared to the US. Band 5 nurses are considered entry-level and typically require regular supervision from higher bands. Higher bands, especially Band 7 and above, are often less involved in direct patient care. Instead, these roles focus more on leadership, managerial tasks, and academic responsibilities.

For many nurses moving from the UK to the US, the opportunity to expand your role beyond patient care can be an exciting change! However, there are other factors to consider before begin applying for those higher bands. If, like me, you have many years of experience, it might seem logical to aim for a band 7 or 8, which come with a higher salary. But if you’re new to the NHS, I would advise caution when considering jumping straight into a senior positions.

When I first began applying to the NHS, I believed I was well-qualified for a Band 7 role, and clinically, I was. However, as a Band 7 therapist, I would have been responsible for supervising an entire team of clinicians in a healthcare system and country I was unfamiliar with.

So, I decided to apply for Band 6 positions and requested the top of the pay scale for that band. In my Band 6 role, I still supervised two Band 3 workers on my ward, but I found it much more manageable than overseeing an entire team of therapists!

How we approached the change in pay

When we moved to the UK, my husband and I took a combined pay cut of almost 70%! However, after careful consideration, we realized that while salary was important, it wasn’t the only factor in our decision. We weighed the opportunity to live in a new country, experience a different culture, and go on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure with our daughters, who were already in their late teens.

While knew that the pay would be different, we also understood that it was a part of the broader lifestyle change we were embracing. We wanted to live more simply, focus less on consumption, and have more time to just be together. Ultimately, the chance to live in the UK and all the experiences that came with it made the financial sacrifice worthwhile.

Annual Leave, Sick Time, and Workers Rights

I mentioned earlier in this post that the pay for nurses in the UK is lower than in the US, but let’s take a moment to talk about some of the great perks that come with working in the NHS!

Annual Leave

Nurses working for the NHS enjoy a generous annual leave allowance, starting at 27 days per year for full-time staff, plus 8 public holidays—that’s nearly 6 weeks off every year! After five years of service, this increases to 29 days.

Even better, the attitude toward taking time off is very different from what I experienced in the US. Initially, I was nervous about submitting my annual leave requests to the ward manager, but I was pleasantly surprised to see how excited she was to hear about my travel plans!

In my first year with the NHS, I used my leave to take several long weekends exploring Europe and the UK, along with a few week-long vacations. We visited France (twice!), Italy, Spain, Scotland, and Wales—all in that first year!

sick time

NHS nurses are entitled to sick leave as part of their employment benefits, which varies depending on their length of service. The standard sick leave entitlement is:

• First year of service: Up to 1 month of full pay, followed by 2 months of half pay.
• 2 to 5 years of service: Up to 4 months of full pay, followed by 4 months of half pay.
• Over 5 years of service: Up to 6 months of full pay, followed by 6 months of half pay.

The NHS sick leave policy is a significant benefit for NHS worker, offering substantial financial support if you need to take time off due to illness. Compared to the US, where sick leave can be limited, the NHS system provides a real safety net in times of illness. Additionally, because healthcare in the UK is not tied to your job, you never have to worry about losing coverage if you need to take time off.

Maternity and Paternity leave

Maternity and paternity leave for nurses in the NHS is another major perk, allowing new parents to spend time at home bonding with their newborn. Nurses are entitled to 52 weeks of leave, with the first 26 weeks being paid. The pay is structured to provide 90% of your average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks, followed by a flat rate for the remaining 33 weeks. This supportive policy makes it easier to balance both family life and your career.

In my first position with the NHS, I covered for a therapist who was on maternity leave. When she returned to work after spending a year at home with her baby, I was amazed to learn that she had actually accrued 26 days of annual leave during her maternity leave and needed to take an additional month off! For Americans, this seems almost unimaginable, but for the British, it’s simply the norm.

Alternative schedules for working parents

The NHS also offers additional benefits like flexible working options upon return, ensuring a smoother transition back to work. Under UK employment law, parents with children under the age of 16 (or 18 for disabled children) can request flexible working after 26 weeks of employment. This might involve adjusting working hours, working from home, or changing shift patterns to better accommodate childcare needs.

Changing Practice Settings

When I moved to the UK, one of the things I was most excited about was the opportunity to work in mental health. As you start exploring job opportunities in the UK, you’ll quickly notice that there are significantly more roles in mental health compared to the US. However, what I soon realized was that I needed to take extra steps to demonstrate my training, knowledge, and experience to qualify for one of these positions.

In the US, if you’re a nurse or therapist wanting to switch populations or settings, it’s generally as simple as brushing up on your skills and applying for the new role. But in the UK, the process is more complex. I transitioned from a 20-year career in geriatrics and pediatrics to an inpatient mental health facility in England. To secure that job, I had to showcase all the mental health diagnoses and interventions I had encountered in my previous roles.

Take the time to reflect deeply on your past experiences with patients. For example, if you worked on an orthopedic unit, think beyond their acute admitting diagnosis and consider the co-morbidities many patients come in with. Did any of your patients have dementia, depression, anxiety, or substance use disorders? How did you support them during their recovery from surgery? Chances are, you already have the experience—you just need to highlight it effectively.

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Are you feeling overwhelmed already?

Don’t despair! When I first started researching what it would take to move to the UK from the US, I was ready to throw in the towel. The list of things to do seemed endless. But I’m here to remind you that you can take it one step at a time and trust that everything will fall into place. One thing I found helpful was to make a vision board that kept me focused on all of the reasons we wanted to make this move! I worked on our move little by little, and before I knew it, we were boarding a plane to London to start our new life in the UK!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post. If you’re looking to dive deeper into the application process and interviewing with the NHS, check out our top-rated expat guide for insider tips and advice. It’s packed with everything you need to know to make your journey as smooth as possible!

This post has been all about moving to the UK as a nurse! If you have any questions, drop them in the comments!