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For any NMC application related questions, updates, or advice, you can contact us at:
Email: uhsussex.irteam@nhs.net
Tel: 01903 205 111 Ext: 85946

or you can get in touch with any members of the team below.

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Registration Form: OSCE training programme

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Registration Form: OSCE training programme

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This form is to be completed by a line manager if an internal candidate is interested to join the OSCE training programme.

*Candidate needs to be endorsed to the team at least 5 weeks prior the booked OSCE date.

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Get your pre-application checklist if you trained as a nurse or midwife outside the UK - The Nursing and Midwifery Council

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Complete this form to get an online checklist of the things you’ll need to consider before you apply to join our register.

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SIFE can be used as additional supporting evidence of English language competence, for those people who have working for 12 months (or FTE equivalent if working part-time) in non-registered practice in a health and social care setting in the UK and who either:

Trained in English but in a country where English is not the majority spoken language, as evidence of their clinical interaction skills. They will still need to provide evidence that their training and assessment was in English.

OR

missed the required score by 0.5 (IELTS) or half a grade (OET) on one of the four language domains, as long as they had exhausted all test combining options.

To use additional supporting information from employers, applicants must have:

worked in a non-registered role in a health or care setting in the UK for at least 12 months full time or full time equivalent if working part timeat the point they submit their application

had an NMC registrant as their line manager

had the same line manager for at least 6 months (we will accept supporting information from up to two NMC-registered line managers to cover 12 months or full time equivalent)

Their line manager will be asked to provide information via a link to NMC online to confirm direct experience of their English language competence. Their line manager should be an NHS Band 6 (or non-NHS equivalent) or above. This information also needs be countersigned by an NMC registrant who is an NHS Band 8a (or non-NHS equivalent) or above, to confirm the process has been fair and consistent.

The counter signatory provides us with assurance that there is a clear and robust process that they are overseeing.

If the line manager or counter signatory are unable to provide a band or band equivalent, we suggest that they review the NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) bands to understand what their band equivalent would be.

We'll also ask the applicant for evidence that their training and assessment was in English.

If the applicant is unable to meet any of the requirements above, they will need to provide an alternative type of evidence such as a language test.

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Supplementary Information from Employers (SIFE) form FAQs

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SIFE can be used as additional supporting evidence of English language competence, for those people who have working for 12 months (or FTE equivalent if working part-time) in non-registered practice in a health and social care setting in the UK and who either: Trained in English but in a country where English is not the majority spoken language, as evidence of their clinical interaction skills.

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NMC Online, HEI Online, employer online and CCPS portals will be unavailable from 6 pm Fri 26/05/2023 - 6 pm Sat 27/05/2023 for essential maintenance.

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A link to NMC Online will be sent to the nominated employers (Line manager and Counter-signatories) that contains a similar form that be used to provide information of the applicant's English language competence.

Source: https://www.nmc.org.uk/search/?q=sife

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Information for applicants who trained outside the UK

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Information for applicants who trained outside the UK

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Register as a nurse or midwife if you trained outside the UK - The Nursing and Midwifery Council

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Find out how to join the NMC register as a nurse or midwife if you trained overseas

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International Recruitment Team - Worthing, Chichester and Southlands Sites

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International Recruitment Team - Worthing, Chichester and Southlands Sites

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From Left to Right:

Christian Tulud - Clinical Practice Educator - renzchristian.tulud@nhs.net

Claudine Tapayan - Clinical Practice Educator - claudine.tapayan@nhs.net

Netce Sia - Senior Clinical Educator - netce.sia@nhs.net

Bel Belonio - Clinical Practice Educator - manabel.belonio@nhs.net

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International Recruitment Team - Brighton, Haywards Heath and Newhaven Sites

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International Recruitment Team - Brighton, Haywards Heath and Newhaven Sites

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From left to right:

Derome Antido - Clinical Practice Educator -  derome.antido@nhs.net

Sam Elliott-Olechnowicz - Senior Clinical Educator samuel.elliott@nhs.net

Suma Nair - Clinical Practice Educator - suma.nair@nhs.net

Ariel Abenes - Clinical Practice Educator - ariel.abenes@nhs.net

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Fiona Keeling - Head of Nursing for International Nurse Recruitment

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Fiona Keeling - Head of Nursing for International Nurse Recruitment

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fiona.keeling@nhs.net

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NMC - Providing Evidence of English Language page

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NMC - Providing Evidence of English Language page

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Why we ask for evidence

We need some information about your English language ability to make sure that you're able to practise safely and effectively.

We ask everyone to provide one form of evidence that shows us how you meet the standards we have set.

This means you'll either 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 pre-registration nurse, midwife or nursing associate qualification which was taught and examined in English.

recent practice of at least one year in a majority English speaking country.

Our English language requirements set out the details for each type of evidence and how our requirements can be met. We strongly recommend you read this.

You will need to

We'll ask you which of the evidence types you will be using to demonstrate how you meet our English language requirements.

Using an accepted English language test

IELTS

If you're using an IELTS test, you'll need to provide your IELTS certificate and TRF number. We'll use this to verify your results when assessing your application.

The TRF number is usually 18 characters long, made up of both numbers and letters. You can find this on your IELTS certificate.

You'll need to provide both certificates and TRF numbers if you're using two IELTS tests to meet our requirements.

OET

If you're using an OET test, you'll need to provide your OET certificate and candidate number, which we'll use to verify your results.

You'll need to provide both certificates if you're using two OET tests, and we'll be able to verify these using your candidate number.

It's important you have given permission for us to verify your OET results before you submit your application through your myOET account otherwise this may delay your application. If you are submitting two tests you'll need to give us permission to verify both tests. Find out how to give a verification institution access to your results on the OET website.

Using additional supporting information from your employer (SIFE)

If you have attempted two test and have narrowly missed the required score in any one language domain by no more than 0.5 in IELTS or half a grade in OET, you can provide supporting information from your employer (SIFE) as supplementary evidence of this language domain.

To do this, you must:

be working in a non-registered role in a health or care setting in the UK at the point you submit your application

have worked in that role for at least 12 months full time (or full time equivalent if working part time) at the point you submit your application

have had an NMC registrant as your line manager in this role, and had the same line manager for at least 6 months (we will accept supporting information from up to two NMC-registered line managers to cover 12 months or full time equivalent).

The supporting information you provide must be from your current employer. Your line manager will be asked to provide information via a link to NMC online to confirm direct experience of your English language competence in this domain. Your line manager should be an NHS Band 6 (or non-NHS equivalent) or above. This information also needs be countersigned by an NMC registrant who is an NHS Band 8a (or non-NHS equivalent) or above, to confirm the process has been fair and consistent.

Using your training

You'll need to provide evidence that shows how your training meets our English language requirement.

If you completed your pre-registration programme in a country where English is a majority spoken language, you will need to provide evidence such as a transcript of training, that your programme meets the criteria set out in our guidance .

If you completed your programme in a country where English is not a majority spoken language, you can provide supporting information from your employer as supplementary evidence of clinical interaction in English with people who use services, their families, carers, and other healthcare professionals.

To do this, you must:

have evidence in the form of transcript and /or letter from your training institute that the training and assessment of your pre-registration programme was in English

be working in a non-registered role in a health or care setting in the UK at the point you submit your application

have worked in that role for at least 12 months full time (or full time equivalent if working part time) at the point you submit your application

have had an NMC registrant as your line manager in this role, and had the same line manager for at least 6 months (we will accept supporting information from up to two NMC-registered line managers to cover 12 months or full time equivalent).

The supporting information you provide must be from your current employer. Your line manager will be asked to provide information via a link to NMC Online to confirm direct experience of your English language competence in speaking and listening. Your line manager should be an NHS Band 6 (or non-NHS equivalent) or above. This information also needs be countersigned by an NMC registrant who is an NHS Band 8a (or non-NHS equivalent) or above, to confirm the process has been fair and consistent.

If you trained in a country where English is not a majority spoken language, we'll consider evidence that meets the criteria set out in our English Language guidance, but please be aware you may be asked to provide an alternative type of evidence such as a language test if it doesn't meet our requirement.

If you submitted your registration application before 27 May 2023 you will not be able to nominate your manager via NMC online for SIFE. International Registration Team will contact such applicants directly if they meet our eligibility criteria for using SIFE after submitted application has been assessed by an officer. We will also continue to manually process the SIFE form from employers who have already been sent PDF version.

What must my transcript include?

A transcript is an official copy of your academic record. It shows all modules you completed as part of your course.

You should provide a personal transcript with your name on it, rather than a generic course syllabus. It should clearly show the breakdown of clinical and theory hours of your course.

If you did not train in a country where English is a majority spoken language, your transcript must confirm that the programme was composed of at least 50 percent clinical interaction. Your transcript must also clearly demonstrate at least 75 percent of that was with patients, service users, their families and other healthcare professionals and must have taken place in English.

If you did not train in a country where English is a majority spoken language, your transcript must confirm that the programme was composed of at least 50 percent clinical interaction. Your transcript must also clearly demonstrate at least 75 percent of that was with patients, service users, their families and other healthcare professionals and must have taken place in English. If you do not have evidence that at least 75 percent of the clinical interaction was in English, you may be able to use supporting information from your employer (SIFE) as supplementary evidence of clinical competence in English. For more information on SIFE see our FAQs.

I don't have my transcript

If you didn't receive a transcript when you graduated, you should contact your training institution to request a copy.

If your training institution has closed down, we recommend that you contact the regulator in your country of training to see if they are able to provide a copy for you.

Using your registered practice

If you have recent practice of one year in a country where English is a majority spoken language, we'll ask you to give details of your registration, upload a copy of your registration certificate and tell us how your language was assessed to enable registration with your regulator.

You'll need to show that you have been practising recently to meet our requirements, so you should provide us with your most recent registration certificate.

We'll ask you to provide details of your employer in the country you were or are currently practising in so we can confirm your employment with them. We'll also ask them to confirm whether you have the necessary knowledge of English to practise safely and effectively.

English Language FAQs

I am applying to be on the register via trained outside the UK route. How can I provide English language evidence?

There are three types of evidence that will satisfy us that you have the necessary knowledge of English to practise in the UK. If we are not satisfied with what you send us, we will ask you to provide an alternative type of evidence.

Evidence type 1: You have recently achieved the required score in the academic version of International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or the Occupational English Test (OET). You must achieve the required score in reading, writing, listening and speaking.

If you have taken the test at least twice and missed the required scores in any one of the domains by no more than half a grade, you may be able to use supporting information from your employer in health and care setting in the UK as supplementary evidence of clinical competence in English in that area. This is not a standalone evidence

Evidence type 2: You have completed a pre-registration nurse, midwife or nursing associate programme that was taught and examined in English.

If your pre registration programme was completed in a country that is currently not on NMC's majority English speaking countries list, you can provide supporting information from your employer in health and care setting in UK (SIFE) as supplementary evidence of clinical interaction in English with people who use services, their families, carers, and other healthcare professionals.

To use SIFE, you must have worked in an unregulated role in a health or care setting in the UK for at least 12 months full time or full time equivalent if working part time, at the point of submitting your registration application. This is not a standalone evidence

If you did not train in a country where English is a majority spoken language and is not eligible to use SIFE, we'll consider evidence that meets the criteria set out in our English Language guidance, but please be aware that it's likely that you'll need to provide an alternative type of evidence such as a language test.

Evidence Type 3: Employer reference that you have recently practised for one year as a registered nurse, registered midwife or nursing associate in a country where country where English is a majority spoken language.

Please click here for more information

What scores do I need for IELTS?

We will accept an IELTS Academic test result that confirms you achieved at least 7 for reading, listening, and speaking, and at least 6.5 for writing. If combining two tests, no scores in either of the two test sittings are below 6.5 for listening, reading, and speaking, or below 6 for writing.

If you have taken IELTS atleast twice and missed the required scores in any one of the domains by no more than half a grade, you may be able to use supporting information from your employer in health and care setting in the UK as supplementary evidence of clinical competence in English in that area. This is not a standalone evidence

To use SIFE, you must have worked in an unregulated role in a health or care setting in the UK for at least 12 months full time or full time equivalent if working part time, at the point of submitting your registration application. This is not a standalone evidence

Please see more information here. Our website also provides a handy online Test Combining Calculator which can be accessed here.

What scores do I need for OET?

We will accept an OET test result that confirms you achieved at least grade B (350 or above) for reading, listening, and speaking, and at least grade C+ (300 or above) for writing. If combining two tests, no scores in either of the two test sittings are below grade C+ (300-340) for listening, reading, and speaking, or below grade C (250-290) for writing.

If you have taken OET at least twice and missed the required scores in any one of the domains by no more than half a grade, you may be able to use supporting information from your employer in health and care setting in UK as supplementary evidence of clinical competence in English in that area. This is not a standalone evidence

To use SIFE, you must have worked in an unregulated role in a health or care setting in the UK for at least 12 months full time or full time equivalent if working part time, at the point of submitting your registration application. This is not a standalone evidence

Please see more information about accepted tests here. Our website also provides a handy online Test Combining Calculator which can be accessed here.

What is the validity of EL tests?

Both IELTS and OET are valid for two years from the test date.

Your test result needs to be valid when your application joins our assessment queue after you have successfully completed both parts of test of competence, submitted your registration application/ fee and we have received all documents including third party verifications.

If you are relying on two tests to meet our English language requirements, both tests need to be within the 2 year validity period when it reaches our assessment queue.

Can I use Academic version of IELTS UKVI?

Yes, we accept the Academic version of IELTS including UKVI.

As stated on British Council website, IELTS for UKVI tests are designed to meet specific administrative requirements outlined by the UK Home Office and are taken at a UKVI approved test centre. The actual test taken is the same as IELTS tests for all other purposes and includes the same: content, format, scoring and level of difficulty. Test Report Forms will be slightly different in order to show that you have taken the test at an UKVI approved test centre.

Do you accept IELTS indicator test?

No, after careful consideration we have decided that we are not able to accept the IELTS indicator test at this time.

This is because the security measures for the indicator test are not comparable to those in place for the face-to-face test and do not meet the standards we require for registration.

I've narrowly missed the required scores for IELTS/OET. What options do I have?

From 27 May 2023, we will be accepting Supporting Information from Employers (SIFE) from the UK for those who have narrowly missed the required scores for IELTS and OET.

If you have taken the test at least twice and missed the required scores in any one of the domains by no more than half a grade, you may be able to use supporting information from your employer in health and care setting in the UK as supplementary evidence of clinical competence in English in that area. This is not a standalone evidence

To use SIFE, you must have worked in the UK with the same employer for least 12 months (or full time equivalent) at the point of application in a non-registered role in a health and care setting, at the point of submitting your registration application. This is not a standalone evidence

Please click here for more information on how you can meet our current English language requirements. Our website also provides a handy online Test Combining Calculator which can be accessed here

Who can use Supporting Information from Employers (SIFE) as evidence of English language?

Applicants who fall in the following two categories are eligible to use SIFE

Those who completed their pre-registration nursing or midwifery programme in English but in a country where English is not a majority spoken language. Such applicants must provide evidence that their course was taught and examined in English.

Those who missed the required score by 0.5 (IELTS) or half a grade (OET) in any one of the four language domains, as long as they had exhausted all test combining options.

To do this, you must have:

worked in the UK, in a non-registered role in a health and care setting, with the same employer for the last 12 months or more (or full time equivalent if working part time) at the point you submit your application in a non-registered role in a health and care setting

had the same line manager for at least 6 months (we will accept supporting information from up to two line managers to cover 12 months or full time equivalent)

Your line manager should be an NHS Band 6 (or non-NHS equivalent) or above to complete the form. This form also needs be countersigned by an NMC registrant who is an NHS Band 8a (or non-NHS equivalent) or above, to confirm the process has been fair and consistent.

How can I provide a supporting reference from my employer to support my English language?

Applicants who have not yet submitted their registration application will be able to nominate their employer to provide Supporting Information from Employers (SIFE) form via their NMC online account.

Applicants who have already submitted their application but are eligible to use SIFE will be contacted directly to offer this route after their submitted application has been assessed.

We will also continue to manually process the SIFE form from employers who have already been sent PDF version.

Where can I get a Supporting Information from Employers form (SIFE)?

Applicants who submit their registration application after 27th May 2023, will be able to nominate their employer via their NMC online account. Employers will receive a link via their NMC online account to complete the reference.

For applicants who have already submitted their registration application, we will contact you directly if you meet our eligibility criteria for using SIFE after their submitted application has been assessed by an officer.

We will also continue to manually process the SIFE form from employers who have already been sent PDF version.

Who can complete the SIFE form?

Your line manager will be asked to provide information via a link to NMC online to confirm direct experience of your English language competence in speaking and listening. Your line manager should be an NHS Band 6 (or non-NHS equivalent) or above. This information also needs be countersigned by an NMC registrant who is an NHS Band 8a (or non-NHS equivalent) or above, to confirm the process has been fair and consistent.

If you submitted your registration application before 27 May 2023 you will not be able to nominate your manager via NMC Online for SIFE. The International Registration Team will contact such applicants directly if they meet our eligibility criteria for using SIFE after their submitted application has been assessed by an officer. We will also continue to manually process the SIFE form from employers who have already been sent the PDF version.

What measures are being put in place to make sure the SIFE is not being used fraudulently

We have several measures in place to ensure that SIFE is not used fraudulently. In addition to the line manager providing SIFE, we also require a counter-signatory at the same employer to oversee the process. Both of these people must be NMC registrants. We only accept the manual version of the SIFE form from named applicants and the move to using NMC Online gives us even more assurance over the process.

Our colleagues will continue to monitor all SIFE applications that we receive, both individually and for trends. If we identify anything suspicious, we will investigate thoroughly and, if necessary, act in line with our regulatory role. If we identify fraudulent activity, we can take steps to promote learning, prevent issues arising again and use our fitness to practise processes if we identify that a registrant may have been involved. We are also able to take action if we identify that a non-registrant is involved and holding themselves out to be a registered professional when this is not the case.

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We need some information about your English language ability to make sure that you're able to practise safely and effectively. We ask everyone to provide one form of evidence that shows us how you meet the standards we have set.

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NMC - Guidance on English Language Requirements

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NMC - Guidance on English Language Requirements