The island of Ireland is in two parts.
Northern Ireland is part of the UK, and the south part is the Republic of Ireland.
If you are a foreign nurse who has a visa to work in the UK and wants to move to Northern Ireland, you can!
The south – known as the Republic of Ireland, or Eire, is a separate country.
Because of that, it has its own working requirements.
If you trained overseas, you must submit your qualifications.
These will be compared with Irish education standards and requirements.
You also need to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, or NMBI.
You can do both of these on the NMBI’s website by creating an account.
It may take between two and four months for your application to be approved.
You will have to provide English translations of your qualifications.
In Ireland, your overall IELTS score must be 7 (although you are allowed 6.5 in one section only).
A nurse’s OET score must be Grade B in 3 components, and at least C+ in 1 component.
Importantly, the NMBI only accepts test results that are less than two years old.
We can help you get to Grade B in your OET with our complete learning package, available online, see courses below.
Here at SLC we provide IELTS and OET courses for nurses like you to study and work in English-speaking countries.
Have a look at our preparation courses below:
We are happy to help you with your preparation for moving to Ireland.
If you have any questions you can contact us by fillinng in this form or giving us a call on +44 1273 900213
Back to Menu ↩ The OET reading paper is widely considered the toughest section of the exam — but most candidates are not using the
Contact us Back to Menu ↩ Published on 9 March 2026, Protecting What Matters is the government’s most substantial statement on social cohesion in years.
Contact us Back to Menu ↩ For years, ESOL has been promised a national strategy. Now, for the first time in a generation, there is
Get updates and get the latest materials on Medical English, OET and IELTS
