Specialist Language Courses

How you can move to Ireland as a nurse?

Ireland Nurses
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Stephanie Lam
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Are you a registered nurse who wants to work in an English-speaking country?

Over the next few weeks you’ll get a foreigner’s guide to working in Ireland, the USA, the UK, Australia, and Canada.

This week, we’re looking at Ireland.

So let’s dive in!

Can UK nurses work in Ireland?

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!  

Requirements for nursing in Ireland

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.

Ireland requirements for Nurses

Can nurses work in Ireland without IELTS or OET?

Have you worked in the UK, USA, Australia, Canada or New Zealand, for three out of the past five years?

Then you don’t need any other English language qualification.

Otherwise, you will need to have a qualification in IELTS or OET.

What is the minimum IELTS or OET score for Ireland?

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.

OET and IELTS
How to prepare for the Language tests?

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:

OET Preparation Courses
IELTS Preparation Courses
Want to contact us?

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

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