PINPath · UK NMC registration

The UK NMC application pathway

For nurses and midwives in Nigeria and Ghana applying directly through the NMC route for applicants trained outside the UK.

A concise outline for nurses and midwives in Nigeria and Ghana applying directly through the NMC route for applicants trained outside the UK. Use the NMC route assessment to confirm which application route applies to you.

Official NMC sources checked 6 November 2026

Preparing for the CBT? This application pathway is separate from our NMC CBT preparation guide.

Need a quick definition? Read the NMC journey glossary.

Your route, step by step

From checking readiness to an NMC decision

  1. Prepare and check your readiness

    Read the NMC route guide and prepare the evidence it asks for before opening your application.

    Check the route, evidence checklist, costs and timing with the NMC. Keep your original documents available for verification.

  2. Apply for eligibility and qualification assessment

    Submit the eligibility and qualification application in MyNMC. The NMC assesses whether your qualification allows or allowed you to register in the country where you trained.

    Complete the NMC route assessment, create or sign in to MyNMC, and provide identity evidence, a copy of your original qualification certificate, and details of your regulator and registration. If you have not been registered, the NMC may ask for your education institution’s details.

    The NMC contacts your regulator to verify the information and, where needed, your education institution. For a document that is not in English, provide the original; a photocopy stamped and signed by the translation service; a complete, accurate English translation with the photocopy, also stamped and signed; and the translator or service contact details.

  3. Complete a Test of Competence if the NMC asks

    After confirming eligibility, the NMC may ask you to complete a Test of Competence (ToC). It is not an automatic step for every applicant.

    When required, the ToC has a computer-based test (CBT) and a practical Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). The test is specific to the part of the register you are applying to join.

  4. Complete the registration application

    The NMC says you may complete this application alongside any Test of Competence it asks you to take.

    Provide the required health, character and English-language evidence, confirm that you have or will have an appropriate professional indemnity arrangement for practice, and submit the registration application and fee.

    English-language evidence applies to applicants trained outside the UK regardless of nationality. All applicants also complete a face-to-face identity check at an NMC Test of Competence centre, where original documents are verified.

  5. Await NMC verification and decision

    The NMC verifies the application and supporting information, including information from referees, then makes its decision.

    Respond to any request for more information and keep your contact details up to date in MyNMC while the application is assessed.

Ask the guide

Questions about your NMC application?

Get answers from the five steps, evidence and translation notes, costs, timing aims, and glossary on this page. If the guide does not cover it, the assistant will say so.

Try “What evidence is needed for a document that is not in English?” or “What does the £1,226 total include?”

This guide cannot assess individual eligibility or predict an application or test outcome. The NMC makes those decisions.

Budget in GBP

Current application costs

NMC trained-outside-the-UK Costs page checked 6 November 2026.

Qualification evaluation
£167Paid to the NMC; non-refundable.
CBT, first sitting
£83Paid to the test provider if the NMC requires the ToC.
OSCE, first sitting
£794Paid to the test provider if the NMC requires the ToC.
Registration application
£182Paid to the NMC; refundable in certain circumstances.

£1,226 including CBT and OSCE first sittings when the Test of Competence is required.

Resits, visa, flights, accommodation and travel are excluded. The total may be higher if tests need to be resat.

What to expect

NMC stated timing aims

14 days
Aim to assess the qualification after the NMC receives the regulator response and, where required, the education institution response.
2 years
Time allowed to complete registration after the NMC confirms eligibility.
30 days
Aim to consider a complete registration application after the required evidence, applicable test results and fee arrive.

These are NMC aims, not guaranteed deadlines.

Check the official guidance

NMC pathway sources

The NMC may update its requirements. Use these official pages to check the current instructions for your application.

Plain-language reference

NMC journey glossary

These short definitions follow the application and CBT guides above. The linked NMC material is the source for current instructions and decisions.

Trained-outside-the-UK route

The NMC application route for nurses and midwives who trained outside the UK. This guide is for applicants in Nigeria and Ghana applying directly; use the NMC route assessment to confirm which route applies to you.

MyNMC

The NMC online account where you start and manage your application, provide information and keep your contact details up to date.

Eligibility and qualification assessment

The first application stage. The NMC assesses your eligibility and whether your qualification allowed or allows you to register in the country where you trained. The NMC makes this decision.

Regulator and registration evidence

Details of your nursing or midwifery regulator and registration that the NMC can use to check your record. If you have not been registered, the guide says the NMC may ask for your education institution’s details as part of its checks.

Verification

The NMC checks information in your application. It contacts your regulator and, where needed, your education institution.

Referees

People the NMC asks to provide information for your application. The NMC verifies information from your referees as part of its checks.

Test of Competence (ToC)

An NMC test with a computer-based test (CBT) and a practical OSCE. The NMC decides whether you need it after assessing your eligibility and qualification; it is not automatic for every applicant.

Computer-based test (CBT)

The computer-based part of the Test of Competence. The NMC decides whether a ToC, including the CBT, is required for your application.

Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)

The practical part of the Test of Competence. It is included when the NMC requires you to complete the ToC.

CBT Part A and Part B

Part A is Numeracy: 15 questions in 30 minutes. Part B is Clinical: 100 questions in 2 hours 30 minutes. Check the current candidate booklet for your instructions.

Registration application

The application stage where you provide the remaining registration information and evidence and pay the registration application fee. The NMC says you may complete it alongside any ToC it asks you to take.

Health, character and English-language evidence

Evidence the NMC asks you to provide with the registration application. English-language evidence applies to applicants trained outside the UK, regardless of nationality; check the current NMC guidance for what applies to you.

Professional indemnity arrangement

Confirmation that you have, or will have, an appropriate professional indemnity arrangement for practice as part of the registration application.

Face-to-face identity check

An in-person check at an NMC Test of Competence centre. Applicants complete it there and the NMC verifies original documents.

The Code

The NMC’s professional standards for nurses and midwives. The CBT guide recommends studying it alongside your test specification and blueprint.

CBT candidate booklet

The NMC’s candidate information booklet with CBT instructions. Choose the nursing or midwifery booklet that matches your application.

Test specification

The NMC Test of Competence specification for nursing or midwifery. The CBT guide lists it as an official study source to use with the relevant blueprint.

Profession or field blueprint

The NMC blueprint that matches your profession and, for nurses, your field: adult, children’s, learning disabilities or mental health nursing. Midwives use the midwifery blueprint.