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Healthcare recruitment for Europe

Europe is not one market and language is the gate, so we sequence the English or German score first and build the registration file behind it.

ISO 9001:2000 certified · recruiting for healthcare since 2010

What hiring in Europe actually turns on

Europe is not one market and the difference is language. A nurse with the clinical experience for a London intensive care unit still needs an English score before the register will look at them, and Germany will not begin recognition without B2 German. We sequence the language first, because a file that starts anywhere else stalls.

Talk to the Europe desk
Who registers a clinician
The NMC and the GMC in the United Kingdom, NMBI in Ireland, and the state recognition authority in Germany
What stands in the way
English at IELTS 7.0 or OET B for the UK, then the CBT and the OSCE. German at B2 and qualification recognition for Germany
Typical time to joining
Four to nine months, almost entirely decided by how fast the language score arrives
Our desk
New Delhi, running UK, Irish and German files

The route into Europe, in order

Each step gates the next one. We run all four rather than handing a candidate a checklist and wishing them luck.

  1. 1. Language first IELTS or OET for the UK and Ireland, B2 German for Germany. We tell a candidate their real starting point instead of enrolling them in hope.
  2. 2. Register application The NMC, NMBI or GMC application, or the German recognition file, with the evidence each one specifically asks for.
  3. 3. The theory test The NMC computer-based test, or PLAB for doctors, sat from India before anyone books a flight.
  4. 4. Visa, then the OSCE Health and Care Worker visa, travel, and the practical examination taken after arrival, which the employer normally sponsors.

What Europe employers brief us for

These are the roles that come up most, not the whole list. We recruit across every clinical and hospital administration family.

  • Registered nurses Adult, critical care, theatre and care-of-the-elderly nursing for NHS trusts and private groups
  • Doctors Training and non-training posts for candidates on the PLAB route or with an approved postgraduate qualification
  • Senior care Nursing and senior care roles, which carry the widest sponsorship in the UK and Ireland
  • Allied health Radiography, physiotherapy and biomedical science on HCPC and equivalent registration

Where we place inside Europe

  • United Kingdom NMC and GMC registration, Health and Care Worker visa
  • Ireland NMBI registration, with an adaptation period where required
  • Germany Qualification recognition and B2 German before a contract
  • Malta English-language register, often the quickest way into the EU

Immigration rules in these countries change more often than the clinical requirements do. We confirm the current position on your route when we take the brief rather than quoting last year's.

Two sides of the Europe desk

If you are hiring in Europe

Give us the post, not a job advert

Tell us the role, the grade and the band. You get a shortlist that has already cleared this market's registration and documentation requirements.

  • Candidates screened against Europe requirements before you see them
  • Salary benchmarked against what this market pays now
  • Permanent, contract and locum hiring on one agreement
  • One named consultant from the brief to the joining date
If you want to work in Europe

Find out where you actually stand

Send your CV and we will tell you which step of the route above you are on, what it will cost and how long it realistically takes. Before you spend anything.

  • An honest read of your eligibility, not an enrolment pitch
  • Guidance through registration, examination and documentation
  • Our placement fee is paid by the employer
  • Your CV is never sent to a hospital without your go ahead

Questions we are asked about working in Europe

The NMC accepts IELTS at 7.0 overall with no element below 6.5, or OET at grade B, with some flexibility on combining sittings. The GMC sets its own equivalent requirement for doctors. The score is the gate: the register will not progress an application without it.

The computer-based test is the theory part of NMC registration and is sat from India. The OSCE is the practical examination and is taken in the United Kingdom after arrival, which is why employers usually sponsor it and provide preparation.

No. Qualification recognition will not proceed without B2 German, and most states expect a professional language examination on top of it. Anyone telling you otherwise is selling you a course rather than a job.

Four to nine months is typical, and the spread is almost entirely the language score. Candidates who already hold IELTS or OET move at the fast end of that range.

Something not covered here? Ask our team

Tell us the post you cannot fill

Send the role, the country and the band. A consultant who recruits in that speciality will come back to you within one working day.

Offices in New Delhi and Ajman, placing worldwide. International enquiries on +971 58 234 8005.

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