UNDERSTANDING THE ENGLISH PROFICIENCY REQUIREMENT FOR NURSING AND MIDWIFERY BOARD OF IRELAND

Nurses and midwives outside Ireland who wish to join the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland’s register are required to show proficiency in the English Language before they can be accepted onto the register.

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) has made provisions for detailed explanations for these requirements. There are currently three pathways to show proficiency in the English language: Trained in English in an NMBI Recognised Country, Registered and practiced in English, and English Language Tests.

Pathway One: Trained in English in a NMBI Recognised Country

For this pathway, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) requires that the pre-registration nursing or midwifery qualifications, which applicants depend on for their registration, must have been taught and assessed in English in one of the countries recognized by the NMBI. The NMBI recognizes Australia, Canada, New Zealand, The United States of America, and the United Kingdom as a majority English-speaking country for the purpose of registering and practising in Ireland. Evidence required include:

• Document showing evidence of qualification completion and location of college.
• If the college is based in one of the French provinces of Canada (Quebec or New Brunswick), the college must provide confirmation that the qualification and practice placements were completed in English.

There are however exemptions:

• The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland will also accept if an applicant completed their pre-registration qualification in an EU country where English is listed as a co-official language. The applicant must hold automatic qualification recognition under the EU Directive. The college must provide confirmation that the qualification and practice placements were completed in English.
• The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland will consider any evidence of English language competency, equivalence to CEFR (C1) from EU Directive applicants only.
• The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland I will consider secondary or third-level qualifications in, or through, English if evidenced as equivalent to CEFR C1 from EU Directive applicants only.

Pathway Two: Registered and practiced in English.

In this pathway, applicants seeking to rely on evidence of having registered and practiced in English must prove that they have completed three years of post-registration practice within the last five years in a country recognized by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland. These countries include Australia, Canada, New Zealand, The United States of America, and the United Kingdom. The following evidence is required:

A letter on headed paper or an email from the applicant’s employer/s or nursing authority covering the following:

1. Location of employment
2. The dates of employment
3. Applicant’s job title (nursing or midwifery)
4. If the employer is based in one of the French provinces of Canada (Quebec or New Brunswick), the employer must provide a statement confirming that the applicant was practicing as a nurse or midwife primarily in English.

Pathway Three: English Language Tests

Applicants from Africa fall mostly in this category. The have the option to submit a certificate of test results from either the International English Language Test System (IELTS) or the Occupational English Test (OET) to demonstrate their proficiency in English.

For applicants under the EU Directive, the NMBI will also consider other test results that are comparable and equivalent to the CEFR (C1) standard.

The following tables are the minimum score accepted for the IELTS/OET:

It is important to note that you must only apply for registration if you meet the minimum scores under the IELTS Academic Test/OET. The IELTS/OET results must be less than two years old. Combined results or “clubbing” of results are not accepted, only one test result is accepted. IELTS online or OET at home are not accepted.