To work as a nurse or midwife in Ireland you must be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI).
For overseas nurses, the NMBI has prepared a comprehensive guide called How to register as a nurse or midwife-a guide for all applicants who trained outside Ireland. The guide is available to download from their website.
When should I start the registration process?
Processing an NBMI application can take a number of months, so you should start the process now, before you move to Ireland. You can start the registration process even before you have a job. Prospective employers will look favourably on someone who has already started the process: the sooner you start your application, the sooner you can start working for them!
Who is eligible to be admitted to the register?
1. EU Nurses Automatic Rights
If you trained as a general nurse or a midwife in an EU country then you may be eligible for automatic registration once you provide the correct documents and pay the relevant fees. You will be automatically eligible if you started your training on or after your country’s reference date. For more information on this see the NMBI website here.
2. EU Nurses Acquired Rights
If you started your training on or after your country’s reference date as set out above you may be eligible for registration based on your post-registration experience. You can check this with the competent authority of your home country, i.e. the body responsible for registering nurses and midwives in the country where you trained.
3. Educational Assessment Applications
If you do not fall into either of the two categories above, you may still be eligible for admission to the NMBI Register but your qualifications may have to be assessed. Applications that must undergo a full educational assessment include:
EU EEA Nurses who commenced training after their country’s reference date and who do not have the necessary post-registration experience
EU/EEA Nurses who trained as a Children’s Nurse, Psychiatric Nurse or Intellectual Disability Nurse
All non EU Nurses
NMBI: Registration Process
1. Download the Overseas Registration Application Request Form from NMBI.ie and return to the NMBI along with the €350 assessment fee
2. The NMBI will process your Registration Application Form and send you a full application pack
3. Return the completed application pack along with all supporting documentation
4. The NMBI will assess your application and issue a decision letter
5. If you are eligible to join the Register, you will need to pay a registration fee
6. Once you pay your fee, the NMBI will finalise your registration and issue your registration pack within 7-10 working days.
Timeframe for assessment: the NMBI processes all applications in date order. It is not possible to fast track an application under any circumstances. Once the NMBI has received all of your documents, they aim to assess your application within 90 days.
Application Pack: Required Documents
NB: The NMBI cannot consider your application until they have received all of your documentation. Please make sure you send everything they need as soon as possible! If the NMBI do not receive all your documents within 12 months of you paying your assessment fee, then your application will be deemed closed.
The Application Pack contains:
Your reference number
Section 1: Application Form for you to complete
Section 2: Forms to be completed and returned directly to NMBI by relevant authorities eg the competent authority in the country where you trained and your previous employers
Make a note of your reference number! You must use this reference number in all communications with the NMBI.
Section 1
Application Form: read this form carefully before completing it and returning it along with a passport sized photograph and certified copies of your:
Passport
Birth Certificate
Marriage or civil partnership certificate, if applicable
Deed poll if you have officially changed your name since birth
Declaration page: in the pack you will find a declaration page. By signing the declaration, you confirm that you have completed the form truthfully.
Warning: it is a criminal offence in Ireland to make any false declarations or supply misleading information for the purpose of obtaining registration.
Section 2
You can access a full list of the forms that must be completed by the relevant authorities and returned to the NMBI on page 16 of the “How to register as a nurse or midwife-a guide for all applicants who trained outside Ireland” guide prepared by the NMBI.
Certifying copies: to certify a copy you must bring the original and copy of the document in question to a certifying authority. To certify that the documents you submit are true copies of the originals, the nominated person must include their stamp on the copies or their signature along with their full name and address in block capitals.
Certifying authorities include: Solicitor or Lawyer, Notary public, Peace Commissioner, Justice of the Peace, Commissioner for Oaths. In the United Kingdom, the Post Office can also certify documents.
Certified translations: if you submit a document which is not written in English, you must provide the NMBI with a certified English translation of the document.
The translation must be:
Carried out by a qualified translator
Signed and stamped by the translator
The translator must confirm that the translation is an exact translation of the original document.
The translator’s professional contact details eg telephone number; address and/or email address should also be included.
Fees
If you are applying for registration with the NMBI for the first time, you will need to pay an assessment fee. This fee is currently €350. First time registration fee is €145. Please check the NMBI website for the most up to date information on registration and assessment fees here.