Foreign Nurses Immigrating to NZ

Again, I just want to stress, that it is entirely possible to be approved for a visa to come to NZ and then come here to be rejected for registration with the nursing council. This happens a lot. Also you need to get an IELTS score of 7 and you will pay each time you sit the test. This is big news here at the moment. It is also no secret that some immigration agents will not be honest about this.

It is very risk to come here without registration and there are many who have who wind up in NZ illegally and without money to go home. www.nzherald.co.nz search "filipino nurse"

The New Zealand Nursing Council has approved you for a competence assessment programme (CAP) only. That does not guarantee you registration. It only allows you to come here and paticipate in the program. Have you taken the IELTS and scored a 7? That is also a requirement. If you are registered following the course it may also be with restrictions.

I am not trying to discourage you. We do need nurses here. What I am trying to do is to save you from spending all your money to get here and then to be denied registration. There are people who have come here to complete the CAP and do not get registered and do not get a job. As I posted above, this has been an issue discussed in one of our national newspapers, The New Zealand Herald.

Sorry, but I have no idea about the council's timeframe regarding applications http://www.nursingcouncil.org.nz/contcomp.html I did, however, note that it is a requirement for admission to a CAP program that you sit IELTS and get a 7 in each band. That is at you own cost. This is a good thing as it is also a very difficult requirement for registration.

Another thing, NZ has shifted the focus from international recruitment to increasing domestic training and retention. This is a recent trend and will need to either pass or prove to be effective. Therefore, the requirements to practice nursing here are being levelled ie, competency programs and very strong English language skill requirements.

While this must be frustrating for nurses who wish to come to NZ, it is what it is and there is no way around these requirments. Another immigrantion risk is failing the CAP and not being able to register with the Nursing Council. It does happen.

It is also important that nurses considering immigration to NZ review what the council defines as "competent" as some of it relates to some vague areas like cultural competency (NZ culture). NZ does not consider itself to be multicultural, but bicultural (European Kiwi and Maori). That is not my opinion, that is the reality.

Hope this helps...