US Nurses Wishing to Work Overseas

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I am starting this thread as a sticky at the request of one of our members, for a place for those that wish to emigrate from the US to work as an RN.

Please feel free to post your concerns and questions about working overseas here.

Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
kathy88 said:
Hello all.....my first post on this forum! I am an American with an associates in nursing and a bachelors in General Science. Do I still need a bachelors in nursing to work in Europe? Also, what kind of VISA do I need? and is there an age limit? thanks Kathy

Most countries require a minimum of 3 years nurse training for the EU so your training must match that (all worked on hours). Also with EU directives on employing own citizen then EU before the rest of the world you may have problems finding an employer willing to assist you with a work permit (that is the visa you need) In the UK we do have a shortage list so if you have experience in that area and can find an employer you may have a bit more luck. Even before getting to the work permit stage you need to meet the requirements of the local country for nursing requirements and may require a pass in a language exam to show you are proficient fluently in the language of said country.

Post 145 on this thread has some UK links

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Hi all,

Silverdragon102, what about the language exam, I speak English, and very little Spanish. I am only interested in working in English speaking countries. what kind of exam is it?

Thanks,

Nancy (Hospiceprn)

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hospiceprn said:
Hi all,

Silverdragon102, what about the language exam, I speak English, and very little Spanish. I am only interested in working in English speaking countries. what kind of exam is it?

Thanks,

Nancy (Hospiceprn)

To work in the UK, you will be required to have at least a BSN from the US, this is required to meet the minimum requirements for the three year program that they are required to have.

The UK no longer even trains Enrolled Nurses, they have been converted to the RN with additional coursework, so you will need to have the RN after your name as a start.

But as Anna was mentioning, the UK essentially has a hiring freeze in place due to the number of lay-offs that they have had their in nursing. In order to get a visa that would permit you to work, you would be at the bottom of the list, jobs first go to those from the UK, and next to EU passport holders. Then to have a chance at a job as an American, you need to have considerable experience in an area that they have a shortage in.

As far as US military hospitals in Europe, you need the RN and at least two years work experience out of three years to be considered for most positions there. This is the only other way to work in Europe as an nurse and not have to meet licensing requirements for that country.

Hope that this helps.

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The other countries in Europe require that you pass the language exam for that country, as well as their licensing exam in their language before you can even look for a job for those that are reading this.

Same way that foreign nurses that wish to work in the US must pass the language exam as well as the NCLEX-RN before being able to get petitioned for the visa.

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Hello everyone, glad to be here.

I graduated from nursing school last year May, here in the U.S,with BSN and since then have not been able to find a sponsor to hire me. Therefore I am planning to leave the country, but I want to get a job overseas and probably work permits on hand before leaving.

The problem is that some of the hiring agencies for the middle East and Australian hospitals I spoke to are looking to hire experienced nurses but I don't know how to acquire this experience since I don't even have papers to work here in the US.

Please help!!! Anybody knows any place overseas that has short processing time for hiring foreign nurses or anything else for me to do?

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
faithhopeRN said:
Hello everyone, glad to be here.

I graduated from nursing school last year May, here in the U.S,with BSN and since then have not been able to find a sponsor to hire me. Therefore I am planning to leave the country, but I want to get a job overseas and probably work permits on hand before leaving.

The problem is that some of the hiring agencies for the middle East and Australian hospitals I spoke to are looking to hire experienced nurses but I don't know how to acquire this experience since I don't even have papers to work here in the US.

Please help!!! Anybody knows any place overseas that has short processing time for hiring foreign nurses or anything else for me to do?

Welcome to the site

I think you will not find many countries where the process is quick. You will for the most have to go through their nursing board and meet any requirements they have. You really need to decide where you want to live

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Hi, I am about to sign a contract with Alda Professional Placement Services, recruitement agency based in Texas. I'm not sure if they are credible?Anyone here handled by the said agency? Furthermore, they are asking me to have a pocket money for my transition phase although they are going to pay my apartment. I need advice regarding agencies. Pls. recommend me one. Thanks

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wax said:
Hi, I am about to sign a contract with Alda Professional Placement Services, recruitement agency based in Texas. I'm not sure if they are credible?Anyone here handled by the said agency? Furthermore, they are asking me to have a pocket money for my transition phase although they are going to pay my apartment. I need advice regarding agencies. Pls. recommend me one. Thanks

Before I start, please be aware that I do not know anything about this agency, and am just making general statements about any of these visas at this time.

There are no visas available for the US at this time, and please be very aware that if they are talking of the H1-C visa and offering you a four year contract, that the time frame on that visa runs out in 2010 and we do not know if the US government is going to renew them.

Not a smart idea to be accepting a visa like that right now, with not knowing when it will be cancelled; and it can be cancelled at anytime.

And with the fact that we do not expect the I-485s to be accepted for another few years, and then you will be stuck.

You should not be paying for anything, what did they offer you for the transition phase and in what capacity? There is no reason that your pay should be less if you are licensed already as an RN here.

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They are offering green card visa. The money for the transition phase is for my own expenses like things in the apartment and the like. Accordingly, I am not going to pay them the money, they wanted to be assured that I have money when the time that I will be travelling to US, so I have enough time to save. They dont want to loan money for my expenses, what they are trying to say is that I should bring the money myself when I will be ready to go to US "pocket money". What do you think suzanne?Thanks for clarifying.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
wax said:
They are offering green card visa. The money for the transition phase is for my own expenses like things in the apartment and the like. Accordingly, I am not going to pay them the money, they wanted to be assured that I have money when the time that I will be travelling to US, so I have enough time to save. They dont want to loan money for my expenses, what they are trying to say is that I should bring the money myself when I will be ready to go to US "pocket money". What do you think suzanne?Thanks for clarifying.

If they are offering GC then you have a few years wait in front of you due to retrogression so more than enough time to save money unless you are not planning on working whilst waiting. If that is all they want then fine but the end decision is yours to make

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faithhopeRN said:
Hello everyone, glad to be here.

I graduated from nursing school last year May, here in the U.S,with BSN and since then have not been able to find a sponsor to hire me. Therefore I am planning to leave the country, but I want to get a job overseas and probably work permits on hand before leaving.

The problem is that some of the hiring agencies for the middle East and Australian hospitals I spoke to are looking to hire experienced nurses but I don't know how to acquire this experience since I don't even have papers to work here in the US.

Please help!!! Anybody knows any place overseas that has short processing time for hiring foreign nurses or anything else for me to do?

Just noticed that you stated that you graduated last summer, if you did, and are not working now, what type of visa are you currently on? Or do you have an OPT?

There is no short processing time for any country, you will need to meet their licensing requirements, as well as immigration.

Best of luck to you.

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wax said:
They are offering green card visa. The money for the transition phase is for my own expenses like things in the apartment and the like. Accordingly, I am not going to pay them the money, they wanted to be assured that I have money when the time that I will be travelling to US, so I have enough time to save. They dont want to loan money for my expenses, what they are trying to say is that I should bring the money myself when I will be ready to go to US "pocket money". What do you think suzanne?Thanks for clarifying.

You are looking at about a five year wait for a chance at a green card. Please make sure that they will be in business then, as well as the facility where they plan to place you. If one of them drops out, then the contract gets cancelled and therefore the petition gets cancelled.

Not sure what they are calling the transition phase, that is what has me worried; it can be anything. They need to spell out in writing to you and in a contract specifically what you will be required to pay for. And be very specific about it.

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