California Board of Registered Nursing now requires local NLE

Yes i already did and would try to do your program for the review as well. Thanks again.

I've been doing some research, and it really does seem that more and more applicants are being sent the letter from the CA BRN requiring the local license before being considered for taking the NCLEX. I got off the phone with the CA BRN a few days ago and they said that for international graduates, the local license has always been a requirement and that you would need to send a copy of your nursing diploma and a letter of explanation if you did not have it for any reason. It really would be a case-to-case basis just as Suzanne said.

Now for those such as myself who were not able to take the Philippine NLE due to them not being a Filipino citizen, I was able to contact the PRC International Affairs Division regarding my problem. They said that they would issue a Certificate of Ineligibility to take the nursing licensure exam and mail it to any recipient (such as the CA BRN) that requires it, as well as to the applicant for his or her own records. All they would need is a copy of your passport, transcript of records (don't need to be mailed directly from your college, they may be copies provided by you), a letter of request, and the necessary processing fees, around 100 pesos.

I also clarified from them once and for all whether I could sit the exams or not being a US citizen. They gave me a straight "NO", and that you must be a Filipino citizen to take the board exams. I still don't know how that information about being able to sit the Philippine NLE as a foreign national but not receive a license came into existence. I wasn't able to clarify about the eligibility of former Filipino citizens who became foreign citizens through naturalization to take the local NLE though. So for those who became US citizens through naturalization, your best bet would be to contact the PRC yourselves and ask them. Just PM me if you need their telephone number. And for those who are only immigrant status, I guess since you still hold a Philippine Passport, it means you will still have to take the local NLE since you would still be considered eligible for the exam.

Hope this information proves useful for those who are in my situation, worried whether they would be granted an ATT or not. And for future nursing graduates planning to move to the US immediately after graduation and apply for nursing licensure, be sure to take the local boards if you ARE ELIGIBLE before you head out! It would definitely save you the trouble...and the worries.

I've been doing some research, and it really does seem that more and more applicants are being sent the letter from the CA BRN requiring the local license before being considered for taking the NCLEX. I got off the phone with the CA BRN a few days ago and they said that for international graduates, the local license has always been a requirement and that you would need to send a copy of your nursing diploma and a letter of explanation if you did not have it for any reason. It really would be a case-to-case basis just as Suzanne said.

Now for those such as myself who were not able to take the Philippine NLE due to them not being a Filipino citizen, I was able to contact the PRC International Affairs Division regarding my problem. They said that they would issue a Certificate of Ineligibility to take the nursing licensure exam and mail it to any recipient (such as the CA BRN) that requires it, as well as to the applicant for his or her own records. All they would need is a copy of your passport, transcript of records (don't need to be mailed directly from your college, they may be copies provided by you), a letter of request, and the necessary processing fees, around 100 pesos.

I also clarified from them once and for all whether I could sit the exams or not being a US citizen. They gave me a straight "NO", and that you must be a Filipino citizen to take the board exams. I still don't know how that information about being able to sit the Philippine NLE as a foreign national but not receive a license came into existence. I wasn't able to clarify about the eligibility of former Filipino citizens who became foreign citizens through naturalization to take the local NLE though. So for those who became US citizens through naturalization, your best bet would be to contact the PRC yourselves and ask them. Just PM me if you need their telephone number. And for those who are only immigrant status, I guess since you still hold a Philippine Passport, it means you will still have to take the local NLE since you would still be considered eligible for the exam.

Hope this information proves useful for those who are in my situation, worried whether they would be granted an ATT or not. And for future nursing graduates planning to move to the US immediately after graduation and apply for nursing licensure, be sure to take the local boards if you ARE ELIGIBLE before you head out! It would definitely save you the trouble...and the worries.

People not having Filipino Citizenship has always not been allowed to take the NLE and has always been accepted by CA BRN as being a valid reason to not having it. That was not the issue at all.

The issue was that before Jan. 2008, applicants who are Filipino Citizens but chose not to practice in the Philippines were allowed to make a letter of explanation to why they did not take the NLE or could not furnish a copy of the local license and a simple general explanation of "having no intention to practice in the Philippines" was enough for CA BRN to waive that requirement, regardless if they are allowed to take the NLE or not by Philippine Law or if they took it but failed.

At present, that explanation is not currently being accepted anymore by the Boards and only those who are explicitly not allowed to take the NLE, or unable to such as not holding a Filipino Citizenship are the ones that are being waived of that requirement.

The ones being handed the "denial letters" by the Board starting at the start the year are the ones that still made an explanation letter citing other reasons other than not being eligible to take the Boards per Philippine Law as some still do choose to not take the NLE (or failed it) even though they are actually eligible to take it.

Yeah I know what you mean. I've always known that I could not take the local NLE in the Philippines and the CA BRN would waive me the requirement for the local license. I just got bothered about that info regarding being able sit the local NLE even if not a Filipino citizen and simply not being issued a license for it. I needed to clarify that with the PRC to allay any future confusion and worry. I read about another applicant's situation who was also sent a denial letter asking for a local license. He called the CA BRN to clarify his situation and faxed them a copy of his passport and birth certificate as proof of citizenship. He was issued his ATT a week later.

It's surprising that the CA BRN sent someone a denial letter saying that he could sit the Philippine NLE even as US citizen and that they simply wont issue a license after passing it. I'm guessing this was just a one-time instance of error, and it really confused me and a bunch of other people waiting in the dark for their ATT.

Yeah I know what you mean. I've always known that I could not take the local NLE in the Philippines and the CA BRN would waive me the requirement for the local license. I just got bothered about that info regarding being able sit the local NLE even if not a Filipino citizen and simply not being issued a license for it. I needed to clarify that with the PRC to allay any future confusion and worry. I read about another applicant's situation who was also sent a denial letter asking for a local license. He called the CA BRN to clarify his situation and faxed them a copy of his passport and birth certificate as proof of citizenship. He was issued his ATT a week later.

It's surprising that the CA BRN sent someone a denial letter saying that he could sit the Philippine NLE even as US citizen and that they simply wont issue a license after passing it. I'm guessing this was just a one-time instance of error, and it really confused me and a bunch of other people waiting in the dark for their ATT.

It was most probably an error as you said or there might be more into it. The Board really can't take it at face value and just believe someone is a US Citizen just because he or she says so on a letter without proper documentations and/or have a letter coming from the PRC.

You should realize that a few individuals may try and tell something they are not just to be granted eligibility.

hi fellow nurses:smokin: !

i just passed the june 2008 NLE . i am applying for NCLEX in CA i passed all the requirement except for the copy of the local license because PRC is not yet releasing i substitute by giving a copy of my Certification of passing ,rating and an explaning why i dont have a copy of my license... is this enough for me to get a eligibility ? how long would it take to get an eligibility ?????? many thanks !!!

hi fellow nurses:smokin: !

i just passed the june 2008 NLE . i am applying for NCLEX in CA i passed all the requirement except for the copy of the local license because PRC is not yet releasing i substitute by giving a copy of my Certification of passing ,rating and an explaning why i dont have a copy of my license... is this enough for me to get a eligibility ? how long would it take to get an eligibility ?????? many thanks !!!

Congratulations for passing the local boards! Maybe you can call the BRN and asked about this, its good if you can speak to an evaluator to get a straight answer. It took less than 2 months for me to get my eligibility, my school in P.I did not send my TOR right away. Best of Luck to you.

:yeah:

thanks for the fast reply... are gonna review for nclex? is kaplan nice or what? i hope i can get my eligibility ASAP hooray for you!:clown:

I am working on Suzanne's first step on Saunders book right now, you can read threads here regarding kaplan to get an idea. Are you here in California right now or still in P.I?

am still here in PI so i really dont have any idea my moms in CA.i am having second thoughts in takin my nclex in CA because i dont have a SSN i read in this forum that after 3 yrs if u dont pass you SSN the BON in CA will forfeit your license if u dont give the uy SSN right ?