New Visa Rules: Doctors, Nurses with valid OET scores need not to clear TOEFL, IELTS Exam to Work in UK

The candidates had to earlier take OET to register with Nursing and Midwifery Council and the General Medical Council, which are the two healthcare boards in the UK, as well as TOEFL or IELTS like exam to apply for visa.

New Delhi : Doctors, nurses, dentists and mid-wives who wish to practice in the UK will no longer have to appear for English language tests like TOEFL and IELTS if they are already registered with the respective UK councils as the country will now accept scores of Occupational English Test (OET) which the candidates have to anyway clear for registering with the relevant healthcare regulator.

The OET is an international English language test that assesses the language communication skills of healthcare professionals, who seek to register and practise in an English-speaking environment.

The candidates had to earlier take OET to register with Nursing and Midwifery Council and the General Medical Council, which are the two healthcare boards in the UK, as well as TOEFL or IELTS like exam to apply for visa.

"The UK Home Office has streamlined English language testing ensuring that doctors, dentists, nurses and midwives, who have already passed an English language test accepted by the relevant professional body, do not have to sit another test before entry to the UK on a Tier 2 visa," said Sujata Stead, CEO, Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment, which conducts the OET.

"This change which was announced last week will make sure that hospitals and medical practices across the country will be able to access the staff they need more quickly," she added.

The change will apply to all Tier 2 (General) visa applications submitted from October 1.

OET is conducted by Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment (CBLA), a venture between Cambridge Assessment English and Box Hill Institute. Cambridge Assessment English is a not-for-profit department of the University of Cambridge.

The test is recognised as proof of English proficiency for registration purposes by major healthcare boards and councils in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai, Singapore, Namibia and Ukraine. It is also accepted in Australia and New Zealand for visa and immigration purposes.

OET is used as an entry or exit test for healthcare courses by educators and as recruitment criterion for employment of healthcare professionals. The test is conducted for health practitioners from 12 professions---dentistry, dietetics, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatory, radiography, speech pathology and veterinary science.

At the same time, those who have not given the OET test may continue to rely on IELTS

Speaking to Medical Dialogues team, spokesperson fro IELTS explained, "The UK government has changed the rules regarding language testing for healthcare professionals who require a visa to live and work in the UK. Test takers and candidates who have taken an English language test when applying for the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the General Medical Council do not need to retake a test to apply for the visa."

Explaining further about the IELTS test, the spokesperson explained, " If you have a valid IELTS test report form, you can submit the same result for your visa. IELTS is accepted by the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the General Medical Council as evidence of your ability to communicate effectively in English."

The International English Language Testing System, or IELTS, is a standardised test of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers.

The Occupational English Test (OET) is designed to meet the specific English language needs of the healthcare sector. It assesses the language proficiency of healthcare professionals who wish to register and practise in an English-speaking environment.