Working in Healthcare in the UK: Homes for Ukraine
The regulations about working in any healthcare role, and how to register with the appropriate accredited bodies.
In the UK there are professional bodies that regulate health care professions.
To practice privately, or for the National Health Service (NHS), you will need to make sure you’re familiar with the standards you need to meet to work in the UK. You will also need to have the relevant qualifications and be able to prove certification. This also includes registration with the most appropriate professional body.
Dentistry: General Dental Council (GDC)
GDC registration process
The GDC is responsible for regulating dentistry qualifications and dental professionals to the UK dental register.
Only dentists and dental care professionals registered with the GDC can legally practise dentistry in the UK.
How to register as a dental professional in the UK is explained in the GDC’s legislation (“The Dentists Act 1984”) which is designed to make sure the public are kept safe. The legislation offers no faster ways to register.
Registration for dentists with qualifications from outside of the UK
- dentists with UK qualifications or European Economic Area (EEA) qualifications, are currently recognised for the purposes of registration. This is also the case for certain recognised overseas qualifications before 1 January 2001.
- dentists with Swiss nationality, or are a spouse or dependent of a Swiss national, should contact the GDC directly because they may be eligible for an assessment of their qualifications under the Swiss Citizens Rights Agreement
- dentists with qualifications gained from anywhere else in the world must pass one of following examinations before they can apply for registration:
- The Overseas Registration Exam (ORE)
- The Licence in Dental Surgery (LDS) exam, offered by the Royal College of Surgeons of England
If a dentist, who qualified overseas, is offered an approved, supervised post they can apply for temporary registration. An overseas qualified dentist can apply for temporary registration in specific approved posts if they hold a dental qualification from a university which is recognised by ENIC for the purposes of temporary registration and the Overseas Registration Examination (ORE).
Routes to registration for dental care professionals with qualifications from outside of the UK
- dental care professionals with qualifications gained from anywhere else, must apply for and successfully pass an individual assessment by the GDC before they can apply for registration: Registration for DCPs qualified overseas
- dental care professionals with Swiss nationality or are a spouse or dependent of a Swiss national, should contact the GDC directly because they may be eligible for an assessment of their qualifications under the Swiss Citizens Rights Agreement.
More information about how to join the GDC’s register.
There is also information for refugee dental professionals
Medicine: General Medical Council
The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of all medical doctors in the United Kingdom.
The GMC sets and enforces the standards all doctors must follow and is responsible for ensuring that medical professionals have the necessary skills and knowledge to join the UK medical register.
To work in the UK, all doctors must register with the GMC, hold a license to practice and meet the expected standards set out in the GMC’s Good Medical Practice.
Applying for UK registration
Depending on qualifications and experience, you can apply for UK registration with the GMC through different routes.
You can look at the list of overseas primary medical qualifications (PMQs) the GMC does not accept. There are currently four Ukrainian medical schools that the GMC does not accept PMQs from:
- Lugansk State Medical University, in Lugansk (students who began or completed their studies after 30 September 2014)
- Crimea State Medical University named after S.I. Georgievsky (students who began their studies after 1 March 2014)
- Crimean Medical Institute (students who began their studies after 1 March 2014)
- Vernadsky Crimean Federal University S.I. Georgievsky Medical Academy (students who began their studies after 1 March 2014)
- Dnipro Medical Institute of Traditional and Non-Traditional Medicine
Doctors who have qualified from a medical school on this list are not currently eligible to apply for GMC registration.
There is also a list of overseas PMQs the GMC may accept.
Doctors who have qualified from a medical school on this list need to have an assessment of their primary medical qualification before applying for GMC registration.
There are currently two Ukrainian medical schools that the GMC may accept PMQs from:
- Lugansk State Medical University, in Rubizhne (only for students who have transferred from another medical school)
- South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K.D. Ushynsky Faculty of Medicine
A doctor with an acceptable Ukrainian PMQ will still need to provide evidence of the knowledge, skills and experience to practise in the UK.
They have several options and how long it will take to get registration will depend on if they already have this evidence or if they need to get it. These options are:
- pass the UK overseas exam, Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board test (PLAB) 1 and 2
- have an acceptable postgraduate qualification
- accepted on a GMC approved sponsorship scheme
- eligible for entry to the GP/Specialist register
- pass an acceptable overseas registration exam
The GMC recognises that due to individual circumstances, doctors may not be able to provide the standard evidence needed to register. In these cases, the GMC will look at the application to see if it can accept alternative evidence instead.
If you contact the GMC about applying for registration, you will be directed to the appropriate support agency in their area to help you prepare for the GMC registration process. The GMC works directly with the refugee support agencies and gives specific advice for the applicants they are supporting.
For general questions about applying for registration contact the GMC.
For questions about PLAB bookings contact the PLAB team by email PLAB@gmc-uk.org
Support for doctors from Ukraine
Doctors may be eligible for help if they have been granted permission to enter or stay under the following schemes, or have been granted UK resettlement as a result of being a relevant spouse, partner or other family member under the following schemes:
- Ukraine Family Scheme
- Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship scheme
- Ukraine Extension Scheme
The GMC also offers support to all doctors from Ukraine, by offering priority places for PLAB tests if needed (see below) and financial support for registration fees and other application costs. The GMC also takes a flexible approach to evidence requirements and provides a dedicated adviser to help doctors through the application process.
To be classed as a refugee for PLAB/GMC registration, doctors must be granted refugee status under one of the following categories.
- Refugee status (having been recognised as a refugee under the 1951 United Nations Convention)
- Indefinite leave to remain (with refugee status)
- Indefinite leave to enter (with refugee status)
- Exceptional leave to remain (granted before 1 April 2003 with refugee status)
- Humanitarian leave to remain (also known as humanitarian protection, granted on or after 1 April 2003)
- Discretionary leave to remain (with no restrictions on working, granted on or after 1 April 2003 with refugee status)
- Leave to remain under any family settlement visa (family member with refugee status)
Evidence is usually a copy of a Biometric Residence card (BRP card), showing the visa status. Alternatively, Home Office letters/documents that clearly show the holder’s visa status may be acceptable. The GMC will assess acceptability on receipt.
NHS Performers Lists
If a Medical, Dental, or Ophthalmic practitioner wishes to practise in an NHS primary care setting, they must also join an NHS Performers List:
England: Performers Lists - Primary Care Support England
Northern Ireland: Family Practitioner Services
Scotland: Primary care services
Wales: Primary Care Services - NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership
Nursing: Nursing and Midwifery Council
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the UK and nursing associates in England.
If you want to register with the NMC you must meet their professional standards of training, education, practice and behaviour. The NMC maintains a publicly accessible register of those who can show that they meet these standards.
Registration for nurses and midwives with qualifications from outside the UK
To join the register, the NMC must be satisfied that an applicant who trained overseas is capable of practising safely and effectively in the UK.
The NMC assesses an applicant’s qualifications, training and experience against the registration standards.
You can read the guidance about the registration process.
As detailed in the guidance, applicants who have gained their qualification overseas need to complete:
1. an initial eligibility and qualification application
2. a full registration application
3. the NMC’s Test of Competence
As part of this process, applicants are asked to provide evidence of how they meet the NMC’s health and character requirement. An example of the type of evidence which may be needed is a declaration signed on behalf of the licensing body in the country in which the applicant is registered to practise.
Applicants also need to satisfy the NMC’s English language requirements.
If you don’t have all the documents you need
The NMC recognises that applicants may have difficulty providing some of the documents needed for registration. To support these applicants the NMC will consider applications on a case-by-case basis to see if they can accept alternative evidence or use alternative ways to verify documents where possible.
Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
The HCPC regulates the following professions in the UK:
- arts therapists
- biomedical scientists
- chiropodists/podiatrists
- clinical scientists
- dieticians
- hearing aid dispensers
- occupational therapists
- operating department practitioners
- orthoptists
- paramedics
- physiotherapists
- practitioner psychologists
- prosthetists/orthotists
- radiographers
- speech and language therapists
The HCPC:
- set standards for professionals’ education and training and practice
- approve programmes which professionals must complete to register with it
- keep a register of professionals, known as ‘registrants’, who meet its standards
- take action if professionals on its register do not meet our standards
Registration
International route
To be eligible to apply for registration through the HCPC’s international route you:
- must have trained in one of the relevant professions outside of the UK
- have not previously been registered with HCPC
You can read more about eligibility to apply for registration.
If you don’t have all the documents you need
If you’ve been granted refugee status or given leave to enter or remain status in the United Kingdom on humanitarian protection grounds, you can make a refugee application. Further information is available at Eligibility to apply for registration
Mental Health
‘Counsellor’ and ‘psychologist’ are not regulated professions in the UK, and there are no consistent set standards of education and training, requirements for continuous professional development, and no mandatory framework relating to supervision or insurance arrangements for practitioners to work in the UK.
The exception to this is ‘Practitioner Psychologists’ which are a regulated profession and must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) to practice in the UK.
As the independent regulator for this profession, the HCPC sets the standards that registrants must meet to demonstrate that they are capable of practising safely and effectively. However, if a trained Practitioner Psychologist opts to work in the capacity of a counsellor, then they don’t need to be registered with the HCPC.
Where a profession is not statutorily regulated, practitioners can join voluntary registers, often held by professional associations which set standards and publish non-statutory guidance for practitioners.
It’s not compulsory for unregulated practitioners to join an Accredited Register.
You can find registers that have passed the assessment of the Professional Standards Authority.
Last updated 19 February 2024 + show all updates
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Guidance has been updated following changes to the Homes for Ukraine Immigration Rules on 19 February 2024.
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