No Country Swaps Your Nursing Licence. But Three Use the Same Written Exam, and a Fourth Waives Its Own for It

Published 21 October 2026 · Luke, co-founder of NCLEX BANK · 10 min read

"Can I use my nursing licence in another country?" It is usually the first thing a nurse looks up before working abroad. Here is the short answer. Of the seven countries checked for this article, none simply swaps a foreign nursing licence for its own. Each one looks at the education you had, then sets its own exam or assessment. But there are fewer exams than countries. In the United States, Canada and Australia, the written exam is the same one: the NCLEX-RN. And the UAE waives its nursing licensing exam for nurses who have passed the NCLEX. This article lines up the seven routes from each regulator's own pages, with the parts that matter if you trained in India, the Philippines, Nigeria, Pakistan or Kenya.

1. No country swaps your licence

"Nursing licence transfer" sounds like swapping a driving licence at the border. For nurses moving between countries, that process does not exist. The regulators say so in their own words:

• United Kingdom (NMC): unless you hold a relevant European qualification that meets the rules for automatic recognition, you take the NMC's Test of Competence
• Canada (CCRNR): anyone applying to practise as an RN outside Quebec must pass the NCLEX-RN and meet the other requirements of a provincial regulator
• Australia (NMBA): your qualification is assessed against three criteria and placed in one of three "streams", and most nurses educated abroad sit an exam
• New Zealand (Nursing Council): if your education did not take place in one of six named jurisdictions, its self-check says you will have to complete the tests of competence
• United States (state boards): the state looks at your nursing education and requires the NCLEX-RN, whatever licence you hold at home

So the question every regulator asks is not "do you hold a licence?" but "what education did you have, and can you pass our exam?" Your home licence still matters. Most regulators ask for proof that you are registered at home and in good standing. It is one condition among several, not a ticket.

2. Seven countries side by side

Here is the whole picture first: the written exam, the clinical exam (OSCE) and where you take it.

• United States. Written: NCLEX-RN. Clinical: none. Licences are issued by each state
• Canada (outside Quebec). Written: NCLEX-RN. Most provinces start with an education report from NNAS; if your education is not judged equivalent, extra assessment or courses can follow
• Australia. Written: NCLEX-RN. Clinical: OSCE, in Australia only
• United Kingdom. Written: the NMC's computer-based test (CBT). Clinical: OSCE, in the UK only
• New Zealand. Written: the Nursing Council's own theory exam. Clinical: OSCE, in Christchurch only, after a two-day course
• UAE. Written: the licensing exam of the health authority you apply to (Dubai's DHA, for example). Waived if you have passed the NCLEX
• Singapore. The Singapore Nursing Board will not consider an application until a Singapore hospital has offered you a job, and the hospital's HR team applies for you

Outside the three NCLEX countries, each exam stands alone. Passing the UK's CBT does not excuse you from New Zealand's theory exam, and the reverse is also true. Until you choose a country, you do not know which exam to study for. That is the first fork in the road.

3. Three countries use the NCLEX-RN

The NCLEX-RN is known as the American nursing exam. It is not only American.

• Canada: the Canadian Council of Registered Nurse Regulators says that anyone applying to practise as an RN in Canada, except in Quebec, must pass the NCLEX-RN. Canada switched to it on 1 January 2015
• Australia: the NMBA states that its multiple-choice exam for internationally qualified RNs is the NCLEX-RN. If you passed the NCLEX-RN within 10 years of opening your portfolio, you skip that stage

The fee depends on which country's registration you are aiming for:

• US or Australian registration: $200
• Canadian registration: CAD 360 (plus local taxes)
• Testing outside the US and its territories adds an international scheduling fee of $150 (CAD 150 for Canada), plus VAT where it applies
• From 1 February 2027, the registration fee rises to $350 for the US and Australia, and CAD 570 for Canada

You do not have to travel to the country to sit it. NCSBN's list of international test centres (October 2026 edition) includes India (Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mohali, Mumbai, New Delhi, Noida, Pune and Surat), the Philippines (Makati and Alabang), Pakistan (Lahore) and Kenya (Nairobi). There is no centre in Nigeria or Ghana. The exam is the same wherever you take it, and the country you test in has nothing to do with the country you register in.

4. The fourth: the UAE waives its exam

The UAE's four health authorities (the federal Ministry of Health and Prevention, Abu Dhabi's Department of Health, the Dubai Health Authority and the Sharjah Health Authority) share one rulebook: the Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements, third version, April 2025. Its chapter on exam equivalency says that nurses and midwives with "proof of successfully completed National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX)" from the USA, Canada or Australia are exempted from the licensing exam. There are conditions:

• the pass record must be valid when you apply; if the document does not state a validity, it is accepted for five years from issue (21.3)
• the exemption does not apply if you have been out of practice for more than two years (21.4)
• the exemption covers the licensing exam only; every other requirement stays (21.2)

The same chapter also exempts nurses with a valid licence from a list of 20 countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Singapore. India, the Philippines, Nigeria, Pakistan and Kenya are not on it. For a nurse educated in those countries, the NCLEX is the waiver you can actually earn.

5. Where your education sits in Australia

Australia's NMBA assesses a nursing qualification against three criteria:

1. it leads to registration in the country where you trained
2. the country's system for quality assurance and accreditation of nursing education meets the NMBA's standard
3. it is at the academic level of an Australian bachelor's degree (AQF level 7)

Meet all three and you are in Stream A: you can apply to register without the exams. Meet the first and third only and you are in Stream B: the NCLEX-RN, then the OSCE in Australia.

For the second criterion, the NMBA publishes three lists of countries, based on past assessments. The final decision is still made person by person, but the lists tell you what to expect:

• Likely to meet: Canada, Hong Kong (nursing), Ireland, Singapore, Spain, the UK and the US
• May meet: includes Pakistan, Malaysia, South Africa and South Korea
• Unlikely to meet: includes India, the Philippines, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka

If you trained in India, the Philippines or Nigeria with a bachelor's degree, the realistic plan is Stream B: the NCLEX-RN and the OSCE. A qualification below bachelor level (AQF 5 or lower, such as a diploma) falls into Stream C, where the NMBA advises upgrading the qualification first.

6. The UK and New Zealand set their own exams

United Kingdom: the CBT and the OSCE

The NMC's Test of Competence has two parts. The CBT is a computer test you can take at test centres in many countries. The OSCE is a practical exam taken only at the NMC's test centres in the UK. The NCLEX does not count towards either. One exception is worth knowing if you hold an EU nursing qualification: an adult nurse or midwife whose European qualification meets the rules for automatic recognition does not take the Test of Competence, even if they are not an EU national.

New Zealand: a theory exam, an OSCE and 1,800 hours

New Zealand does not use the NCLEX either. Its two tests are a theory exam and a clinical OSCE, taken in person after a two-day course at the Nurse Maude Simulation & Assessment Centre in Christchurch. Before either, there is a condition that rules out new graduates: every applicant needs 1,800 hours of post-registration nursing experience. New Zealand also asks for a bachelor's degree in nursing or its equivalent for RN registration.

7. English: studying in English is rarely enough

Many nurses from India, the Philippines, Nigeria and Kenya studied entirely in English. That alone rarely excuses you from an English test.

• UK: the NMC's list of "majority English-speaking countries" (based on the UK Home Office list) does not include India, the Philippines, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana or Pakistan. Without a test, you need evidence that your programme was taught and examined in English, plus supporting information. Otherwise it is IELTS (7 in reading, listening and speaking, 6.5 in writing) or OET (B, with C+ in writing)
• US: the VisaScreen certificate exempts you only if your nursing education was in the UK, Australia, Canada (except Quebec), New Zealand, Ireland or the US, in English
• Australia and New Zealand set similar levels: around IELTS 7 overall, with 6.5 in writing

The scores for each country are laid out in detail in the nurses' English test scores article.

8. A US licence can shorten the next move

One more link between countries. Registering and working in the US can reduce the exams you face elsewhere. It depends on the country, and on where you were educated.

• Australia (Pathway 2, from 23 April 2025): if you passed a regulator's exam for internationally qualified nurses in one of the "comparable jurisdictions" (the UK, Ireland, the US, British Columbia and Ontario in Canada, Singapore and Spain), have held RN registration there since 1 January 2017 and have practised at least 1,800 hours there since then, you can apply without the NMBA's exams. In the US, that exam is the NCLEX-RN. Your primary nursing qualification must be dated on or after 1 January 2017
• UAE: a valid US licence is on the list of 20 countries whose licence holders are exempt from the licensing exam, if the qualification was obtained within the last two years or there is no gap in practice since the last job
• New Zealand: here it works differently. The route without tests is for nurses educated in the UK, Ireland, Ontario, British Columbia, Singapore or the US. On the Council's own self-check, a nurse educated in India who holds a US licence still takes the tests. Nurses with current Australian registration can register in New Zealand under trans-Tasman mutual recognition

These are two-step routes: home country, then the US, then a third country. Each regulator checks the conditions against your full documents. But it is worth knowing that a US licence earned through the NCLEX can count for more than one country.

Summary

1. None of the seven countries swaps a foreign licence. Each assesses your education and sets its own exam or assessment
2. The US, Canada (outside Quebec) and Australia all use the NCLEX-RN as the written exam. Canada since 1 January 2015; in Australia, a pass within 10 years skips that stage
3. The NCLEX costs $200 (CAD 360 for Canada), plus $150 outside the US. From 1 February 2027: $350 and CAD 570
4. NCLEX centres include 15 cities in India, Makati and Alabang in the Philippines, Lahore and Nairobi. None in Nigeria or Ghana
5. The UAE waives its licensing exam for NCLEX passers (valid record, no more than two years out of practice). Saudi Arabia does not
6. In Australia, India, the Philippines, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana are on the "unlikely to meet" list, so plan on the NCLEX-RN plus an OSCE in Australia. Pakistan is on the "may meet" list
7. The UK and New Zealand use their own exams, with the OSCE only in the UK or Christchurch. New Zealand also requires 1,800 hours
8. Studying in English rarely exempts you from an English test
9. A US licence can help in Australia (Pathway 2) and the UAE, but in New Zealand what counts is where you were educated

Frequently asked questions

Can I use my nursing licence in another country?

Not directly. Of the seven countries checked for this article (the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, New Zealand, the UAE and Singapore), none simply swaps a foreign nursing licence for its own. Each regulator assesses the nursing education you had and sets its own exam or assessment. Your home licence is usually one of the documents you submit, as proof that you are registered and in good standing, but it does not complete registration on its own.

Which countries accept the NCLEX?

The NCLEX-RN is the written registration exam in the United States, Canada (except Quebec, since 1 January 2015) and Australia (its multiple-choice exam for internationally qualified RNs; a pass within 10 years skips that stage). The UAE's unified qualification requirements (April 2025) exempt nurses with an NCLEX pass from the licensing exam, if the pass record is valid and they have been out of practice for no more than two years. The UK and New Zealand do not use the NCLEX, and Saudi Arabia's SCFHS does not mention it.

Do I need an English test to work as a nurse abroad?

Almost always. Australia, the UK, New Zealand and Ontario ask for around IELTS Academic 7, with about 6.5 in writing. The UK and New Zealand accept IELTS and OET. Studying nursing in English in India, the Philippines, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana or Pakistan does not by itself exempt you: those countries are not on the UK's majority English-speaking list or the US VisaScreen exemption list.