NMC Registration Cost in 2026: Full Fee Breakdown for Overseas Nurses
The NMC's own fees for an overseas nurse come to £1,170 in 2026: a £140 qualification evaluation fee, an £83 CBT, a £794 OSCE and a £153 fee for admission to the register. That is only part of the bill. Add an English test, document costs and the visa, and a realistic all-in figure is £700–£1,050 out of pocket with an NHS sponsor — or roughly £1,900–£2,900 if you fund everything yourself. Here is every pound, stage by stage, and who usually pays it.
What the NMC itself charges
Four separate payments stand between an overseas-trained nurse and a PIN. Two go to the NMC, one to Pearson VUE and one to a UK test centre.
| Fee | Amount (2026) | Paid to | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualification evaluation | £140 (non-refundable) | NMC | When you submit your eligibility application |
| CBT — computer-based test | £83 per attempt | Pearson VUE | At booking, sat in your home country |
| OSCE — practical exam | £794 per full attempt | Approved UK test centre | At booking, normally after arriving in the UK |
| Admission to the register | £153 | NMC | Final step, after passing both tests |
A point that confuses many applicants: there is no separate Test of Competence application fee. The £140 evaluation fee opens your application, and you then pay the test providers directly for the CBT and OSCE. These are the figures as of July 2026 — the NMC reviews its fees periodically, so check the current schedule before each payment.
The full budget, stage by stage
The table below is a first-attempt, self-funded budget from first booking to PIN. The English test range covers IELTS Academic at roughly £200–£245 (it varies by country) and OET, priced at AUD 587 — roughly £300–£370 depending on where you sit it and the exchange rate.
| Stage | Typical cost | Running total |
|---|---|---|
| 1. English test — IELTS Academic or OET | £200–£370 | £200–£370 |
| 2. NMC qualification evaluation | £140 | £340–£510 |
| 3. CBT at a Pearson VUE centre | £83 | £423–£593 |
| 4. OSCE at a UK test centre | £794 | £1,217–£1,387 |
| 5. Admission to the register | £153 | £1,370–£1,540 |
| 6. Supporting costs — verification, translation, police certificate, courier | £100–£300 | £1,470–£1,840 |
The English test deserves the most respect in this budget, because it is the stage most people repeat. The NMC accepts IELTS Academic at 7.0 overall (6.5 in writing) or OET at grade B with C+ in writing — and writing is where most near-misses happen, so budget for one resit. The NMC also accepts scores combined across two sittings taken within six months, subject to conditions in its English language guidance, which can rescue a near-miss without a full third attempt. Structured coaching pays for itself here — see our OET preparation for nurses.
The CBT is the cheap test: £83, sat at a Pearson VUE centre in your home country, with any resit at the same £83. Format, booking and a preparation plan are covered in our NMC CBT guide.
Supporting costs vary by country but rarely stay at zero: verification from your home nursing council typically costs £20–£100 equivalent, certified translations run at roughly £30–£60 per page if your documents are not in English, a police or character certificate is usually under £30 equivalent, and couriering paper documents costs £40–£80 per shipment. One saving: the NMC verifies IELTS and OET results online, so you do not normally pay to send paper transcripts.
OSCE resits and prep courses: where budgets blow up
The OSCE is a ten-station practical exam, and its resit rules decide whether your budget survives. Fail seven stations or fewer and you resit only those stations for £397. Fail eight or more and you pay the full £794 again. You get a maximum of three attempts per application — fail the third and you start a new application from the beginning.
Put that in perspective: one full OSCE resit costs more than the evaluation fee, the CBT and the registration fee combined (£376). It is the single most expensive mistake in the whole process.
Preparation is the other variable. If an NHS trust employs you, it will usually run in-house OSCE preparation at no cost to you. Self-funders who buy a private course should budget roughly £400–£1,100 — the University of Dundee's five-day preparatory course, for example, is £1,100 including VAT as of 2026. What the exam involves, and how we prepare candidates for it, is covered on our NMC OSCE page.
Visa costs — and the £1,035 a year you will not pay
Most overseas nurses enter on the Health and Care Worker visa. Since 8 April 2026 the application fee is £324 for a visa of up to three years and £628 for more than three years — dependants pay the same rates. The route's biggest advantage is what you do not pay: holders are exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge, which costs other migrants £1,035 per adult per year — £5,175 over a five-year visa.
Two smaller items sit alongside the fee. If you apply from a listed country — Pakistan, India, Nigeria and the Philippines are all listed — you need a TB test from an approved clinic, typically £35–£75 equivalent; in Pakistan the IOM clinics charge around PKR 14,000–15,000. Biometric enrolment costs about £19.20, though some visa application centres bundle it or charge extra for premium appointments. You must also show £1,270 held for 28 days, unless your sponsor certifies your maintenance — most NHS trusts do. The full route is explained on our Health and Care Worker visa page.
Who usually pays what: employer versus you
An NHS job offer transforms this budget, because sponsoring trusts absorb several of the biggest lines. Practice varies between trusts and is less generous in private-sector care, so treat this table as the typical pattern, not a promise.
| Cost | Typically paid by |
|---|---|
| Certificate of Sponsorship — £525 | Always the sponsor; Home Office rules forbid recouping it from you |
| OSCE fee — £794 | Usually the employer, often the first attempt only |
| OSCE preparation course | Usually the employer, run in-house |
| Visa application fee — £324/£628 | Often paid or reimbursed by the employer |
| Flights and initial accommodation | Sometimes — commonly a few weeks of free or subsidised housing |
| Immigration Health Surcharge | Nobody — the route is exempt |
| English test (and any resits) | Almost always you |
| NMC evaluation, CBT and registration — £376 | Usually you; some employers reimburse after you start |
One warning before you celebrate a funded package: almost all of them carry a repayment clause. Resign within a set period — commonly two to three years — and you repay part of the relocation investment. Before signing, get four things in writing: the total repayable figure, what triggers repayment, how it reduces month by month, and what happens if you fail the OSCE. A repayment clause is normal; an uncapped one is a reason to walk away.
The realistic total — in £, PKR, INR and NGN
Bringing it together: with an NHS sponsor covering the OSCE, prep and visa, most nurses spend £700–£1,050 of their own money. Fully self-funded — including one English resit and a modest prep course — plan for £1,900–£2,900.
| Route | GBP | PKR (approx.) | INR (approx.) | NGN (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| With NHS sponsorship | £700–£1,050 | 280,000–420,000 | 84,000–126,000 | 1.5m–2.2m |
| Fully self-funded | £1,900–£2,900 | 760,000–1,160,000 | 228,000–348,000 | 4.0m–6.1m |
Those conversions use illustrative rates of roughly PKR 400, INR 120 and NGN 2,100 to the pound — exchange rates move constantly, so budget at today's rate, not this table's. For the route map that sits alongside these costs, see our step-by-step guide for Pakistani nurses.
How to spend less
Pass first time — it is the single biggest lever. Every resit costs twice: the fee itself, plus more weeks on pre-registration pay instead of a Band 5 salary. A full OSCE resit alone adds £794; an IELTS retake adds £200-plus and six more weeks. Money spent on serious preparation almost always costs less than the resit it prevents.
Target employers with a funded OSCE package. The difference between the two rows in the table above is £1,200–£1,850. Ask directly at interview what the trust pays for, whether prep is in-house, and whether the package covers a resit.
Never pay to be placed. UK employment agencies cannot lawfully charge you a fee for finding you work, and NHS employers recruit under an ethical recruitment code. A recruiter demanding a "processing" or "placement" fee — or offering to sell you a Certificate of Sponsorship at any price — is running a scam, not a shortcut.
What you pay after you register
Your PIN is not a one-off purchase. Every nurse on the register pays an annual retention fee, currently £120. The NMC has approved a rise to £143 from 1 October 2026, subject to Parliamentary approval — its first increase in eleven years, and a reminder that every figure on this page is reviewed periodically. Revalidation, due every three years, carries no separate NMC fee.
Budget £143 a year from late 2026 onwards, check the NMC's fee page before each renewal, and treat the retention fee as non-negotiable: miss it and you come off the register, and cannot work as a nurse until readmitted. The whole journey from evaluation to PIN, with timelines, is mapped on our nurses hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does NMC registration cost in total in 2026?
The NMC-related fees total £1,170: £140 evaluation, £83 CBT, £794 OSCE and £153 admission to the register. With the English test, documents and visa added, expect £700–£1,050 out of pocket with an NHS sponsor, or roughly £1,900–£2,900 fully self-funded.
Who pays the £794 OSCE fee?
Usually your NHS employer — most sponsoring trusts pay the OSCE fee, and typically the in-house preparation course too. Cover often extends to the first attempt only, so a resit may fall on you. Get the exact scope of the package, including resits, in writing before you sign.
Do overseas nurses pay the Immigration Health Surcharge?
No. Health and Care Worker visa holders and their dependants are exempt from the IHS, which costs other visa applicants £1,035 per adult per year. Over a five-year visa that exemption is worth £5,175 per person — the largest single saving in the whole route.
How much is the OSCE resit fee?
£397 if you failed seven stations or fewer, because you resit only the failed stations. If you failed eight or more, you pay the full £794 again. You get a maximum of three attempts per application; failing the third means starting a new application from the beginning.
Is the NMC annual fee increasing?
Yes. The NMC has approved an increase in the annual retention fee from £120 to £143 from 1 October 2026, subject to Parliamentary approval — the first rise in eleven years. Application, CBT and OSCE fees were unchanged as of July 2026, but check the NMC fee schedule before you pay.
Knowing the full cost before you start is the difference between a planned move and a stalled one. Global Pathways builds your complete NMC budget, prepares you to pass the CBT, OSCE and OET first time, and manages the visa alongside. Book a free consultation.