Internationally trained nurses seeking registration in New Zealand shall in the first instance submit your documents and credentials to CGFNS in order to complete the CGFNS credentials verification process and receive their report.
Once you have received your report, you need to request CGFNS to send it to the Nursing Council of New Zealand. It will take up to three working days to receive your report. You will then receive an email inviting you to complete the application process for registration with the Nursing Council.
Following application to the Nursing Council of New Zealand, The Nursing Council will assess your application against the seven registration standards and make a decision regarding your registration. You will be asked to make a declaration for fitness for registration and to complete a criminal history check. The sewen registration standards are as follows:
Identity:
You must be able to prove that you are who you say you are.
English Language:
To register in Aotearoa New Zealand, you must satisfy us that you are able to communicate effectively, and that your ability to communicate in and comprehend English is sufficient to protect the health and safety of the public. The most common pathway to provide evidence of your English language competence is to pass a Nursing Council approved English language test. The Nursing Council approved English language tests are Occupational English Test (OET) and International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic. For OET you must achieve a minimum score of 350 for reading, listening, and speaking; and a minimum score of 300 for writing. For IELTS Academic you must achieve a minimum score of 7 for reading, listening, and speaking; and a minimum score of 6.5 for writing. You can achieve the minimum score in the English language tests over more than one sitting; however, the required score must be met within 12 months of first sitting the test and met within three years of your CGFNS report being transmitted to Nursing Council. Please note that the Nursing Council of New Zealand does not currently accept online computer-based tests. However, computer-based tests administered in an approved testing centre are accepted (this includes the OET on computer at venue with the speaking sub-test that is hosted online).
Nursing registration:
You must hold a current overseas nursing registration. You must provide verification of good standing from all jurisdictions where you have registered and worked within the last 5 years.
Nursing qualification:
Your nursing qualification must be comparable to a Bachelor of Nursing degree in New Zealand.).
Post-registration experience:
You must be able to provide evidence in the form of a self-declaration that you have practised nursing for at least two years (including 2,500 hours) within the last five years, as defined below. If you have not worked as a nurse for at least two of the last five years, you may still apply for the credential verification service. However, there is no guarantee that you will be recommended for registration. If you have no post registration experience at all, you are not eligible to apply for registration.
Fitness to practice:
You must be able to demonstrate you are fit for registration. You will be advised when to apply for your criminal history checks during the application process. Please note that the Nursing Council has changed the requirements for International Criminal History Checks (ICHC). If you submitted your application to Nursing Council on or after 01 August 2022, we will require you to complete ICHC only for countries that you have lived in for 12 months or more in the last 7 years. If you submitted your application to Nursing Council prior to 01 August 2022, you are still required to complete ICHC for any country that you have lived in for 12 months or longer within the last 10 years.
Competent to practice:
You must be able to demonstrate that you are competent to practise in New Zealand. Many nurses who have been registered overseas will need to successfully complete a Competency Assessment Programme (CAP) before we can grant New Zealand registration. The CAP prepares overseas registered nurses for the registered nurse role and healthcare context of New Zealand, which is different to many other countries. If you hold current registration in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Singapore, the United States of America or Canada, you may not need to complete a CAP because the registered nurse role and healthcare context in these countries is similar to New Zealand. We will advise you if you need to complete a competence assessment programme after we assess your application. CAPs are generally six to twelve weeks long and include theory and clinical components. Kindly take that the Nursing Council of New Zealand is preparing to commence a new strategy to assessing competency and the CAP courses may fade out soon.
After meeting the standards outlined above, the Nursing Council will complete the registration process and invite you to apply for a practicing certificate which entitles you to practice in New Zealand.