How an overseas Nurse can obtain registration with AHPRA and skills assessment with ANMAC for Australian immigration visas

During the COVID 19 pandemic, Australia government has placed a series of restrictions and taken measures to halt the spread of the disease, including international border closure and imposing travel restrictions between states.

To recover Australia economic and public health response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Department of Home Affairs has announced 17 occupations on Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL) which will be prioritised more quickly than other occupations. The occupation nurse is also in PMSOL (See below list), and 254499 Registered Nurses nec has received the most invitations for the latest invitation round.

254111 Midwife

254412 Registered Nurse (Aged Care)

254415 Registered Nurse (Critical Care and Emergency)

254418 Registered Nurse (Medical)

254422 Registered Nurse (Mental Health)

254423 Registered Nurse (Perioperative)

254499 Registered Nurses nec

Are you a qualified overseas nurse or midwife?

midwife 1

If you are an Internationally Qualified Nurses and Midwives and want to work in Australia as a registered Nurse or midwife, then you may be eligible to get registered in Australia and apply for an Australian Visa.

The demand for skilled Nurses remains high in Australia.

The process includes 3 different steps. Which are:

Get registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (AHPRA)
Skills assessment from Australian Nursing & Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC)
Apply for the visa (Department of Home Affairs)

What are the requirements for the registration?

registrtion 1

Successfully completed the nursing education
Qualification is equivalent to Australian Bachelor degree (AQF level 7)
Have at least 800 hours of workplace experience in different health care settings
Certification from educational institute that proves of completing an assessment in medication administration and management
IELTS 7, PTE 65 & TOEFL 88 overall score and not less than that in any band
Professional’s skills and knowledge are up-to-date by meeting the recency of practice registration standard
Criminal history checked

If you meet the requirements, then here is your Guide to the Registration:

Self-assessment with Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency – AHPRA
On the basis of your self-assessment, you will be assigned to the stream A, B or C by Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) after an initial assessment.
- Stream A: Candidates who hold a qualification that is relevant but not significantly equivalent to an Australian approved qualification and satisfy the compulsory registration standards. You'll need to pay the assessment fee and complete Orientation Part 1 before completing the Portfolio stage

Stream B: Applicants who hold a qualification that is not significantly equivalent to an Australian approved qualification and satisfy the compulsory registration standards. It's recommended that you end your participation in the assessment process and upgrade your qualification if you wish to continue.

Once you are assigned to the stream A, B OR C then proceed further according to the stream.

Proceed for the Internationally Qualified Nurses and Midwives (IQNM) assessment process and pay the IQNM Assessment Fee

Attend the Orientation Part 1 – It is an online learning course providing an introduction to Australia and the Australian healthcare context

Portfolio (This is where you will be supplying the qualification and identification details and documentation

Attend Multiple Choices Question (MCQ) exam (MCQ Exam is a computer-based multiple-choice test, undertaken at a Pearson VUE testing centre)

Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). It is a clinical exam to assess the candidate’s knowledge, skills and competence at the graduate-level nurse or midwife.

Candidates who have successfully completed the Orientation Part 1, Portfolio, MCQ exam and the OSCE exam are now eligible to apply for registration in Australia.

If you are ready you can commence the self-check here:

https://forms.ahpra.gov.au/Infiniti/Produce/wizard/4be8391a-74ec-420a-83dd-7f0304e20432/?ID=4be8391a-74ec-420a-83dd-7f0304e20432&prepared=true&logGuid=318c80af-4efc-4af2-b646-be60f6597369

How can I apply for the registration once I am eligible?

Once you are eligible to apply for registration, the application form for the registration will be made available within your dashboard.

You can access the form and lodge the application. You need to submit the supporting documentation by post at the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) office in Victoria Aphra

GPO Box 9958

Melbourne

VIC 3001

What happen NEXT?

APRAH will review and verify your qualifications, proof of Identity and other documentations.

The NMBA will decide whether to approve your registration, propose to register with conditions, or propose to refuse your application. You will be notified the outcome by email of registration if your residential address is in Australia, or via a letter of in principle approval of registration if you are currently living overseas.

What is in principle registration?

If you have met all registration requirements, but only provided the minimum proof of identity evidence with your application (because you were not living in Australia at that time), the NMBA will provide you with a letter providing in principle approval for registration, valid for three months, and detailing the outstanding proof of identity requirements. This does not mean that you are registered.

What is the propose to register with conditions?

If your registered nursing qualification is assessed at less than Australian Qualification Framework level 7, you will not meet the requirements for registration. However, if you:

hold a qualification that:
is solely in mental health, paediatric or disability nursing
meets all criteria under the current model for registration, except criterion 3 (that your qualification is at AQF level 7 or above)
is at AQF level 6, and
meet all registration standards
the NMBA will grant registration with conditions, which will require a period of 12 months full time equivalent supervised practice. You will also have a notation on your registration.

Refer to the link for more information-

Nurses with a sole qualification in mental health, paediatric or disability nursing

Conditions for supervised practice

What is the next step after registration?

You need to get you skills assessment done from Australian Nursing & Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC).

When can I apply for the visa?

Once you have a positive skills assessment from ANMAC, you will be eligible to apply for an appropriate visa.

Summary:

STEP 1- Check the requirements for the registration

STEP 2- Check the requirements for the immigration

STEP 3- Complete the Self-assessment

STEP 4- Complete the orientation part 1 successfully (Stream A)

STEP 5- Complete the orientation part 1, portfolio, MCQ and OSBE exam (Stream B)

STEP 6- Lodge an application for registration and provide all documentations to AHPRA

STEP 7- Apply to be registered with NMBA

STEP 8- Receive registration

STEP 9- Get the skills assessed at ANMAC

STEP 10- Apply for a visa

STEP 11- Move to AUSTRALIA, get a job and work and live here.

About the Author: Wendy Guan – Registered Migration Agent in Adelaide South Australia

How can Work Visa Lawyers help?

WVL Team Photo 1

Work Visa Lawyers is highly experienced in all parts of the General Skilled Migration (GSM) visa applications. We are able to assist with all aspects of the application, and can also advise on complications in relation to:

skills assessments
nominating the appropriate ANZSCO code
state/territory sponsorship applications
difficulties in obtaining documents to demonstrate work experience or family relationships
upcoming deadlines which will affect your points total, such as age or expiring documents. We prepare your application efficiently to enable your visa application to be submitted as quickly as possible

Work Visa Lawyers will provide an eligibility assessment before advising you to proceed with a visa application.

Our team of experienced Immigration Lawyers and Migration Agents look forward to assisting you with your Australian visa or appeal.

Based in Adelaide South Australia, we provide Australian Immigration advice to people and businesses from all over the world.