How ready are you to register in the UK?
Pick your profession and route — PLAB, the NMC Test of Competence, OSPAP, the ORE or the HCPC international application — mark where you are on each real regulator requirement, and get an instant readiness score, a gap list, and a tailored step plan with indicative fees. Free, honest, information only.
Your readiness to register in the UK depends on how many of your regulator’s published requirements you have already met. An internationally-qualified doctor registers with the General Medical Council (GMC), usually via the PLAB route; a nurse joins the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register through the Test of Competence (CBT and OSCE); a pharmacist registers with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) via OSPAP; a dentist joins the General Dental Council (GDC) register through the Overseas Registration Exam (ORE); and an allied health professional joins the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Register through an international application. Each route shares the same shape — recognise your qualification, evidence your English, pass the required assessment(s), apply and pay the registration fee, and arrange a visa through a sponsoring employer if you need one. This checker scores where you are against those exact requirements. Figures shown are indicative snapshots with sources, current as of July 2026; always confirm the live amount with the regulator.
Check your readiness
The most common route for internationally-qualified doctors: evidence your English, pass PLAB 1 and PLAB 2, then apply to the GMC for registration with a licence to practise. You register with the General Medical Council (GMC).
Your readiness score
0 of 8 requirements met
You are at the start of this route. That is completely normal — the tailored plan lays out every step in order, with indicative fees, so you can budget and begin.
What is still between you and registration (8):
- A primary medical qualification the GMC recognises
- English language evidence to the GMC standard
- PLAB 1 passed
- PLAB 2 passed
- An acceptable pattern of internship / clinical experience
- GMC registration application submitted + fee paid
- A viable UK immigration route (if you need one)
- A plan to apply directly to UK employers, on your own account
UK GMC readiness via the PLAB route is measured against seven defined requirements — most of the assessment cost sits in the two PLAB exams before registration.
- PLAB 1 exam fee
- £268
- PLAB 2 exam fee
- £1,036
- English (IELTS 7.5 / OET B)
- test fee varies
+ 8 more not shown here. As of July 2026. Source: GMC registration guidance & 2025–26 fee schedule (gmc-uk.org).
Get your tailored step plan
Enter your email and we send your personalised, ordered plan to close every remaining gap — each step with its indicative fee and the documents to have ready, plus an alert when a regulator changes its fees or requirements. Information only: you apply directly, we do not place you and charge no fee.
The routes this checker covers
| Profession | Route | Regulator | Headline figure (indicative) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doctor | PLAB route (PLAB 1 + PLAB 2) | GMC | £1,304 — combined PLAB 1 + PLAB 2 exam fees (GMC 2025–26) |
| Doctor | Approved postgraduate qualification route (e.g. MRCP / MRCS) | GMC | 5 — core requirements checked on the postgraduate-qualification route |
| Nurse | Test of Competence (CBT + OSCE) | NMC | £1,170 — indicative NMC application, CBT, OSCE and first-year registration fees |
| Pharmacist | OSPAP route | GPhC | £783 — GPhC eligibility-application fee for the overseas route (non-refundable, 2025) |
| Dentist | ORE route (Overseas Registration Exam) | GDC | £7,567 — indicative ORE Part 1 + Part 2 fees (GDC, first sittings from Aug 2026) |
| Allied health professional | HCPC international application | HCPC | £29,970–£36,483 — indicative newly-registered NHS Band 5 pay, England 2024/25 |
Sources: GMC 2025–26 fee schedule and English requirement (gmc-uk.org); NMC published fees and Test of Competence guidance (nmc.org.uk); GPhC fees, 2025 (pharmacyregulation.org); GDC ORE fees confirmed 6 May 2026 (gdc-uk.org); HCPC fees and international application guidance (hcpc-uk.org); Health and Care Worker visa (gov.uk); NHS Agenda for Change pay, England 2024/25 (nhsemployers.org). Confirm current figures on each regulator’s website.
A note on ethical international recruitment
This readiness checker is general information and does not actively recruit from countries on the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List 2023 — which includes Nigeria, Ghana, Pakistan, Nepal and others. If you are a health worker from one of those countries, you may still apply directly, of your own accord, to a UK employer that is advertising a role. We simply do not build targeted recruitment funnels or country-specific corridor guidance for those countries, in line with the UK Code of Practice for International Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel (DHSC, March 2023).
Frequently asked questions
What does the readiness checker actually do?
You pick your profession and your registration route (for example the PLAB route for doctors, the NMC Test of Competence for nurses, OSPAP for pharmacists, the ORE for dentists, or the HCPC international application for allied health professionals), then mark where you are on each real regulator requirement — Done, In progress, or Not yet. The tool computes a readiness score and a gap list in your browser, and can email you a tailored, ordered step plan to close the gaps, with the indicative fee for each.
Is the score an official assessment by a regulator?
No. The score is a self-assessment you compute yourself from your own answers. It does not represent any decision by the GMC, NMC, GPhC, GDC, HCPC or the Home Office, and it is not a prediction of whether you will pass or be registered. It is a planning aid to show you what is done and what remains.
Where do the requirements and fees come from?
Each requirement is a published process fact from the relevant regulator or the Home Office, with the source named on the page. Fees are indicative snapshots — for example the PLAB 1 (£268) and PLAB 2 (£1,036) fees from the GMC 2025–26 schedule, the NMC CBT (£83) and OSCE (£794) fees, the GPhC £783 eligibility-application fee (2025), and the GDC ORE fees confirmed on 6 May 2026 for first sittings from August 2026. Regulator fees and English standards are revised periodically, so always confirm the current figure on the regulator’s website before you budget.
Is GeraClinic a recruitment agency?
No. GeraClinic and Gera Services Ltd do not recruit or place health workers, do not match you to specific UK vacancies, and never charge a health worker a placement fee. This is free, general readiness and pathway information for people exploring UK registration independently. You apply directly, of your own accord, to NHS trusts and other licensed employers.
Can I use this if I trained in a country on the WHO Safeguards List?
The readiness checker itself does not ask for your country and applies wherever you trained, and you can always apply directly, of your own accord, to a UK employer advertising a role. We provide information and do not actively recruit from — or build targeted corridor guidance for — countries on the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List 2023 (such as Nigeria, Ghana, Pakistan and Nepal), in line with the UK Code of Practice for International Recruitment (DHSC, March 2023).
Do I need a UK visa?
If you are not already able to work in the UK, the Health and Care Worker visa is the usual route. It requires a job offer with a Certificate of Sponsorship from a licensed UK employer, so a UK job offer normally comes first. Immigration rules are set by the UK Home Office (gov.uk), separately from your professional registration — the checker includes it as one of the requirements.
Related tools and guides
Registration checklist
The full step-by-step UK registration pathway for your profession, with fees and documents.
For doctors (GMC / PLAB)
Remote telemedicine work and the UK doctor pathway.
For nurses (NMC)
The full NMC Test of Competence pathway — English, CBT and OSCE.
Pharmacists (GPhC / OSPAP)
The OSPAP route, GPhC registration and UK pharmacist pay.
Dentists (GDC / ORE)
The Overseas Registration Exam, GDC registration and dentist pay.
Allied health (HCPC)
International HCPC registration for physiotherapists, radiographers and more.
Important — please read
This readiness checker is general information to help internationally-qualified health workers gauge their readiness for the relevant UK registration route. It is not legal, immigration or careers advice, and it is not a job offer or an assessment by any regulator. Your score is a self-assessment you compute yourself — it does not represent any decision by the GMC, NMC, GPhC, GDC, HCPC or the Home Office. Gera Services Ltd is not a professional regulator and is not a recruitment agency: it registers no one, matches no one to specific vacancies, and never charges a health worker a placement fee. You apply on your own account, directly to NHS trusts and other licensed employers. Requirements, fees and English standards change — always confirm the current position with the relevant regulator and GOV.UK before making any decision.