Petition · past parliament
Lower NMC requirement to let registered nurses from overseas work during Covid19
Rejected
21 signatures
What the petition asks
Lower or change the requirements that registered nurses in UK from overseas must meet to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council to allow them to work during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council is responsible for maintaining the standards that nurses must meet to work safely. However, 2 tests, 3 if you are not from an English country, makes the registration process long, costly and difficult for overseas nurses to work in the UK. I have a degree which shows thousands of theoretical and practical hours, as well as many written and practical tests. Now during a pandemic I am not able to work. This is regarding overseas nurses already living in UK.
Why it was rejected
It asked for something that is not the responsibility of the UK Government or Parliament.
Decisions on the skills necessary in order for medical professionals to safely and effectively carry out their duties in England are the responsibility of the General Medical Council and Nursing and Midwifery Council, not the UK Government or Parliament.
We have published a petition calling on the Government to help international healthcare professionals to join the NHS, which you might like to sign: Help international healthcare professionals to join the NHS
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here:
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
We have published a petition calling on the Government to help international healthcare professionals to join the NHS, which you might like to sign: Help international healthcare professionals to join the NHS
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here:
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
Timeline
| 23 Mar 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 29 Apr 2020 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
21
Status
Rejected
Rejected
29 Apr 2020
Follow this petition
Sign in to get an email when the government responds, a debate is scheduled or held, or the petition closes.
Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.