Frequently Asked Questions for Healthcare Employers
Considering international recruitment to fill your nursing vacancies? Below are answers to the questions healthcare employers ask us most often, covering ethics and compliance, cost, sponsorship, the clinical roles we can source and the support that protects your retention. To discuss your specific needs, request a free consultation or email hello@myhealthcarerecruit.com.
Ethics, compliance & risk
Is My Healthcare Recruit compliant with NHS ethical recruitment standards?
Yes. We operate in full alignment with the NHS Code of Practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel (updated March 2025), and we’re an approved supplier on both the NHS Workforce Alliance and Health Trust Europe (HTE) frameworks. We’re also DMW registered and ISO 27001 certified, giving you complete confidence that our sourcing is ethical, compliant and secure.
Which countries do you recruit from, and how do you comply with the WHO red and amber lists?
We recruit only in full compliance with the NHS Code of Practice, which means we do not carry out active, targeted recruitment from any of the countries on the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguard ‘red list’. This protects both the wellbeing of the health workers we place and the health systems of the countries on that list, and removes reputational and regulatory risk for you as an employer.
Do the roles you recruit for involve repayment clauses, and are they compliant?
Where a role includes a repayment clause, it follows NHS Employers’ guidance — meaning it is transparent, proportionate, time-limited, tapered over time, and waived in circumstances such as where a nurse experiences bullying, discrimination, poor working conditions or changes beyond their control. We support ethical, compliant terms that protect both the employer’s investment and the nurse’s wellbeing, helping you avoid the reputational risks associated with unfair tie-ins.
How do you safeguard against modern slavery and exploitation in your recruitment?
Candidates never pay us a fee to be recruited or placed — all our fees are paid by the employer, which is a core protection against the exploitation and ‘agent fee’ scams reported elsewhere in the sector. Combined with our compliance with the NHS Code of Practice and our ethical sourcing approach, this gives you confidence that your international recruitment supports, rather than exposes, your Modern Slavery Act obligations.
Where is data stored, and are you ISO 27001 certified?
Yes, we are ISO 27001 certified and handle candidate and client data in line with UK GDPR. Information security is built into our processes, giving your procurement and information governance teams confidence in how we manage data.
Cost, contracting & the immigration landscape
How much can international recruitment save us compared to agency and bank staff?
Recruiting a permanent international nurse can save you around £39,000 a year compared with an agency locum nurse, and around £15,500 a year compared with a bank nurse. These savings come from reducing reliance on temporary staffing while filling vacancies with permanent, committed team members. We can model the likely savings for your organisation as part of a consultation.
How do the 2025–26 immigration changes affect the cost and eligibility of recruiting nurses?
The immigration landscape has changed significantly, and we help you navigate it. Recent changes include the Immigration Skills Charge rising 32% to £1,320 per person per year, the Certificate of Sponsorship fee rising from £239 to £525, and increased English language thresholds for the Skilled Worker route — though our nurses already meet the high English standard the NMC requires. Importantly, registered nurses remain fully eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa. We keep on top of these changes so you can budget with confidence and stay compliant.
What is included in your fee, and what happens if a placement doesn’t work out?
Our fee covers the end-to-end process — sourcing, compliance, Certificate of Sponsorship handling, immigration support, our OSCE Accelerator and extensive pastoral care. Our OSCE Accelerator also comes with a pass guarantee: if a nurse doesn’t pass their OSCE using it, you get your service fee back in full. We’ll agree clear terms, including any replacement arrangements, as part of your framework/ contractual agreement.
How does sponsorship work — do we have to handle the Certificates of Sponsorship?
We can handle Certificates of Sponsorship on your behalf. We partner with a trusted firm of immigration solicitors who register as Users on your Sponsor Management System (SMS), so we can issue Certificates of Sponsorship and process visas for you — included in our service fee at no extra cost. This removes a significant administrative burden from your team.
Are you on the Workforce Alliance and HTE frameworks, and how do we contract with you?
Yes — we’re an approved supplier on both the NHS Workforce Alliance and Health Trust Europe (HTE) frameworks, so you can contract with us compliantly through either. Get in touch and we’ll guide you through the call-off and onboarding process for your organisation.
How long does it take to recruit and deploy an international nurse?
The typical time between offer and deployment is around 8 weeks for candidates outside the European Economic Area, and our OSCE Accelerator can shorten time to NMC PIN by up to 4 weeks once they arrive. Actual timelines depend on document, NMC and visa processing, and we keep you informed at every stage.
How are you helping trusts respond to the target to reduce international recruitment over time?
With government policy steering the NHS toward greater domestic supply and retention, our value is in helping you recruit fewer, better-matched nurses who stay. Our 94% retention rate, faster time to PIN and extensive pastoral care mean lower re-recruitment costs and a more stable workforce — helping you reduce reliance on both temporary staffing and high-volume international hiring, ethically.
Clinical roles, quality & integration
Which nursing specialties and clinical roles can you source?
Beyond Adult/General nurses, we can source Mental Health nurses, Children’s/Paediatric nurses and specialist areas such as ICU, theatres and emergency, as well as associate nurses. We also recruit allied health professionals including radiographers, physiotherapists and Operating Department Practitioners (ODPs). Tell us your workforce gaps and we’ll advise on what we can realistically supply.
What is the OSCE Accelerator and how does it benefit our organisation?
Our OSCE Accelerator University™ is an online learning platform that gives international nurses a head start on their OSCE training before and after arrival, reducing the training burden on your OSCE education teams and speeding up time to NMC PIN by up to 4 weeks. We’re so confident in it that we guarantee your nurse will pass their OSCE using the programme, or you get your service fee back in full.
What pastoral care do you provide, and why does it matter to us?
We provide extensive pastoral care, which is a major reason we achieve a 94% staff retention rate — directly protecting your recruitment investment. This includes support with accommodation, welcome food shops, orientations, bank account and GP registration, OSCE training and test booking, and travel coordination. Well-supported nurses settle faster and stay longer, reducing costly re-recruitment.
What cultural integration and inclusion support do you provide?
We support new nurses to settle both professionally and personally through orientation, cultural familiarisation and ongoing pastoral contact after they arrive. Good integration reduces early attrition and supports an inclusive workplace, protecting both your retention and your reputation as an employer.
Getting started
What types of healthcare organisations do you work with?
We provide permanent nursing and allied health staff to the NHS, private healthcare providers and nursing homes, including dementia, nursing, residential and specialist care settings. Whether you’re a hospital trust or an independent provider, we tailor our sourcing to your clinical and cultural requirements.
What is a video CV and how does it help our hiring team?
A video CV lets your team see and hear candidates before interview, helping you assess communication skills and cultural fit far earlier in the process. Combined with video interviewing, this gives you a hiring advantage and faster, more confident decisions. You can request a sample video CV from our website.
How do we get started?
The simplest way to start is to request a free consultation, where we’ll discuss your vacancies, timelines and the savings and support we can offer. From there we manage the end-to-end process — sourcing, compliance, sponsorship and relocation — so your team can focus on delivering care.
Why choose My Healthcare Recruit over other international recruiters?
We combine ethical, Code-compliant sourcing with a technology-driven, applicant-centric process and hands-on pastoral care, delivering a 94% retention rate and 5-star ratings on Trustpilot and Google. Our OSCE Accelerator, all-inclusive immigration support and video CV technology are designed to reduce your costs, administrative burden and vacancy rates — while keeping you on the right side of the ethics and compliance that matter most.