Sponsoring foreign nurses, Philippine nurses by Nursing Agencies, Medical Staffing Agency and Nursing registry.

The past 7 years, there has been a demand for foreign nurses, especially nurses from the Philippines.  The first world countries such as the US, England, and the rest of European countries has been demanding foreign nurses because of the current shortage of registered nurses. In the U.S. itself, the demand is approximately 2 million full time RN.  Of the 100,00 plus foreign educated nurses in the US, 50 percent came from the Philippines. These nurses are sponsored by nursing agencies, hospitals, clinics, and rehab centers.

The U.S. National Council Licensure Examination, NCLEX, has licensure examination now in the Philippines. Now it is a lot easier for Philippine nurses to take the NCLEX. As before they have to travel to Hong Kong.  Since the US is experiencing a severe shortage of nurses and young Filipinos are out to fill that gap, its a logical thing to do to open a NCLEX testing site in Manila, Philippines.

Tips for American and foreign nursing agencies thinking of sponsoring Philippine nurses. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) is a government agency the registers and regulates recruitment agencies for Overseas Filipino Workers. They have several suggestions in the recruitment process for Philippine nurses.

• Transact nurse recruiting process only who are registered and license by POEA.

• Use the official registered address for the Philippine recruitment agency to conduct business.

• Do not pay more than the allowed placement fee, which can not exceed one month salary.

• Do not pay any placement fee until you have a valid contract and official receipt.

• Do not send processing fees to a Post Office Box and avoid brochures that are asking you to send payment.

• Do not attempt to negotiate business with a middle man or an third party agent.

The four basic requirements for foreign nurses, Philippine nurses for US permanent residence green card, are CGFNS and or the NCLEX, Visa Screen Certificate, and the language proficiency exam. Theses foreign nurses who passed the test can qualify to obtain a permanent residence with a qualifying sponsor.  The sponsors such as nursing agencies, hospitals, nursing homes, or other healthcare facilities may apply for permanent residence for foreign nurses. Because of the current shortage of nurses in the US, these nursing agencies and employers are exempted from filing labor certification with the U.S. Labor Department and State Employment agency.  The labor certification is cumbersome and takes time.

Majority of nursing board in the states require CGFNS before they can take the NCLEX.  These states are:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Nurses who have passed the NCLEX in states that do not require CGFNS may contact the nursing board directly for license endorsements.

Language proficiency exam requirement. All nurses who received their nursing education outside the US, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and Canada must pass the language proficiency exam.  They can take one of these certification: TOEFL, IELTS, TOEIC.

The testing site is located at
Pearson Professional Centers, 27th Floor, Trident Tower, 312 Senator Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City, Manila. Philippines.

Disclaimer: The information you obtain on this site is not intended to be legal advice.

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