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THE CAP PROGRAM IN NEW ZEALAND - HOW TO BECOME A RN IN NEW ZEALAND

Nursing is the one of the most respected professions in New Zealand and with many other benefits attached. A registered nurses’ professional career gets going as soon as they get their registration in due to shortage of nurses in New Zealand, eligibility assessment for residence applications is given priority by Immigration New Zealand.

Being a Registered Nurse comes with many perks attached, mainly

You can start your work as soon as you get registered, upon Accredited Employers
Eligibility for straight to PR as nurses are given priority due to the shortage and included in the Green list.
High Annual Income - between NZD 57,000 to 90,000 p.a.
Government offers 10,000 NZD as CAP Reimbursement
Family can accompany while you are coming for CAP
Practice in the best health settings.
High Standard of living and ability to provide your family a safe and welcoming environment to grow up in

New Zealand Nursing Registration

In New Zealand, there are various ways by which one can become a registered nurse. Your qualifications and experience are of utmost importance for New Zealand nursing registration. Meeting the Nursing Council of New Zealand (NCNZ) standards is still the last step, though.

Nursing Council of New Zealand (NCNZ) Requirements

Academic Qualification	Work experience	IELTS	OET
Bsc/Post Bsc/Msc	Minimum 2500 hours in last 5 years	Minimum score of 7 [reading, listening, and speaking] 6.5 [writing]	Minimum score of 350 [reading, listening, and speaking] 300 [writing]
In IELTS and OET, clubbing scores are acceptable within one year

How we can help you with the 5-step New Zealand Nursing Registration Process

1. Credential Verification

Apply to The Credential Verification Service for the Nursing Council of New Zealand (CVS- NCNZ) CGFNS International Inc

Tutel have a dedicated portal in CGFNS New Zealand as an authorised agent. The validity of your employment history, personal identification information, and educational credentials would next be checked by CGFNS International. This procedure establishes that your credentials and work history are real and meet NCNZ regulations.

Once the report is complete, CGFNS New Zealand will forward the same to NCNZ.

2. Registration

After reviewing the report, the NCNZ will decide on your registration. Once these actions are finished, you can apply for your Annual Practicing Certificate (APC).

You will receive an email invitation from the Nursing Council of New Zealand inviting you to submit an application within 30 days.

3. NCNZ Application & Approval

Your application will be evaluated with respect to the 7 registration standards by the NCNZ which are as follows:

Identity
Current Registration
English Language
Nursing Qualifications (Bachelor's Degree of Nursing or equivalent)
Post Registration Experience (minimum 2 years)
Fit to Practice
Competent to Practice

4. History Check

At this point, you must submit a criminal history check and declare your suitability for registration.

5. APC Application

Once your registration is accepted, you must submit an application for your APC (Annual Practising Certificate). You can now practise nursing in New Zealand thanks to this.

*APCs are given out yearly according to a person's birthdate. Based on your birthday's proximity to the annual renewal date, the renewal price for your account is computed.

Competency Assessment Programmes (CAP)

Who is required to take them?

CAP Program in New Zealand

The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act of 2003 mandates that registered and enrolled nurses in New Zealand who have been out of the workforce for five years or more must complete a Competence Assessment Programme (CAP) before receiving a practising certificate.

You might need to pass a CAP course if you were registered overseas. If this is necessary, you will be informed by the NCNZ.

If you were registered in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Singapore, the USA, or Canada, you might not need to complete a CAP if you moved to New Zealand because the job of a registered nurse and the healthcare environments are similar.

We engage with CAP providers and place our candidates in the appropriate facilities as a New Zealand Registered Company.

Apply for VISA through New Zealand Immigration Advisers

We have two immigration advisers for our New Zealand Immigration support with great VISA success. We provide complete assistance throughout your VISA process.

We have to keep the New Zealand Adviser Logos

New Zealand Licensed Immigration Adviser -IAA :2018006655

New Zealand Licensed Immigration Adviser -IAA :201800100

After Successful completion of Visa, we will help our Nurses for

Air ticket arrangement
Accommodation Arrangement
Part time / full time job assistance
Family Settlement
Residency VISA Support

Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)

A new paradigm for registering nurses who received their education outside of Aotearoa New Zealand will be implemented, according to the Nursing Council of New Zealand. Beginning in 2024, they shall evaluate a nurse's ability to practise safely on a direct basis rather than solely relying on paperwork.

This new paradigm is comparable to the one currently employed in Australia, the UK, and some other jurisdictions. It will entail evaluating an applicant's talents, knowledge, and skills directly through three key steps:

A test that assesses a nurse's theoretical and conceptual nursing knowledge that is administered online. The State Final Examination, which domestically educated nurses must pass in order to be registered, will serve as the basis for this.
A course that introduces nurses to the essential characteristics and setting of nursing in Aotearoa New Zealand. Te Tiriti's role and significance for nursing will be discussed, along with our unique approach to ideas like cultural safety, the health and disability system, and our culture and nursing practice standards.
An OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation). In a simulated setting, this will evaluate a nurse's clinical and professional abilities.

In order to facilitate this, NCNZ will also establish a distinct dedicated path for Internationally Qualified Nurses (IQNs) who want to enrol as nurses on the Register.

“We are confident this new model will preserve public safety, which is our core statutory role, and reflects modern good practice in regulation” said Catherine Byrne, Chief Executive & Registrar of the Nursing Council. “Requiring all nurses to complete an education module also helps ensure that from day one they understand the unique environment, culture, and expectations of nursing in Aotearoa New Zealand – including our specific approach to concepts such as cultural safety.”

Byrne added that this will ease the regulatory load on foreign nurses who wish to work here. “Because we will assess nurses’ competence directly, we can reduce the amount and type of other evidence we require. For example, rather than requiring a minimum number of recent practice hours, we will only be asking nurses to have practised for at least a year after gaining their initial qualification.”

Frequently Asked Questions

The beginning of 2024 has been set as the deadline for implementing this new paradigm. These changes won't immediately affect your application if you are an IQN who is currently applying, being assessed, or thinking about moving to Aotearoa New Zealand to practise.

Nurses won't need to finish a Competence Assessment Programme (CAP) before signing up for the Register once the new model is in place.

Fee structure has not been published yet, however, it will be less than or equal to current cost of CAP.

Through a succession of simulated clinical scenarios, or "stations," an OSCE evaluates practice abilities. A candidate is evaluated on an individual basis at each station for how they performed in a particular clinical scenario created to test a certain skill area. These evaluation methods were first created in the 1970s and are now widely utilised for evaluating health professionals all around the world. For instance, the NZREX Clinical examination of foreign physicians by the Medical Council of New Zealand follows an OSCE format.

CAPs are programmes that a nurse can use to show they are competent and safe to practise in Aotearoa New Zealand; they are not currently designed as learning experiences. In the new approach, the initial test is used to evaluate conceptual competence while the OSCE is used to evaluate clinical competence. The education module will be created especially to teach IQNs about what it means to be a nurse in Aotearoa New Zealand, as well as how our context for health and practising may differ from the nations in which they were educated initially and have since worked as nurses.