Overseas and planning to return to New Zealand

The following outlines the requirements to support your application for an annual practising certificate (APC):

• Contact the Nursing Council to request an APC application pack.  Please ensure you have your full name, NZ registration number, date of birth and current postal address when contacting the Nursing Council.
• If you have completed a minimum of 450 hours of nursing practice in the last three years, however this has been completed overseas not in New Zealand, we will ask you to provide evidence of your employment hours.  This could be in the form of an employment letter, confirming where you have been employed and the number of hours worked.  The employment letter must be on letterhead and include the contact details of the author.  We will also accept pay slips (either originals or certified copies) as long as they show hours practised.
• A “Letter of Good Standing” or “Verification of Good Standing” from the overseas regulatory authority with which you have been registered will also be required.  This letter/verification will state the period you were registered and a declaration that no disciplinary action has or is to be taken against you (ie you are of good standing).  The regulatory authority needs to send this directly to the Nursing Council of New Zealand.  The Nursing Council will not issue a full APC until this information has been provided.

In some cases a Regulatory Authority may have an online verification check.  Please contact the Nursing Council to check if the online verification check is sufficient.

If you have practised in a country with no regulatory authority, please contact the New Zealand registration team (using the link below)

• The Nursing Council also requires you to have completed a minimum of 60 hours professional development in the last three years.  You are not required to provide evidence of this with your application.  The Nursing Council conducts recertification audits on five percent of nurses each year and you will be required to provide evidence of professional development at the time of audit.
• If you do not meet the required nursing practice or development hours outlined above, you can still apply for an annual practising certificate.  The Nursing Council will ask you to complete the supplementary information, this will then be assessed by the Nursing Council (a practising certificate may be issued with conditions).
• If you have not practised for five years or more, you are required to attend a return to nursing course.  Please click here for a list of course providers.

If you require further information or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the New Zealand registration team by clicking on the following link: nzreg@nursingcouncil.org.nz