SIFE for applicants

If you meet certain requirements, you may be able to use supporting information from your UK employer as additional evidence of your English language skills 

Contents 

• What is SIFE? 
• Who can use SIFE? 
• What evidence is needed for SIFE? 
• The SIFE process   
• Who can provide SIFE? 
• Communication with your employer 
• Manual SIFE

What is SIFE? 

Everyone who applies to our register must show they have the necessary knowledge of English to practise safely and effectively in the UK. 

Supporting information from employers (SIFE) is a form of employer reference. It can be used to support internationally educated professionals to register with the NMC, but only alongside other forms of English language evidence. 

Only applicants who meet specific requirements are eligible to use SIFE. This to ensure that we have robust evidence of your ability to communicate effectively in English and to practise safely in a UK health and care setting. 

Employers should only provide a SIFE reference if they have seen clear evidence of your English language skills in practice, over at least 12 months. The decision to provide SIFE is at your employer’s discretion. They do not have to agree to provide SIFE, even if you meet the requirements for this evidence type.  

Who can use SIFE? 

SIFE is supplementary evidence, which means that we can only accept it alongside other forms of English language evidence. You may be eligible to use SIFE if you have: 

• Completed a pre-registration programme which was taught and examined in English, in a country where English is not the majority spoken language 

or  

• Attempted two English language tests and have narrowly missed the required score in any one language domain by no more than 0.5 in IELTS or half a grade in OET  

To use SIFE, you must have: 

• Been working in a non-registered role in a UK health or care setting, for a minimum of 12 months full-time (or full time equivalent), at the point you submit your NMC application 
• Been working with the same employer for at least 12 months, and had the same line manager for at least 6 months 
• Had no more than two line managers over the whole 12-month period 

The SIFE reference must be from your current employer. This means you must still be working with the employer who provided SIFE at the point when you submit your completed NMC application.  

What evidence is needed for SIFE? 

To be able to provide SIFE, employers must have seen substantial evidence of the applicant’s language skills in practice.  
Line managers should only agree to provide SIFE if they have worked closely with the applicant and have been able to observe their clinical interactions in English, with people who use services, their families, carers, and other healthcare professionals. 
Employers should ensure that applicants have demonstrated key communication competencies, based on the CEFR framework and the requirements set out in our Code. Line managers may wish to refer to the resources below, when considering how applicants have demonstrated these competencies. 

The SIFE process 

The key steps in this process are: 

• Applicants who are eligible and wish to use this evidence type should first speak to their employer about the possibility of using SIFE. 
• The employer should consider whether they are able to support the applicant by providing this evidence. Line managers should refer to the information on these pages to assess whether they have seen enough evidence of the applicant’s English language competence. 
• If the employer agrees to provide SIFE, the line manager(s) and counter-signatory supporting the application will need to provide their name and PIN for the applicant to enter into their NMC Online registration application. 
• The applicant can then nominate their employer to provide SIFE via their NMC Online registration application. 
• When the applicant has completed this step, the line manager(s) will automatically receive a link to provide SIFE information via their own NMC Online account. 
• When providing SIFE, the line manager will need to confirm, using Yes/No responses, whether they have seen the applicant demonstrate key competencies in their use of English (for example, interacting with patients and people who use services). 
• The line manager will also need to confirm basic details about the applicant’s employment (for example, their contract type and dates of employment). 
• When the line manager has completed the relevant sections they will need to submit their information via their NMC Online account. 
• The counter-signatory will then receive a link to provide their SIFE information via their own NMC Online account. 
• When the counter-signatory has completed their sections they can submit their information via NMC Online. 

When should you start the SIFE process? 

There is no specified order in which you must complete your Test of Competence and provide the other evidence we need as part of an application (including SIFE where relevant). However, we can only assess an application when it is complete and we have received all relevant evidence. Our website provides a helpful pre-application checklist for applicants. 

Completing the SIFE application  

We will not review your SIFE information until you have submitted your full NMC registration application, including completing your Test of Competence.  

If you move to a new employer after providing SIFE but before submitting your completed NMC application, we will not be able to accept the SIFE application. 

If you move to a new employer after submitting your completed application, while your application is still being processed, we can accept the original SIFE application. However, we will need to see additional evidence of your language competence to show that your language skills have not deteriorated. This should be a letter or similar evidence from your new employer, confirming your role and dates of employment, and verifying that there are no concerns regarding your English language competence. 

Submitting SIFE is not a guarantee that you will be able to register and receive a PIN. Our team will need to assess the contents of the form against our criteria, and consider the full application before making a decision. Our standard Service Level Agreement (SLA) for assessments is 30 days. 

Maternity and sick leave 

We ask applicants to provide evidence of 12 months’ employment (or full time equivalent) at the point of application. If you are on maternity leave or sick leave when you complete your NMC application, you are still able to apply using SIFE as long as you have been with your current employer for the required time period. 

Who can provide SIFE? 

The SIFE reference must be provided by your line manager, who should be an NMC registrant at NHS Band 6 (or non-NHS equivalent) or above. Your manager completing SIFE must have worked closely with you and have been able to observe your clinical interactions, in English, with people who use services, their families, carers, and other healthcare professionals. 

Because of the requirement for close observation by the employer, we know that SIFE will not be a suitable option for all applicants. Professionals in some work settings, such as bank or agency staff, may not work closely with their line manager and may therefore not have completed enough employer-supervised practice to be able to provide this type of evidence. 

The SIFE reference must be counter-signed by a senior manager at the same employer, who should be an NMC registrant at NHS Band 8a (or non-NHS equivalent) or above. 

We can accept supporting information from up to two line managers (at the same employer) to cover the 12-month period. In this scenario, both line managers will be required to complete the SIFE form, in addition to the counter-signatory. 

You should not be asked for payment or any other additional conditions in exchange for receiving SIFE from your employer. If this happens, please contact overseas.enquiries@nmc-uk.org so we can investigate this further.  

If you have already paid someone or undertaken any other conditions to obtain SIFE, please notify us, using the email address above.   

Communication with your employer 

If you meet the employment requirements for SIFE and would like to explore this evidence option, you should first ask your employer if they would consider providing SIFE to support your registration application. 

You can direct them to our SIFE for employers page for more information. 

Remember that the decision to provide SIFE is at your employer’s discretion, and they have the right to decline your request. 

Your employer may ask you to provide additional evidence of your English language competence, to support your manager’s decision-making. You should speak with your manager in the first instance to discuss your options. 

If you have enrolled on an English language programme through your trust or ICS bureau, please stay on the course and liaise with your line manager and/or bureau leads on your next steps. You should not leave the course until you receive final clearance from the NMC that you have provided sufficient evidence of your English language proficiency. 

Manual SIFE 

If you are submitting your registration application after 27 May 2023, you will be asked to nominate your SIFE line manager and counter signatory via NMC Online.

If you submitted your application before 27 May 2023, you will be contacted directly via a message on your NMC Online application portal to provide the details of your line manager. This will be only after we have assessed your application and have identified you may be eligible to use Manual SIFE.

What is the difference between the automated SIFE and manual SIFE process?