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FAQs on maintaining or revalidating your professional registration when your spouse or partner is posted abroad

This comprehensive guide is designed to answer some of the common questions and concerns you may have about maintaining your professional healthcare validation or registration while you are posted abroad with your serving partner or spouse. It provides essential information and practical advice shared by a variety of regulatory bodies to ensure that your credentials remain up-to-date and valid during your time overseas.

Additionally, this guide offers valuable support to help you revalidate your professional status upon your return to the UK.

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We are hosted a webinar on 26 March 2025 at 10:00am where the registration bodies and subject matter experts provided more information about this guide. Watch them below.

I am registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

To maintain your registration with the NMC, you need to revalidate every three years.

The NMC does this to help you continually develop and reflect on your practice. The process also encourages you to reflect on the role of the Code in your practice and demonstrate that you are living the standards set out within it.

Supporting information for nurses, midwives, and nursing associates undergoing revalidation is available on the NMC website. The guidance and information page provides resources on the revalidation requirements, CPD activities, and reflective practice, as well as supporting information for employers and confirmers.

You can leave the register and rejoin later. There are different options for rejoining, which usually depends on how much time has lapsed since you were on the register.

If you leave the register in the six months prior to your revalidation date, you will need to complete the revalidation requirements in addition to the standard requirements for readmission.

To re-join the register, you’ll need to apply for readmission, where you’ll need to show you meet a number of requirements, including minimum number of practice hours that you must undertake. Full details of the requirements are on the NMC website.

If you’ve not been on the register for some time, it’s unlikely that you will meet the minimum practice hours requirement and you’ll need to complete either an NMC approved return to practice programme, or a Test of Competence.

Details on the process for returning to practice after some time away are the NMC website.

For advice on your registration as well as revalidating, you can contact the NMC’s different registrations teams, depending on where you trained:

This will depend on how long you plan to be overseas, and when you last revalidated.

To maintain your registration during this time, you will need to meet the revalidation requirements every three years. This will mean ensuring that you can undertake the necessary practice hours, CPD, reflective discussion, and have access to an appropriate confirmer, alongside the additional requirements set out in the NMC guidance.

Everyone on the NMC register needs to maintain their registration through revalidation every three years. This includes 450 practice hours, or 900 hours if you hold dual registration e.g. as a nurse and midwife. Any hours worked overseas can be counted towards these practice hours. Where possible, you should always register with the appropriate regulator in the country in which you are practising.

If you are unable to meet this requirement during the time you are based overseas, then you will need to complete a return to practice programme or take a Test of Competence.

Any queries relating to working remotely while overseas should be directed to your employer.

For queries around maintaining your registration and revalidating while based overseas, you can contact the NMC Registrations UKenquiries@nmc-uk.org.

Any queries around contractual requirements, notice periods or other employment issues should be directed to your employer.

Any queries around unpaid leave and returning to a previous role after a period of leave should be directed to your employer.

If your registration has lapsed support is available from NHS England to enable your return to practice, as your experience and skills are invaluable. Further information is available on the Health Careers website. Alternatively, you can contact either your NHS England regional or national return to practice leads, who will arrange a call to discuss any queries you may have.

You can contact the lead for the area you will be moving to from the list:

If you have an active registration but not currently working in clinical practice the Back to the Floor programme could be suitable for you.

I am registered with the General Medical Council (GMC)

You can relinquish your licence to practise while you are posted overseas with your serving partner or spouse.

This will allow you to retain registration and means you remain in good standing with the GMC. The licence to practise is a requirement for UK based practise and anyone who holds one is subject to revalidation.

You can relinquish and restore your licence online through your GMC account. When you are planning on returning to the UK you can apply for the licence up to three months in advance of restoring.

The GMC have more detailed information about relinquishing your licence on their website.

You can remain registered with the GMC but give up your licence to practice. This means you will pay a reduced annual fee. Plus, you would be able to reapply for your licence when you return to the UK after your spouse or partner’s posting.

You will need to submit an application to give up your licence, this becomes effective immediately or you can chose a date in the next 28 days for this to take effect.

These is more detailed guidance about the process on the GMC website.

When you restore your licence, you can only restore it to the level you previously held. If you want to change this, you may need to go through additional revalidation.

Depending on if you have been working whilst your spouse or partner was stationed abroad you may be asked to provide documentation to cover this time.

You can read more about the documentation you will need to provide and the timescales for receiving your license on the GMC website.

If you are working as a doctor outside the UK, you usually do not need a licence but can continue to hold registration. You are not subject to revalidation, although you may need to supply a reference from your overseas employer when reapplying for your license

The GMC cover more things you might want to consider on their website.

If your registration has lapsed support is available from NHS England to enable your return to practice, as your experience and skills are invaluable. Further information is available on the Health Careers website. Alternatively, you can contact either your NHS England regional or national return to practice leads, who will arrange a call to discuss any queries you may have.

You can contact the lead for the area you will be moving to from the list:

If you have an active registration but not currently working in clinical practice the Back to the Floor programme could be suitable for you.

I am registered with the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC)

The HCPC website section on registration covers what you are expected to do in order to maintain registration. Besides renewing every two years, this includes ensuring you continue to meet the Standards of Proficiency (that relate to your scope of practice), the Standards of Conduct, performance and ethics, and their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements.

For any specific queries the HCPC registration team can be contacted at registration@hcpc-uk.org.

Yes, it is possible to either leave the register, or simply not renew at the renewal window. Both of these actions will remove you from the HCPC register. You are then able to apply to re-join at any point.

Depending on how long you have been off the register there may be an additional readmission fee.

More details about re-joining the Register can be found on the HCPC website.

This depends on how long you would be off of the HCPC register for.

If you leave and return within two years, then you can re-join with no additional requirements. You will, of course, be expected to make sure that you meet the appropriate requirements and can practise safely and effectively within your scope of practice, in line with our standards.

If you apply to re-join between two and five years after leaving, the HCPC requires 30 days of updating of skills and knowledge, and for over five years it is 60 days. Furter information on the specifics around this can be found on the HCPC website.

There is a section on the HCPC website dedicated to readmission. It contains application forms, and guides to help fill them in. Which forms you need to complete will depend on the length of time you were off of the register.

Once HCPC have received your readmission form and fee, they will process them as quickly as possible. Normally it takes 10 working days for this, but it can be much quicker.

You can contact the HCPC registration team, who can help with any further questions. They can be contacted via email using registration@hcpc-uk.org.

In any situation, regardless of location, to remain on the HCPC register, and to renew your registration, to must declare that:

  • You have continued to practise your profession since your last registration; or not practised your profession since your last registration but have met the HCPC’s returning to practice requirements.
  • You are also confirming that you continue to meet the HCPC’s standards of proficiency for the safe and effective practice of your profession; since your last registration there has been no change relating to your good character (this includes any conviction or caution, if any, that you are required to disclose), or any change to your health that may affect your ability to practise safely and effectively.
  • You continue to meet the HCPC’s standards for CPD.
  • You either have a professional indemnity arrangement in place which provides appropriate cover or you are not practising at the time of your renewal, but understand the requirement to have a professional indemnity arrangement in place.

HCPC also advise to update contact details, particularly email address and mobile numbers, as these are used to let you know when its time to renew your registration.

For further details please read their guide on how to renew your registration.

It is possible to maintain HCPC registration whilst living and working overseas. You do not have to tell us if you are planning to practice abroad.

However, you may need to obtain a certificate to confirm your professional status for the purpose of practising in another jurisdiction. The HCPC can provide information on how to obtain this their website.

The HCPC does not take a view on how you may undertake your work, so long as you maintain our standards.

You would need to discuss this with your employer directly.

However, if you do not practice your profession for two years or more, when you are renewing their registration, and if you haven’t practiced during the current two-year registration cycle, then you will need to declare this. Your registration would still be renewed however you will be expected to complete a period of updating your skills and knowledge for a total period of 30 days.

If your registration has lapsed support is available from NHS England to enable your return to practice, as your experience and skills are invaluable. Further information is available on the Health Careers website. Alternatively, you can contact either your NHS England regional or national return to practice leads, who will arrange a call to discuss any queries you may have.

You can contact the lead for the area you will be moving to from the list:

If you have an active registration but not currently working in clinical practice the Back to the Floor programme could be suitable for you.