Atypical Working Scheme – Nurse Clinical
Adaptation

Nurses who qualified outside the EU and EEA must register with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) before they can work as nurses in Ireland. Many are assessed as needing a period of clinical adaptation, usually 6 to 12 weeks at an NMBI-approved facility, or the RCSI aptitude test before they can register. The Atypical Working Scheme for nurses is the immigration permission that lets them come to Ireland to do this. To qualify, the nurse must be a Registered General Nurse with an NMBI decision and must hold a contract with an Irish employer that is permanent or lasts at least 2 years. The employer must be a licensed, registered facility or a defined community nursing role, and agency or healthcare assistant work isn't allowed. The permission lasts up to 6 months, and only one AWS application can be made in any 12-month period. Once the nurse has passed and received their NMBI PIN, the employer applies for an employment permit, usually a Critical Skills permit, because nursing is on the Critical Skills Occupations List. A nurse who doesn't move onto a permit must leave before the AWS permission expires.

You can't work as a registered nurse until you've completed the adaptation or aptitude test and registered with the NMBI. AWS approval isn't itself permission to work.

No. Healthcare assistant work is never permitted under this scheme.

Your employer applies to DETE for an employment permit. Nursing is on the Critical Skills Occupations List, so a Critical Skills permit usually applies.

You may be able to appeal the outcome, but you must leave Ireland before your 6-month permission expires, even if an appeal is still ongoing.