What Documents Do I Need for NHS Job Applications? A Checklist for IMG Doctors

International medical graduates (IMGs) often lose weeks after an offer because one document is missing or still being issued overseas. This checklist splits what you need into two stages: what you need to fill in the NHS application form, and what the trust will ask for after a conditional offer under the NHS Employment Check Standards.

Quick answer

To apply, you need your personal and contact details, GMC number (or application status), immigration status, full employment and education history with gaps explained, referee details and a supporting statement. After a conditional offer, the trust checks identity, right to work (usually an eVisa share code), GMC registration with a licence to practise, criminal records (DBS plus overseas police certificates), references, occupational health and original qualifications.

What documents do I need to complete the NHS application form?

You do not usually upload documents at the application stage on NHS Jobs or Trac. You type the information in, and the trust verifies it later. Get these ready before you start:

• Personal and contact details, with your name exactly as it appears on your passport.

• GMC reference number and your registration status (full registration with a licence to practise, or where your application is). If you are not yet registered, read how to apply for NHS jobs after GMC registration.

• Right to work and visa details: your nationality, current immigration status and whether you will need sponsorship. Answer honestly. Some trusts sponsor Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker visas, but a visa tied to another employer does not transfer.

• Full employment history, with dates (month and year), employers, job titles, grades and reasons for leaving. Some trusts ask for at least five years (for example Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust), and you should explain every gap. Our guide on explaining a career gap shows how.

• Education and qualifications: your primary medical qualification, postgraduate exams (for example MRCP, MRCS, MRCPsych parts), PLAB or other GMC route, and the dates awarded.

• Courses and certificates: life support (BLS, ILS, ALS, PALS, ATLS), audits, quality improvement projects, teaching, research and publications.

• Referee details: names, job titles, workplace email addresses and phone numbers. Most trusts ask for referees covering at least the last three years. Some only ask for them after a conditional offer.

• Supporting statement, written against each point on the person specification.

• Declarations: criminal convictions and cautions, fitness to practise proceedings, and equality monitoring (which is kept separate from shortlisting).

Keep all of this in one master document to reuse on NHS Jobs or Trac.

What happens after an NHS job offer?

A first offer is a conditional offer. It depends on the trust completing the six NHS Employment Check Standards set by NHS Employers:

1. Identity checks

2. Right to work checks

3. Professional registration and qualification checks

4. Employment history and reference checks

5. Criminal record checks

6. Work health assessments

Medical staffing will send a pack listing exactly what to provide.

Identity and right to work documents

Identity

Under the NHS Employers identity checks standard, you normally provide either:

• two forms of photo ID plus one proof of address, or

• one form of photo ID plus two proofs of address.

Your passport is your main photo ID. Proof of address usually means a bank statement, utility bill or tenancy agreement dated within the last six months, or a council tax or HMRC letter dated within the last 12 months. Documents must be originals. One document cannot usually prove both your name and your address. If you have just arrived, tell the trust, as the standard allows some flexibility.

Right to work: eVisa and share code

eVisas have replaced physical immigration documents such as the BRP. If you are not a British or Irish citizen, you will usually prove your right to work with a share code:

1. Sign in to your UKVI account at View and prove your immigration status.

2. Choose to prove your right to work and generate a share code.

3. Send the employer the code and your date of birth.

A share code lasts 90 days, and you can generate a new one at any time. Make sure your UKVI account shows your current passport, or the check may fail. The employer will also check that your photo matches you.

Sponsorship

If you need a visa, the trust assigns you a certificate of sponsorship (CoS). For a Health and Care Worker visa you will need:

• your CoS reference number

• a valid passport

• proof of English (doctors who passed an English assessment accepted by the GMC usually do not need to prove it again for the visa; see knowledge of English)

• a TB test certificate if you have lived in a listed country (the certificate is valid for six months from the x-ray)

• a criminal record certificate if you apply from outside the UK (see below)

• certified translations of any document not in English or Welsh

GMC registration and qualifications

The GMC tells employers to check that you hold registration with a licence to practise, that your registration type allows the post, and that you have no conditions or restrictions affecting the role. You cannot start clinical work without a licence to practise, so finish your GMC registration before your start date.

Employers are also responsible for checking your English. Keep your IELTS or OET result, or the other evidence you gave the GMC.

For qualifications, the NHS Employers professional registration and qualification checks standard asks for original certificates, which are checked against your application form. GMC registration covers your primary medical qualification, so trusts mainly check qualifications listed as essential in the person specification (for example a postgraduate exam or an in-date ALS certificate). Bring:

• primary medical qualification (degree certificate)

• postgraduate exam certificates or pass letters

• life support certificates (BLS, ILS, ALS) that are in date

• certificates for any mandatory or specialist training the post requires

DBS and overseas criminal record certificates

UK DBS check

Most doctors need an enhanced DBS check. The trust starts it, and you provide identity documents. The DBS Update Service lets you take your certificate between jobs at the same level. It currently costs £15 a year, and you must join within 30 days of your certificate being issued. Under the NHS Employers criminal record checks standard, doctors can use the Update Service instead of a new check every three years.

Overseas police certificates

GOV.UK's Health and Care Worker visa rules require a criminal record certificate if you apply from outside the UK:

• Under 28: from any country where you stayed for 12 months or more in total since turning 18.

• 28 or over: from any country where you stayed over the last 10 years.

Each country has its own process. The Home Office publishes country-by-country guidance. Some police authorities issue a "certificate of good conduct", which NHS employers can accept. A certificate of good standing from a medical regulator is not a police check. Apply early.

References and occupational health

References

The NHS Employers employment history and reference checks standard says references should cover three consecutive years of employment or training before your application. Trusts send requests to official contacts and may contact HR departments directly. For IMGs:

• You must account for any continuous period of six months or more abroad.

• Overseas references can be slow, especially if they need translating, so warn your referees early.

• Use official hospital email addresses, not personal Gmail or Yahoo accounts.

• If you did a clinical attachment, the UK supervisor can be a useful extra referee.

Work health assessment (occupational health)

After the offer, you complete a confidential health questionnaire, and occupational health issues clearance. According to NHS Employers' work health assessments guidance:

• Required vaccinations follow the UK Health Security Agency's Green Book and depend on your role.

• Doctors who perform exposure prone procedures (EPPs), such as surgery, obstetrics and many emergency roles, must be tested for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

Bring your vaccination records: hepatitis B course and antibody (titre) result, MMR, varicella, BCG or TB screening evidence, and any blood-borne virus test results from an accredited lab.

A simple pre-employment checklist

• Passport (current, and linked to your UKVI account)

• Right to work share code (generated within 90 days)

• Certificate of sponsorship and visa decision, if applicable

• Two proofs of UK address (or one, plus a second photo ID)

• GMC registration with licence to practise

• English language evidence (IELTS/OET or other GMC evidence)

• Original degree and postgraduate certificates

• In-date life support certificates

• Enhanced DBS application or Update Service details

• Overseas police certificates for each relevant country

• Three years of references, with official email addresses

• Vaccination records and blood-borne virus results

• Certified translations of non-English documents

• National Insurance number and bank details for payroll

Always follow the list in your offer pack.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need GMC registration before applying for NHS jobs?

Not always. Some trusts accept applications from doctors whose GMC registration is in progress, but you must hold registration with a licence to practise before you start clinical work. Check the person specification for each post.

Can I use my BRP to prove right to work?

No. eVisas have replaced physical immigration documents such as BRPs. Most non-British and non-Irish doctors now prove right to work with a share code from their UKVI account.

How many references do I need for an NHS job?

Enough to cover your last three consecutive years of employment or training. In practice, that usually means two or three referees, including your most recent clinical supervisor.

Do I need a police certificate from my home country?

If you are applying for a Health and Care Worker visa from outside the UK, usually yes. You need one from each country covered by the GOV.UK age and residence rules. Trusts may also ask for one if you have spent six months or more abroad in recent years.

What causes delays in NHS pre-employment checks?

The most common causes are slow overseas references, missing vaccination records, delays with overseas police certificates and share codes that fail because the UKVI account is out of date.

Getting shortlisted comes first. The free CareerPro UK supporting statement guide and free CPD courses can strengthen the evidence on your form, and our lessons from 3,000 IMG applications show common mistakes to avoid.

If you'd like your NHS application reviewed and rewritten (£35), email cvreviewexperts@gmail.com or contact CareerPro UK.

Sources:

• NHS Employers – Employment checks: https://www.nhsemployers.org/your-workforce/recruit/employment-checks

• NHS Employers – Identity checks standard: https://www.nhsemployers.org/system/files/2025-06/identity-checks-standard-1845.pdf

• NHS Employers – Right to work checks standard: https://nhsemployers.org/system/files/2024-10/right-to-work-checks-standard-1841.pdf

• NHS Employers – Professional registration and qualification checks: https://www.nhsemployers.org/your-workforce/recruit/employment-checks/professional-registration-and-qualification-checks

• NHS Employers – Employment history and reference checks: https://www.nhsemployers.org/your-workforce/recruit/employment-checks/employment-history-and-reference-checks

• NHS Employers – Criminal record checks standard: https://www.nhsemployers.org/publications/criminal-record-checks-standard

• NHS Employers – Work health assessments: https://www.nhsemployers.org/your-workforce/recruit/employment-checks/work-health-assessments

• GOV.UK – View and prove your immigration status: https://www.gov.uk/view-prove-immigration-status

• GOV.UK – eVisas: https://www.gov.uk/evisa

• GOV.UK – Health and Care Worker visa documents: https://www.gov.uk/health-care-worker-visa/documents-you-must-provide

• GOV.UK – Health and Care Worker visa knowledge of English: https://www.gov.uk/health-care-worker-visa/knowledge-of-english

• GOV.UK – TB tests for visa applicants: https://www.gov.uk/tb-test-visa

• GOV.UK – Criminal records checks for overseas applicants: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

• GOV.UK – DBS Update Service: https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

• GMC – What to check when employing a doctor: https://www.gmc-uk.org/registration-and-licensing/employers-and-other-organisations/doctors-employers-royal-colleges-and-medical-schools/employing-a-doctor/what-to-check

• Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust – Applicant guidance: https://www.hacw.nhs.uk/applicant-guidance-notes