OET, the Occupational English Test, has been officially recognised by CGFNS International for immigration to the USA. OET has met the federal government requirements for occupational visas, and CGFNS stands ready to serve candidates selecting the OET. This leading global English language proficiency test is designed specifically for nurses and other healthcare professionals, and this recognition will open the doors for many more overseas qualified healthcare professionals to be able to live, work and migrate to the USA.
Starting 1 August 2022, Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, Medical and Clinical Scientists, Technicians, and Technologists, Physician Assistants, Audiologists and Speech Pathologists from around the world can now use their OET results in their application for the CGFNS VisaScreen® Certificate, an important step on their journey to migrating to the USA.
The results of the OET are considered to be sufficient proof of English proficiency to apply for licensure and immigration in 18 States and territories in the US. In addition to now being recognized for immigration to the United States, the State Boards of Nursing in Florida, Oregon, Washington, and Michigan also recognize OET for their licensing purposes. Soon, nurses and other healthcare professionals will be able to use their results for licensure throughout the USA, as OET is working with other State Nursing Boards too.
With this recognition, the OET will play a key role in ensuring that USA-based healthcare employers can rely on overseas trained nurses and other healthcare professionals to have the language skills required to deliver safe and effective patient care.
Registered Nurses must have an OET Grade C+ or higher in Reading, Writing and Listening, and a Grade B or higher in Speaking as a minimum mandate of English language proficiency needed for their immigration application.
Widely available, the OET can be taken at over 300 venues in more than 60 countries around the world. Candidates will initially need to take the OET at a physical location, either on paper or on a computer.
In the words of Sujata Stead, CEO of OET: ‘The USA is a key destination for nurses, offering life-changing employment opportunities at some of the best healthcare providers in the world. Our vision is to connect the world to better healthcare and recognition in the USA allows internationally trained nurses to connect with USA-based healthcare providers. We are rapidly increasing the OET footprint in the USA, expanding our recognitions with state boards while increasing our network of test delivery venues in key source countries for USA-bound nurses such as the Philippines.’
There is a growing need for skilled, experienced internationally trained nurses to immigrate to the US as one part of the solution to healthcare workforce shortages. Recognition of the OET for immigration helps to ensure that nurses will have the relevant healthcare-specific communication skills required to practice safely and effectively across the USA.
About CGFNS International
An immigration-neutral, non-profit, mission-driven organization, the CGFNS International helps foreign-educated healthcare professionals to live and work in their country of choice by assessing and validating their academic and professional credentials. CGFNS is the only organization approved by the United States Department of Homeland Security to validate the credentials of overseas healthcare professionals for occupational visas. The CGFNS International also verifies and validates OET results on behalf of the NCNZ (Nursing Council of New Zealand).
About OET
Specifically designed to assess candidates’ ability to communicate effectively in the healthcare workplace, the OET is an English language test that is used to ensure they can deliver high-quality and safe care in English-speaking healthcare environments.
The OET has been developed for 12 different healthcare professions. Test tasks and scenarios replicate real communication scenarios from the workplace. OET scores are used by healthcare regulators, governments and educational institutions throughout the world to select healthcare professionals who can provide the best patient care.