From Indian diploma to Dutch nurse, step by step.

We start with your nursing registration, issued by the Indian Nursing Council (INC) or your State Nursing Council, your diploma, years of clinical experience, and current Dutch language level. At the same time, we prepare the documents the Dutch system will require: certified translations of your diploma and academic transcript into Dutch or English, an apostille stamp from India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to verify that your documents are genuine, and a police clearance certificate. We tell you plainly from the first conversation what the full route involves and how long each stage takes.

To work as a registered nurse in the Netherlands, you need Dutch at B2 level: the European standard for independent professional use. You train to that level through a certified language institute before you leave India, with structured lessons in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. The target is the Staatsexamen NT2, the Dutch state language exam for non-native speakers. Alongside language, you learn how Dutch healthcare actually works day to day: how patient records are kept, how ward handovers run, and care-specific vocabulary. Training takes a minimum of six months. You arrive ready to work, not still learning the basics.

The BIG-register is the Dutch government's register of qualified healthcare professionals. Only nurses on the register may legally practise as a registered nurse in the Netherlands. Getting on it as a non-EU nurse involves three steps, and we start them before you board the plane. First, Nuffic, the Dutch organisation for internationalisation in education, assesses whether your Indian diploma is equivalent to a Dutch nursing degree. That file then goes to the CBGV (Commission for Foreign Healthcare Graduates), the government body under the Ministry of Health that reviews your full competence and advises the minister on whether to grant recognition. If needed, you sit the BI-toets: a practical exam consisting of a written test, a skills assessment, and a clinical-reasoning interview, all in Dutch. We prepare you for each stage and guide you through every submission.

We match you to a Dutch healthcare employer who has prepared for your arrival. Your employer then applies for a GVVA on your behalf: a single combined permit that covers both your right to live and your right to work in the Netherlands, processed by the IND (the Dutch immigration authority) and the UWV (the labour authority). The process takes roughly 90 days. Your entry visa, called an MVV, is collected at the Dutch consulate or embassy in India and is bundled with the GVVA in a single procedure. We coordinate everything around your arrival: housing is arranged before you land, you register with your local municipality to receive your BSN (citizen service number, needed for healthcare, banking, and tax), and a named contact from our team is available from day one. You start on the ward immediately as an assisting nurse while your full registration completes.

While you work as an assisting nurse, the final recognition steps complete. Once approved, you receive a Verklaring van vakbekwaamheid: a certificate from the Dutch Ministry of Health confirming that your competence as a nurse has been formally recognised. Your BIG number is then issued: your permanent registration as a verpleegkundige, the Dutch title for a fully qualified registered nurse. From that point you are authorised to practise independently anywhere in the Netherlands, and your registration is also recognised across the European Union. Because we start the recognition process before you travel, the on-the-job waiting period is typically around six months. We stay with you through that transition and beyond, sorting paperwork, supporting integration, and helping you build a stable life here.