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 collect the documents the Dutch system will require: copies of your diploma, mark sheets and syllabus certified by your college, proof of good standing from your nursing council, and an apostilled birth certificate for your registration in the Netherlands. Your documents are already in English, so no translations are needed. We also request a diploma valuation from IDW, the Dutch body that compares foreign diplomas with Dutch education levels; it is needed for your work permit and takes no Dutch. We tell you plainly from the first conversation what the full route involves and how long each stage takes.

To have your nursing diploma recognised in the Netherlands, you need Dutch at B1 level, for both the assisting-nurse (VIG) and the registered-nurse (BIG) route. You train to that level through a certified language institute before you leave India, with structured lessons in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. You prove it with an official exam: the Staatsexamen NT2 programme I, the Dutch state language exam, or the CNaVT B1 exam, which can be taken outside the Netherlands twice a year, in May and November. Your certificate is the key that opens the next steps: the recognition application and, through it, your work permit. 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. You arrive ready to work, not still learning the basics.

Your diploma is recognised by CIBG, the agency of the Dutch Ministry of Health that keeps the BIG register. As soon as you have your B1 certificate, we file two applications on the same day: one as Verzorgende-IG (VIG, assisting nurse) and one as verpleegkundige (registered nurse). Your certified documents and the B1 certificate go in with both. The CBGV (Commission for Foreign Healthcare Graduates) then compares your education with the Dutch one and advises the Ministry. The VIG recognition needs no further exam, so it comes first and lets you start work. The nurse recognition also includes the BI-toets, a professional test you take after you arrive in the Netherlands. 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. As soon as your recognition application is filed, we apply 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). With it go your IDW diploma valuation, the proof of your recognition application, your contract and your housing address. The process takes up to 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. Shortly before you travel, we request your VOG, the Dutch certificate of good conduct. 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 as an assisting nurse (VIG) while your full registration completes.

While you work as an assisting nurse, the final recognition steps complete. You sit the BI-toets in the Netherlands: a knowledge test, a skills test and a clinical-reasoning interview, in Dutch. You get one attempt, so we prepare you for it carefully. The CBGV then advises on your result. If your competence is equivalent, 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. You then work three months under the supervision of a registered nurse, and your BIG number is 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, full registration realistically takes 12 to 18 months from arrival, while you already work and earn as a VIG. We stay with you through that transition and beyond, sorting paperwork, supporting integration, and helping you build a stable life here.