How many nurses trained in Sri Lanka are in the UK and Ireland?

1,384 people on the UK's nursing and midwifery register trained in Sri Lanka on 31 March 2026 (NMC register data, file dated 28 July 2026), while Ireland does not publish the number of nurses who first qualified in Sri Lanka because it was under 25 at the end of 2025 (Department of Health, Ireland, JQ06, updated 3 September 2026). In the six months to 31 March 2026, 175 nurses, midwives or nursing associates trained in Sri Lanka joined the UK register for the first time, down from 260 a year earlier.

Trained in Sri LankaNMC · March 2026

UK register · trained in Sri Lanka · 31 March 2026: 1,384 people

1,008a year earlier

175joined in the 6 months to March 2026

fewer than 25practising in Ireland, end of 2025

1,200Health and Care Worker visas to Sri Lankan nationals, 2025

Source: NMC, register data tables, March 2026 (UK) (XLSX, file dated 28 July 2026, downloaded on 5 November 2026), sheets "Training Country ALL" and "Training Country Joiners". The register includes nurses, midwives and nursing associates. Data: NMC register data tables (© NMC), reproduced as factual information with a link to the original file; this is not an NMC publication.

Statistics, not advice. These are official counts for past dates. Registration is decided by the NMC (UK) and the NMBI (Ireland), visas by the Home Office, and the rules on international recruitment can change: check the official pages before you apply or pay.

What these numbers are, and what they are not

• UK register: people on the NMC register (nurses, midwives and nursing associates) whose training country is Sri Lanka. It counts where people trained, not their nationality: a nurse from Sri Lanka who trained in the UK counts as UK-trained. Being on the register does not mean working in the UK.
• Ireland: nurses (and midwives) registered with the NMBI who said they practise in Ireland, by the country of their first nursing qualification, at the end of each year.
• Health and Care Worker visas: visas applied for from outside the UK, counted by nationality, for every job on this route, plus family members. The Home Office file does not say how many went to nurses, and it leaves out people who switched visa inside the UK.
• Red list: it applies to employers in England (code of practice for England). The code says: “The rules on active recruitment and direct applications are based on the country where an individual is residing when they apply for a health or social care job, rather than the nationality of the individual or their original country of training.”
• The three counts measure different things and do not add up.

UK: people on the NMC register trained in Sri Lanka

In the six months to 31 March 2026, 175 nurses, midwives or nursing associates trained in Sri Lanka joined the UK register for the first time, down from 260 a year earlier.

Source: NMC, register data tables, March 2026 (UK) (XLSX, file dated 28 July 2026, downloaded on 5 November 2026), sheets "Training Country ALL" and "Training Country Joiners". The register includes nurses, midwives and nursing associates. Data: NMC register data tables (© NMC), reproduced as factual information with a link to the original file; this is not an NMC publication.

Ireland: nurses who first qualified in Sri Lanka

Source: Department of Health (Ireland), JQ06 – Stock of nurses by country of first qualification (CSV, dataset updated 3 September 2026, downloaded on 5 November 2026). Compiled from the annual registrations with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI); includes midwives; values under 25 are not published. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Health and Care Worker visas issued to Sri Lankan nationals

In 2025 the Home Office issued 1,200 Health and Care Worker visas to Sri Lankan nationals (482 main applicants and 718 family members) and refused 201. The refusal rate is refused ÷ (issued + refused), as in the Home Office grant rate.

Source: Home Office, Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets, year ending June 2026 (XLSX, published 27 August 2026, downloaded on 15 October 2026; next update 26 November 2026), sheet Data_Vis_D02, visa type "Health and Care Worker", by nationality and year of decision. Figures from 2026 are provisional. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Is Sri Lanka on the red list?

Sri Lanka is not on the red list: the code of practice for England lists it among the green countries with a government-to-government agreement on health and care workforce recruitment. Sri Lanka is not on the WHO health workforce support and safeguards list 2023. (Code of practice for England updated 27 March 2025, read on 5 November 2026; the final WHO 2026 list is not published yet.)

Source: GOV.UK, Code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England (updated 27 March 2025, read on 5 November 2026), Annex A and Annex B. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Red list countries for nurses: the WHO 2023 list, the UK code and the 2026 update

What NMC registration costs

Registering with the NMC as a nurse or midwife trained outside the UK costs £1,226 in fees and tests: £167 qualification evaluation, £83 computer-based test (CBT), £794 OSCE and £182 registration fee. Fees, resits and the amount in rupees, pesos and rand.

Source: NMC: How much is it going to cost? (trained outside the UK) (fees from 1 October 2026, read on 5 November 2026).

Questions people ask

Other countries of training

Nurses trained abroad: all countries · UK visa refusal rates by nationality · UK Skilled Worker salary threshold