Application for Full Registration/Enrolment (Psychiatric)

  1. Who can apply?

    Nurses trained outside Hong Kong who:
    1. are of good character and have good professional conduct;
    2. should usually have completed at least 3 years nursing training for registration or have completed at least 2 years nursing training for enrolment; and
    3. possess a valid certificate to practise nursing Note 1 issued by such certifying body as may be recognised by the Council from time to time as constituting sufficient evidence of his/her competency to practise psychiatric nursing at the time of his/her application;

    Note 1:  The certificate to practise nursing must be valid at the time of application. The Council will not process any application that fails to produce such document.

  2. Application Procedures

    1. The applicant should complete the application form, enclose originals and photocopies or notarized copiesNote 2 of the following:
      1. Nursing graduation certificate
      2. Hong Kong Identity Card/Passport
      3. Valid certificateNote 3 to practise nursing from local registration/enrolment authority

        (i.e. (i) practising certificate or other equivalent documentary evidence of entitlement to practise nursing outside Hong Kong; and
          (ii) registration/enrolment certificate or official document from local registration/enrolment authority verifying the applicant’s “date of initial registration/enrolment”.)

      Note 2: If the applicant submits the application in person, he/she has to bring the originals and photocopies of the above items to the Council for verification. The original documents will be returned immediately after verification of the photocopies submitted. If the applicant submits the application by post, he/she is required to send true copies of these documents, duly legalized/authenticated by notarization, to the Council.

      Note 3: If the local registration/enrolment authority only issued certificate in electronic format, the applicant is required to submit the printout of the e-certificate, duly legalized/authenticated by notarization, to the Council.

    2. The applicant should request the training institute(s) to send us his/her transcript(s) stating clearly the course code, full name and grade/result of each attended subject together with a separate record of detailed breakdowns in theoretical and clinical training hours of each subject. Since some of the required information may not be shown on the transcript(s) of the individual applicant, in order not to delay the application, please also ask the training institute(s) to complete and return to the Council direct the “Verification of Training Details” on pages 6 to 9 of the application form in an official and sealed envelope of the training institute.
    3. The applicant should also send the “Verification of Original Registration” on page 10 of the application form to the registration authority, which issued his/her original registration/enrolment certificate outside Hong Kong, for completion and returning to the Council direct. Please note that the completed “Verification of Original Registration” must be returned by the registration authority to the Council and in an official and sealed envelope of the issuing authority when it reaches the Council.
    4. Please note that the applicant’s training institute/registration authority outside Hong Kong may take three to four months’ time on average to complete the “Verification of Training Details/Original Registration/Enrolment” and return them to the Council. The Council will assess the application only when all the required information and documents are provided.  Please note that clarification/supporting documents may be required if the provided information is unclear or inadequate.  The applicant should take this into account if he/she intends to take up employment as a registered / an enrolled nurse in Hong Kong, particularly within a short period of time.
    5. Please note that if the bearer’s name on the documentary proofs appears differently, the applicant may be required to approach a statutory body to make a statutory declaration verifying different names appear on the documentary proofs submitted for his/her application are all referring to the same person. The original/notarized copy of the statutory declaration should be sent to the Council for assessment upon request.
    6. The Council does not operate a system of reciprocal registration/enrolment. It assesses each application on an individual basis in regard to the theoretical and clinical training hours and contents of the nurse training programme of the applicant. Regarding the required training hours and contents, the applicant may make reference to the following documents setting out the local syllabuses for reference:

      1. “A Reference Guide to the Syllabus of Subjects and Requirements for the Preparation of Registered Nurse (Psychiatric) in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” for application for full registration (Psychiatric);
      2. “Core-Competencies for Enrolled Nurses (Psychiatric) and a Reference Guide to the Syllabus of Subjects and Requirements for the Preparation of Enrolled Nurse (Psychiatric) in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” for application for full enrolment (Psychiatric).
    7. Applications for full registration (Psychiatric) and full enrolment (Psychiatric) are two separate applications. Applicants applying for both registration/enrolment should submit a full set of individual application forms and documentary proofs (including those submitted by the training institute(s) and local registration authority) for each registration/enrolment.
    8. Deadline of application:
      1. While applications are processed all year around, only those duly completed applications with all the required documents received by the Council by the end of October each yearwill be assessed and the applicants concerned will be notified whether they are eligible to sit for the Licensing Examination to be held next year.
      2. The Council will assess the application only when all required information and documents are provided, including items 2a to 2c above.
    9. Commonly identified issues resulting in a delay of application:
      1. Incomplete information

        • The applicant needs to fill out the application form entirely and submit all required documents.
        • An application cannot be processed until all information and documents are received.
        • Please remember to write your full name where necessary.
      2. Mismatched information between documents

        • Information such as names, date of birth, dates of education, etc. provided by the applicant must match with the supporting documents submitted by the training institute/registration authority.
        • Any discrepancies will need to be clarified before the application can be processed further.
      3. Lack of documentary proofs

        • The required documentary proofs and/or supplementary proofs are not provided.
        • The documentary proofs are in languages other than English/Chinese (if the original documents are in other languages, official/certified translation in English must be provided simultaneously).
    10. If the application is incomplete or inconsistent, the Council will require the applicant to clarify the discrepancy or provide supplementary information. This will result in prolonged processing time of application.
    11. After an applicant has completed the application form, he/she is required to submit it, together with the documents required, either in person or by post, to the Secretariat of the Nursing Council of Hong Kong, 1/F, Shun Feng International Centre, 182 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong. Applications sent by fax or by email will not be processed. The office hours of the Secretariat are as follows:

      Mondays: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
      Tuesdays to Fridays: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.
      (Closed on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays)
    12. The applicant will be approved to sit for the Licensing Examination only if he/she has fulfilled the requirements of the Council.