Stage 05 — NHS Job Matching
NHS Jobs has 60,000 listings. Maybe 4,000 actually sponsor IMGs. We narrow that to the posts that fit your specialty, grade, visa status and family — with CV review and interview prep built in.
The grade ladder
Every NHS grade with the realistic IMG entry route, expected duration and the practical note nobody tells you.
Most common IMG entry · 1–2 yrs typical
Service post; great way to build NHS references
Post-PLAB with experience · Open-ended
Permanent, sponsorable; pay band MN37
MSRA / specialty interview · 3 yrs core
Competitive — IMGs apply via Round 1 / Round 2
Higher specialty selection · 4–5 yrs
Run-through in some specialties
MSRA + SJT · 3 yrs
GP training open to IMGs every February
Equivalence portfolio · Post-training
Substantive consultant via Royal College
Sponsoring regions
30+ trusts
Good / Outstanding mix
Highest cost of living, biggest IMG community
25+ trusts
Strong sponsorship history
Manchester, Liverpool — strong IMG networks
20+ trusts
Good
Leeds, Sheffield — affordable, family-friendly
20+ trusts
Good
Birmingham hubs, Black Country trusts
15+ trusts
Good
Cambridge, Norwich — research-heavy
20+ trusts
Good / Outstanding
Oxford, Brighton, Kent — premium rents
15+ trusts
Good
Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth — lifestyle appeal
10+ trusts
Good
Newcastle, Middlesbrough — lowest cost of living
Specialty heatmap
| Specialty | IMG demand | Typical entry |
|---|---|---|
| Internal Medicine | Very high | Trust Grade → IMT |
| Emergency Medicine | Very high | Clinical Fellow → ACCS |
| Psychiatry | Very high | SAS / CT1 |
| General Practice | High | GP ST1 |
| Paediatrics | High | Clinical Fellow → ST1 |
| Anaesthetics | Medium-High | Trust Grade → CT1 |
| Radiology | Medium | Clinical Fellow → ST1 (competitive) |
| Obs & Gynae | High | Trust Grade → ST1 |
| Surgery (general) | Medium | Clinical Fellow → CT1 |
| Histopathology | Very high | Direct ST1 entry |
| Geriatrics | Very high | Trust Grade → IMT |
| Acute Medicine | Very high | Trust Grade → IMT |
NHS CV anatomy
Two pages, structured these ten ways. Anything else and you're optimising for rejection.
Full name as on passport, GMC number, contact, NMC if dual.
5–6 lines: who you are, where you trained, target role, USP.
MBBS / equivalent, postgrad, dates, awarding body — chronological.
Reverse chronological. Trust / hospital, dates, grade, 3 bullets each.
Procedures with numbers, scope of independent practice, on-call competence.
Title, role, cycle stage, outcome, presentation. NHS interviewers care.
Formal & informal, learners, feedback metric.
PubMed-style citations, conferences, posters.
Rota lead, project lead, committee membership.
Two clinical referees with email — at least one a consultant.
Interview blueprint
Practice each area against your own portfolio. Our mock interviewers are NHS clinicians who sit on real panels.
01
Clinical scenarios
ABCDE structure, escalation, differential reasoning under time pressure
02
Ethics
Four-quadrant framework, consent, capacity, confidentiality, end-of-life
03
GMP domains
Knowledge, safety, communication, trust — pull examples from your CV
04
Audit & QI
PDSA cycle, your role, outcome, what you'd repeat
05
Commitment to specialty
Why this specialty, why now, what you've done to demonstrate it
06
Personal scenarios
Conflict, difficult colleague, mistake, raising a concern
07
Trust-specific
Recent CQC report, Trust strategy, why this Trust
08
Portfolio walkthrough
Be able to talk to every page — interviewers will pick one
The CoS reality
Relocation budget
Single applicant, first six weeks. Family budgets scale roughly 1.5–2× depending on children and school registration.
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Visa (H&CW, single) | £304 | Per applicant, IHS exempt |
| Flights (one-way) | £400–£1,200 | Depending on origin & season |
| First month rent (London) | £1,800–£2,500 | 1-bed flat, Zones 2–4 |
| First month rent (N. England) | £700–£1,100 | Manchester / Leeds 1-bed |
| Rental deposit (5 wks) | 5 weeks' rent | Capped by Tenant Fees Act 2019 |
| Furnishing & basics | £500–£1,200 | Mattress, kitchen, utilities |
| GMC registration | £446 | Verify current GMC fee |
| Relocation budget (London) | £4,500–£7,000 | Single applicant, first 6 weeks |
| Relocation budget (N. England) | £3,000–£5,000 | Single applicant, first 6 weeks |
Frequently asked
Most IMGs start in Trust Grade or Clinical Fellow posts. These give NHS-context references, are sponsorable, and let you apply for Specialty Training in the next recruitment round from a position of strength.
No. Around 200 NHS Trusts hold sponsor licences but quota varies. We track current licensees and recent IMG hires so you only apply where you can actually start.
Round 1 applications open in November for August start; Round 2 in February for February start. MSRA sittings sit alongside. IMGs are eligible for both rounds.
No. You can apply, interview by video, accept and complete pre-employment checks remotely. You enter the UK once your CoS is issued and visa granted.
Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment — a computer-based test used for GP, Psychiatry, Radiology and several other specialties. Two papers: clinical problem-solving + professional dilemmas.
Some do — especially in hard-to-fill regions and specialties. Ask early. Even £1,000–£3,000 helps with the first month.
You're paid on the same NHS pay band as a UK trainee at the equivalent grade. Banding supplements (on-call) add 20–50%. No discount for being international.
Yes — dependant visas are issued alongside yours. The Health & Care Worker visa exempts your dependants from the IHS too.
You give us specialty, grade preference and region. We surface Trusts currently advertising IMG-friendly posts with verified sponsor licences and recent IMG hires.
Most rejections trace to one of three causes: missing audit evidence, weak structure for NHS readers, or grade mismatch. Our CV review is built around the three.
Founding members get first access to sponsor-verified Trust listings.
Join the Waitlist