List of overseas qualifications

Last updated: 27 April 2023

To apply for registration as a social worker in England, you must have completed a recognised social work qualification.

This is a list of overseas social work qualifications that we have assessed since becoming the regulator in 2019. We consider these qualifications to be of comparable (the same) standard as approved UK qualifications. We publish this list in accordance with Schedule 1(3) of The Social Workers Regulations (2018).

This information may be helpful to people who:

have an overseas social work qualification, and
want to apply for registration as a social worker in England.

If your qualification is on the list

If you have one of the qualifications on the list and you apply for registration, everything else in your application will still be assessed to make sure you meet our professional standards.

But you can be confident that your qualification meets our requirements. This could also mean that the processing time for your application will be shorter.

Your qualification will be considered ‘recognised’ if your details are exactly the same as those on the list of overseas qualifications:

The course provider, title of qualification and year of qualification must match those on your social work qualification certificate, and
The mode of study (full-time, part-time or distance learning) is the same as yours. We will check this with your course provider.

Even if your qualification is on the list, we may still ask you to provide more information.

If your qualification is not on the list

If your qualification is not on the list, your application may still be accepted. This could be because:

the list only has qualifications that we have assessed through past applications to join the register. It is not an exhaustive list. You may be the first person to apply with your qualification.
your additional training and experience make up for any shortfalls (of the qualification).
you are offered and successfully do a test of competence or period of adaptation.
we are confident that you met our standards based on your practical placement and choice of modules.

If you qualified more than 2 years ago

If you gained your qualification more than 2 years ago, you must demonstrate that you have kept your skills and knowledge up to date (even if your qualification is on the list of overseas qualifications).

You can do this through:

practice as a social worker in another country (within the last 12 months), or

a period of updating skills and knowledge.

If it is between 2 and 5 years since you qualified, you’ll need to show that you have spent at least 30 days updating your skills, knowledge and experience.

If you qualified more than 5 years ago, you’ll need to show that you have spent at least 60 days updating your skills, knowledge and experience.

How we made this list

When someone with an overseas qualification applies to join the register, the qualification will be assessed by our registration advisers (qualified social workers registered with Social Work England).

If we are confident that the qualification is (and always will be) of the same standard as a UK qualification, it will be added to the list of overseas qualifications.
There are circumstances where some applicants have been able to demonstrate that they meet our standards, but we could not be sure that all people with that qualification would meet our standards. This means that there are some registered social workers with overseas qualifications that are not on this list.

For qualifications gained in a country where social work education is regulated (or subject to a rigorous accreditation scheme), we are more likely to be confident that all people who hold that qualification would meet our standards. This means that qualifications in countries where social work education is regulated are more likely to be on the list.

Updates to the list

We compiled this list by reviewing all applications from overseas qualified applicants.

We aim to update this list every 3 months.