“Hundreds of Nurses, Including Many Indians, Face Distress in New Zealand”
Wellington: Reports indicate that hundreds of foreign nurses, including many from India, are unemployed in New Zealand despite a reported shortage of nurses. A recent reform replacing the Competency Assessment Programme (CAP) has left experienced nurses struggling to find jobs. The Nursing Council of New Zealand has acknowledged its inability to resolve this issue. Unregistered nurses who arrived on visitor visas, along with their families, are in distress.
These nurses, who have completed the CAP—a mandatory course for employment through the Nursing Council New Zealand—now face uncertainty due to a reform announced in December. This reform requires nurses from countries outside the US, UK, Ireland, Singapore, and certain Canadian provinces to pass the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE).
CAP Completion, Yet No Employment
Despite completing the CAP, many registered nurses are unable to secure employment. These nurses came to New Zealand on one-year visitor visas, specifically to complete the CAP. While employers offer casual or part-time positions, these nurses are unable to accept them due to their visa restrictions. They also face the challenge of potentially having to leave New Zealand within six months.
Liti Liju, a nurse with 12 years of experience in the Middle East, shared her plight. She arrived in Palmerston North on a visitor visa in February to join the CAP course. Despite completing the course, she has applied for over 500 positions in hospitals and elderly care facilities without success. Liju, who came to New Zealand with her husband and two children, finds her life in limbo as her children cannot attend school and her accountant husband cannot work.
Akhil Venugopal, a surgical nurse with nine years of experience in Bengaluru, faces a similar situation. After completing the CAP in March, he has applied for more than 400 jobs but remains unemployed. With a one-year visitor visa that allows only six months of continuous stay, Venugopal has already spent around $35,000 on CAP fees, travel, and living expenses.
Widespread Unemployment Among Nurses
Saju Cherian, a nurse at Palmerston North Hospital and a member of the nurses’ association board, estimates that there are 400 nurses facing similar challenges. He notes that at least 1,000 registered nurses are currently unemployed in New Zealand. It is common for Indian nurses to come on visitor visas to attend the CAP course, which lasts three months or less, with no other visa options available.
A spokesperson from the Nursing Council stated that nurses who have completed the CAP course are allowed to register, irrespective of their employment status. The council is aware that nurses on visitor visas can complete the CAP program. According to the Nursing Council, 4,084 registered nurses completed the CAP between January 1 and December 31, 2023.
Hospital Staffing Crisis
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) has revealed a critical shortage of nurses in the country’s hospitals, with a quarter of nursing shifts understaffed. On May 9, the NZNO held a rally to address this shortage, warning that reduced staffing threatens patient safety and could increase mortality rates. As of last year, there were 1,817 nursing vacancies, underscoring the severity of the situation.
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