Hello! and looking for advice :)

Thanks for the insight. I got an encouraging email from the immigration advisors @ the Royal College of Nursing- they didn't seem to think it was completely unlikely that I could get a visa - there are still tons of openings in nursing throughout the UK.

That said, any other thoughts? What else am I likely to run into as a stumbling block?

Thanks for the insight. I got an encouraging email from the immigration advisors @ the Royal College of Nursing- they didn't seem to think it was completely unlikely that I could get a visa - there are still tons of openings in nursing throughout the UK.

UK Border Agency is the one that decides whether you will be granted a work visa.  Royal College of Nursing is a UK nurses union.  RCN has no influence whatsoever on the UK Border Agency and European Union laws so it doesn't matter what they say.  Bupa is the largest private healthcare company in the UK and they don't sponsor work visas for non-EEA nurses.  Bupa and a bunch of other employers won't sponsor work visas.  It doesn't matter that there are a number of nurse vacancies.  As long as you have no right to work in the UK, the vast majority of employers won't touch you with a barge pole.

This news broke out yesterday "More than 1,700 people apply for just EIGHT jobs at Costa Coffee shop".
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/more-than-1700-people-apply-for-just-eight-jobs-at-costa-coffee-shop-8501329.html

You need to re-examine the reasons why you want to relocate your family to the UK, and how you think such a move will benefit your family.

Also, regarding your daughter, if you move in the summertime you may find it difficult to find a place for her in schools as reception is usually a year earlier than kindergarten and registration (at least where I live) completes in January.

It has been very difficult for the past several years for nurses to obtain work visa sponsorship and so far that hasn't changed. Before you can apply at a university to do the full-time Overseas Nursing Programme, you'll need a sponsored offer of employment or clinical placement which requires a work visa. Teaching nursing in the UK wouldn't be an option without NMC registration, which won't be granted until you've completed the Overseas Nurse Programme. As far as the demand for advanced practice nurses in the UK, as you said it's still fairly new and the job vacancies aren't plentiful. Realistically it's not something that would lead to work visa sponsorship.

The ONP is only 20 days long and there is no clinical placement needed if your original training was done in the old "commonwealth" countries as my professor said while I took it, i.e. USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc.

You also don't need sponsorship to do the ONP either; I did it as a regular visitor last year and all I had to show was my letter from the school to the border guard.

IELTS was pretty easy too...it might be helpful to look at the format, but I didn't really study.

You can check out the UK forum on allnurses.com for more info, there are a few people going through registration/gone through it.

I have also read that if you come from an English speaking country or hold a degree taught in English (exp. Nursing) you do not need to take the test? Is this right or wrong?

I have also read that if you come from an English speaking country or hold a degree taught in English (exp. Nursing) you do not need to take the test? Is this right or wrong?

Wrong.  This has been covered already.

There is, actually, if you want to work as a nurse.  Give the OP some credit, she seems to know her stuff. 

http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/explore-by-who-you-are/international-healthcare-professionals/information-for-nurses-/

Yeah, you have to take it even though it's a bit silly that an Italian with no instruction in English doesn't need to do it...our professor agreed that it's stupid too, but the EU exception has something to do with the work treaties and the NMC would require it if they could.

But again, it wasn't really hard or anything, may want to brush up on your composition skills. I zoned out on the listening part but still passed easily and got a perfect mark on reading. The speaking was a bit bizarre since the lady obviously knew that I was a native speaker. She gave me a 8.5; I'm curious what she would have marked me down on...

There are certain expressions and vocabulary words that they expect to hear, so if you don't use them you will be marked down.  Also, a certain level of formality; Justine you may have used too many colloquial expressions.  I've seen native speakers get a 4 or a 5 on IELTS speaking.  It's really not an easy test, maybe Justine had an easy time, but lots of native speakers struggle, so it's definitely in your best interest to study a bit and learn the tricks. 

Wish you all the Best Kneby.

This country needs more English speaking qualified folk from the States, Canada, Australia and NZ than it does East Europeans.

Wish you all the Best Kneby.

This country needs more English speaking qualified folk from the States, Canada, Australia and NZ than it does East Europeans.

Oh dear. Did you really say that?

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