The United States Congress passed the Bridging the Gap for New Americans Act. The legislation "calls on the U.S. Department of Labor to study systemic barriers to employment that impact immigrants and refugees who hold credentials obtained in another country, and to issue recommendations for reform." Research by the Migration Policy Institute indicates that 2 million college-educated immigrants and refugees residing in the US are underemployed, with 60% of those holding a credential from a non-US jurisdiction. The US Department of Labor will undertake to determine how various factors, such as limited recognition of credentials and other barriers to occupational licensing, contribute to this situation.
September 22, 2022
February 09, 2022
UK proposes changes to international registration legislation
The Department of Health and Social Care in the UK is holding an open consultation on proposed changes to international registration legislation for the General Dental Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Since the end of 2020, European law for the recognition of European Economic Area qualified healthcare professionals no longer applies in the UK. Moving forward, EEA applicants will likely be considered through the individual regulator's international registration process. A new Professional Qualifications Bill is currently under consideration to implement a new framework for the recognition of overseas professional qualifications. The changes aim to ensure that registration processes are streamlined and that regulators have flexibility to amend processes without requiring legislative intervention.
January 26, 2022
Vermont adopts Foreign Credentialing Rules
The Vermont Office of Professional Regulation has adopted Foreign Credentialing Rules as a means to determine if license applicants trained outside the US meet requirements for a Vermont license. The Office of Professional Regulation will utilize third-party evaluators to determine equivalency of an applicant's foreign work experience, education, training, and exams. If deemed equivalent, the applicant will be able to apply for licensure by endorsement, waiving US formal education, training, and exams.
November 03, 2021
UK: system for recognition of overseas professional qualifications to be revoked
An amendment to the Professional Qualifications Bill will revoke the EU-law-based system for recognizing overseas professional qualifications and instead grant UK regulators the autonomy to "assess qualifications and to pursue arrangements in other countries in the interests of their professions."
October 28, 2021
GMC: discrimination in medicine is "pressing priority"
The chief executive of the UK's General Medical Council spoke at the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin conference, warning that dealing with dealing with discrimination in medicine was one of the most "pressing priorities" across the NHS. The GMC has reported that doctors from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds are twice as likely as white doctors to be referred for fitness to practice issues and that the referral rate for internationally-educated doctors is three times higher that for UK doctors. The GMC has set a five-year target for eliminating this disproportion of complaints, including redesigning the referral process to require officers to confirm the steps taken to reach an appropriate referral.
February 18, 2021
Pennsylvania launches survey about experiences with professional licensing
The Pennsylvania Department of State has launched New Pennsylvanians Occupational Licensure Survey as part of the 3-year grant from the US Department of Labor in 2018. The survey aims to better understand immigrant, refugee and asylee experiences with becoming licensed in Pennsylvania. The survey asks about language access, education, license portability and barriers related to professional licensing. The survey will run until the end of July, with findings shared by the end of 2021.
February 10, 2021
USMLE Step 2 exam permanently cancelled
The National Board of Medical Examiners and the Federation of State Medical Boards have announced that the United States Medical Licensure Examination Step 2 Clinical Skills exam is cancelled permanently after questions about its usefulness and a 6-month review. The NBME will work with medical schools to enhance the ongoing assessment of clinical skill readiness. The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates has been working on alternative pathways for international medical graduates in place of the currently required Step 2 Clinical Skills.
November 11, 2020
UK: proposed changes to architect regulation
The UK Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government is conducting a consultation on proposed amendments to the Architects Act 1997. The Building Safety Bill would allow the Architects Registration Board to set requirements and criteria for continuing professional development and establish the power to remove architects from the register for failure to comply. The ARB website would also be updated to allow disciplinary orders to be listed next to the name of the architect. The proposal also presents two options for the recognition of architects qualified in the EU and other countries.
October 28, 2020
England: NHS pilot project to recruit refugees
A new pilot project by the Department of Health and Social Care in England aims to match refugees with open health service positions in the NHS, providing support through the professional regulation and training requirements process. There are almost 43,000 nursing vacancies in the NHS.
California law expedites licensing process for immigrants
A new law in California directs the Department of Consumer Affairs and its boards to expedite licensure applications for refugees, asylum seekers and those with special immigrant visas. Concern has also been raised related to other parts of the licensure process, such as exams offered only in English, onsite training hour requirements, complicated legal paperwork, and difficulty navigating the licensing system.
