Do I need an AWS letter to sit the RCSI aptitude test?

You need to be legally entitled to be in Ireland on the test day. RCSI accepts a passport from the EU, EEA, Switzerland or the UK, a valid Irish Residence Permit, an AWS letter of approval linked to your prospective employer, or other permission the Irish Immigration Service accepts. Most nurses from outside Europe use the AWS letter, and many also need a D visa.

How long does the AWS letter take?

Irish Immigration says to allow at least 20 working days from the date it has every required document. Visa-required nationals then apply for the visa, and Immigration says to allow at least 8 weeks for that. You cannot apply for the visa before the AWS letter arrives.

How much does the AWS cost?

The AWS fee is €250 per application, paid by credit card when you submit, and it is not refundable. A visa is extra: Irish Immigration lists €60 for single entry and €100 for multiple entry.

Can I work while I am in Ireland on the AWS?

No. The approval is only to sit the RCSI test (or complete clinical adaptation) and apply for an employment permit. Work as a healthcare assistant is not permitted under any circumstances, and neither is agency work. You start as a nurse once the employment permit is granted.

What if the name of my employer changes?

RCSI says the prospective employer you name when you apply for the test must match the employer on the AWS letter. The AWS and the later employment permit are tied to one employer and one location, and changes are only allowed in the most exceptional circumstances.

AWS Letter and Visa for the RCSI Aptitude Test: the Rules

Updated 24 September 2026 · 7 min read · Sources: irishimmigration.ie, rcsi.com, enterprise.gov.ie

Most nurses from outside Europe enter Ireland for the RCSI aptitude test on an AWS letter: the letter of approval under the Atypical Working Scheme, run by the Department of Justice. Visa-required nationals also need a D visa on top. This is where good candidates lose test dates. Not on the exam. On a contract signed the wrong way, or papers still missing 13 days before the test. Here are the rules from Irish Immigration and RCSI as they read on 24 September 2026.

What RCSI accepts as your right to sit

RCSI says you must be legally entitled to be in Ireland to take the test. One of these:

a valid passport from the EU, the EEA, Switzerland or the UK;
a valid Irish Residence Permit (IRP). If it has expired, upload the old card and proof that you applied to renew before the expiry date;
an AWS letter of approval linked to your prospective employer, plus a D visa endorsed for atypical work if you are visa-required;
other permission the Irish Immigration Service accepts for the test.

The deadline is the rule people fail on. RCSI sends a booking confirmation form no later than 17 days before the test. It must come back, with all immigration documents, by 8am Irish time on the Monday 12 or 13 days before the test. Miss that and you are moved to a later date, subject to places and to your NMBI decision letter still being in date. You can ask to go back on the original date only with every document in hand, not a notice that it is ready, by 8am on the Monday 6 or 7 days before. No guarantee.

The contract comes first

You need a contract of employment from the employer, not the agent. RCSI strongly recommends having it before you apply for the test. Irish Immigration is strict about the paper itself:

minimum 2 years, and it can be permanent;
signed in ink and dated by both you and the employer. Digital signatures or typed-in dates are refused;
one scanned document, with no handwritten text that cannot be shown to be agreed by both sides;
the start date must reflect your RCSI test date and cannot be before it, with enough time for the AWS and the visa;
a letter of offer is not a contract and is not accepted.

If the contract has to be resubmitted, it must be signed and dated again by both parties, and any amended page too. The employer must be a licensed and registered facility or a defined community nursing role. Agency work does not qualify.

Applying for the AWS letter

You apply on the Immigration online portal, from outside Ireland, and you stay outside until the decision. One application per 12 months. With the form you upload a colour copy of your whole passport (valid for the permission you ask for), the signed contract showing dates, salary in euro and location, the NMBI letter (valid until you finish the RCSI test), confirmation of your RCSI examination dates, and a signed letter of authorisation if an agent applies for you. The fee is €250, by credit card, non-refundable.

Allow at least 20 working days from the day Immigration has every document. Applications are processed in order and cannot be expedited. The letter of approval is valid for 90 days from issue. If you do not use it in that time, you apply again and pay again.

The visa

If you are a visa-required national, you apply for the visa only after the AWS letter arrives, and the AWS letter goes in with the visa application. On the form, choose “Employment” as the reason for travel and write “Atypical Working Scheme” as the purpose. Nurses staying more than 90 days apply for a D (long stay) visa. Allow at least 8 weeks. The visa fee is €60 single entry or €100 multiple entry. Do not book travel until you hold both the letter and the visa.

Put those together and the timing is plain. A test date opens 3.5 to 4.5 months ahead. Twenty working days plus eight weeks is about three months before you even count posting the contract. Start the AWS as soon as RCSI invites you.

Six months, one employer, no work

For nurses the AWS permission is up to 6 months from your first entry. That has to cover the RCSI test, NMBI registration and the employment permit, and you must get the permit before the AWS permission ends. Register with immigration within 90 days of arrival. The approval is not permission to work: no nursing and no healthcare assistant shifts until the permit is granted. It is tied to the employer and the location on the letter.

If you fail the test and appeal to the NMBI, you still leave Ireland before the 6 months end, even if the appeal is open. If the appeal succeeds, the employer gets you an employment permit first and you come back after.

Make the one trip count

The AWS allows one application in any 12-month period and gives you 6 months in the country, and RCSI wants both attempts at both parts inside 12 weeks. Wasting that trip costs a new AWS fee and months of waiting. Sit the 150-question mock exam before you fly, and fix the weak topics in the practice bank. The pass is €59 and opens the theory bank and the OSCE paperwork trainers. If you recruit nurses, agency seats let you watch each candidate’s progress.

Sources: Irish Immigration Atypical Working Scheme (updated 30 April 2026), Atypical Working Scheme for nurses (updated 31 October 2023) and visa fees (updated 25 February 2025); RCSI Application process; Department of Enterprise Employment permits for nurses. Checked 24 September 2026.

AWS letter and visa for the RCSI aptitude test