Overseas Aptitude Test – General Nurse

How much to pay

The fee is €2,800 except where the fee is being paid directly to RCSI by a prospective employer who is entitled to a discount or an agent on behalf of the prospective employer. In this case the fee is €2,500. The discount is only applicable at the point of application and will not be given retrospectively.

Please note

• You must allow for any transaction charges if applicable.
• The fee includes two attempts at each part of the test.
• The fee has, so far, remained unchanged since the first test in December 2015.

Proof of payment

Before paying the correct fee, it is essential that all the requirements regarding the proof of payment are fully considered to ensure full compliance as follows:

1. The proof of payment must be an official bank receipt. It must contain the following as part of the official receipt (not hand-written):
   - Name and address and logo of bank from where the money is being sent.
   - Official stamp from where the money is being sent.
   - The account number from where the money is being sent.
   - The full name of the account from where the money is being sent.
   - RCSI account number into which the money is being transferred.
   - Amount paid (in euro).
   - The full name of the applicant as per passport.
2. The relationship of the account holder to the applicant must be hand-written on the bottom of the receipt, as per one of the following:
   - Account holder is prospective employer who is entitled to the discounted fee (€2,500) – state name of prospective employer.
   - Account holder is agent paying on behalf of the prospective employer who is entitled to the discounted fee (€2,500) – state name of agent and the prospective employer.
   - Account holder is prospective employer who is not entitled to the discounted fee (€2,800) – state name of prospective employer.
   - Account holder is agent paying on behalf of the prospective employer who is not entitled to the discounted fee (€2,800) – state name of agent and the prospective employer.
   - Account holder is the applicant (€2,800) – state name of agent and prospective employer.
   - Account holder is other than above (€2,800) – state relationship to applicant.
3. The preferred test date 

Please note

• An application will not be processed and will be returned until the details above are correct.
• An invoice will not be issued. A receipt of the proof of payment will form part of your invitation email. If the fee was paid by someone other than you the applicant, then you must forward the invitation email to them. No other receipt will be automatically issued. 

Refund of fees

There is no automatic refund of unused fees, except where an applicant is unsuccessful at the second attempt at the theory test, in which case the portion of the fee for the practical test will be refunded (as such an applicant would not be eligible to take this part if they are unsuccessful at the theory test).

Administration charges for refunds
a) If a fee has been paid by agent/prospective employer and the fee is going to be used for another applicant and the request is made in writing before the test date: then the administration charge is 10%. The unused fee must be used within three months of the withdrawal or a further administration charge may be added.

b) If a fee has been paid by agent/prospective employer and the fee is not going to be used for another applicant or if the fee has been paid by someone else (applicant or other) then the administration charge will vary depending on when the application is withdrawn and the refund requested, as follows:
i. If withdrawn and refund requested 30 or more days before the allocated test date, then the administration charge will be: 10% of the fee paid.
ii. If withdrawn and refund requested between 14 and 29 days before the allocated test date, then the administration charge will be: 15% of the fee paid.
iii. If withdrawn and refund requested 13 days or less before the allocated test date, then the administration charge will be: 20% of the fee paid.
iv. If there is a no-show or a response is not received to the booking confirmation by the due date then the administration charge will be: 20% of the fee paid.

For the process to follow regarding refunds refer to changes to test status in the Apply section.

These administration charges are necessary because of:

• The amount of additional resource implications including staff time involved in administration and processing.
• The necessary communication and follow-up required by the Aptitude Test manager.
• Not being able to ascertain, despite several endeavours to communicate/follow-up, if an applicant is coming to a test.
• The late reply that an applicant is withdrawing that often results in it being too late to offer the place to someone else which significantly impacts on workforce planning.
• Late application for a refund concurrently with information gaps including missing details.

Changes expected to fees from mid-August 2025 (probably week commencing 11 August 2025)

A system called TransferMate will be used. This system allows for multiple ways to pay and not just via bank transfer.

The fee will be €2,800. The only exception will be where the fee is being paid directly to RCSI by a prospective employer who is entitled to a discount. In this case the fee will be €2,500. The discount is only applicable at the point of application and will not be given retrospectively.

As part of the TransferMate system, there will be a charge of €10 if paid in euro.

The payment can be made by the applicant; an agent; a prospective employer; or other (the relationship to the applicant must be clear). Each applicant must have an individual payment. The practice of having more than one applicant on the same payment (used by a very small number of prospective employers/agents) will no longer be accepted.

Likely application flow
Before applying, the required three documents must be ready to be uploaded:

• NMBI decision letter that must be in-date on the first day of the test.
• Biography page of passport.
• Recent photograph.

Application questions are answered.

• The name inputted must be exactly as per NMBI decision letter.
• A few mandatory questions in the survey field must be answered.

Submit once only. The application will be acknowledged. In that acknowledgement, there will be the applicant’s unique eight-digit RCSI ID. The applicant’s unique eight-digit RCSI ID will be essential before payment can be made.

The fee will now be submitted via the link provided. Whoever paid the fee will receive a receipt that must now be uploaded to the application.

The application must now be resubmitted. The application will be assessed and if correct then an invitation will be issued.

Some of the advantages of this system include:

• There will be multiple ways of paying and it will not be restricted to bank transfer.
• A receipt will be generated for future use (as required) by whoever paid.
• Refunds will be much faster.
• The payment proof (receipt) will contain all the required information without the need for RCSI to match to bank statements (this has, at times, been very time consuming when all the required detail was not on the payment proof).

Refunds
An additional charge of €50 will be deducted for each test date postponement since application.