The government has proposed allowing non-locally trained nurses to practise in Hong Kong without taking the licensing exam.

In a paper submitted to Legco, the Health Bureau said it hopes to provide a new pathway of special registration or enrolment, so qualified nurses trained outside of Hong Kong can work in the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority, whether they are permanent residents or not.

“It is proposed that non-locally trained nurses who have been engaged in full-time employment in one or more than one specified institutions with special registration/enrolment for a certain duration, subject to their employing institutions’ confirmation that they have served satisfactorily and competently as nurses during the service period, will be eligible for full registration/enrolment in Hong Kong without the need to take the Licensing Examination,” the paper read.

Authorities also plan to provide a new pathway of limited registration or enrolment for the admission of qualified non-locally trained nurses to serve in premises such as care homes, social welfare service units and nurse training schools.

Currently, non-locally trained nurses must pass the licensing examination administered by the Nursing Council of Hong Kong to be qualified as a nurse here.

The bureau said with just 66,492 nurses working in Hong Kong at the end of 2022, the city is facing an acute shortage of nurses, with an ageing workforce and worsening attrition in the sector.

"Given the lead time required for training local nurses and the practical constraints in further enhancing the training capacity significantly, the government cannot solely rely on increasing the number of local training places to address the manpower problem," it said.

"We thus need to tap on non-local sources and channel them to the public healthcare sector, and possibly the social welfare sector as well."

The government plans to introduce amendments to the Nurses Registration Ordinance in the middle of this year.

The proposal is set to be discussed at a Legco panel meeting on Friday.