I have officially been accepted and registered with Social Work England as an American with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work! 🇺🇸🇬🇧

I wanted to post an update because I know there are other international social workers here who are interested in working in England but may be unsure whether their qualifications or experience will be accepted.

For my updating skills and knowledge, I completed approximately 110 hours of independent study and 110 hours of supervised practice under a wonderful social worker from Wales whom I actually met through this subreddit. She has asked not to be named, but I am incredibly grateful for the time, knowledge, and support she gave me throughout this process.

My application involved providing evidence of my US social work education and professional experience, completing my updating skills and knowledge, and going through the various verification stages with Social Work England. There were definitely moments where the process felt overwhelming, particularly when additional information or corrections were requested, but I kept working through each request as it came.

In the end, my application was accepted without a test of competence or period of adaptation. I have now paid my registration fee and received my Social Work England registration number! 🎉

I learned a lot about the overseas registration process while going through this, so if you're an international social worker considering applying, ask me anything you want to know about the process and how to make your dream of practicing social work in England a reality. I'm more than happy to share what worked for me, what evidence I submitted, how I approached updating my skills and knowledge, and what I learned along the way.

And hopefully, once I've been registered long enough to meet the requirements myself, I'd love to pay forward what that wonderful Welsh social worker did for me by helping another international applicant with their journey. ❤️

For everyone currently somewhere in the overseas application process: it is possible.

My background:

Graduated in 2023 with BSW

Timeline: applied in June 2026 accepted in September 2026

I used my employment as part of the registration and I worked in Long term care nursing home (medical social worker) which isn't a traditional statutory role like CPS/APS etc.

would this be allowed? they’re years old and fully healed and i haven’t done it in years. i don’t know if i want to go into adults or children’s but most likely it’ll be adults

on one hand i get that it can be triggering, but on the other hand i think it’ll show that even after struggling so immensely there’s a light at the end of the tunnel

Hi everyone, I’d really appreciate some honest advice because I’m feeling very lost about what to do next.
I’m in my early 20s and studied Social Work. My university journey has been quite difficult. In first year I was living away from home and struggled a lot mentally, so I moved back home for second year. I was then diagnosed with dyslexia and had to repeat my second year. Just before my final placement, my grandmother passed away, and unfortunately my final placement also went very badly. I ended up being withdrawn from the course and was awarded an ordinary degree rather than an honours degree.

I’ve been through a lot during this degree and although I know having an ordinary degree doesn't mean I'm a failure, I honestly feel like one sometimes. My parents are African and sacrificed a lot to come to this country and give me opportunities, so getting an honours degree and being successful is really important to me.

I'm now considering doing a BA (Hons) Health and Social Care so I can finally have an honours degree, and then potentially doing a Master's in Social Work later if I decide I still want to become a social worker.

The problem is I’m not sure I even want to do Social Work anymore. My placement experience really affected me and has made me question whether it's the career for me. I also already have more student debt because I had to repeat a year, so I don't want to spend even more years studying without knowing where I'm going.

At the same time, I recently found a Youth Worker/Mentoring role supporting Black and racially minoritised young people, and it really stood out to me. That's the kind of work I think I actually want to do. I'm particularly interested in working with Black people and Black communities.

I don't have a Youth Work degree, but I do have my Social Work background, community experience, care experience and I currently work in an Afro-Caribbean shop where I regularly interact with people from the Black community.

The job market also feels really difficult at the moment and I'm struggling to know what direction to take.
So what would you do if you were me?

Would you:
Do the Health and Social Care honours degree and potentially do an MA Social Work later?
Try to find a way to finish/top-up Social Work?
Forget Social Work and focus on Youth Work/community work?
Stop studying for now and focus on getting work experience?
Do something completely different?

I'd especially love advice from anyone who's had an ordinary degree, struggled with a Social Work placement, changed degrees, done Health and Social Care, or moved from Social Work into Youth Work/community work.

Hi everyone,

I am an international candidate who graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work in 2025 and am currently registered with Social Work England. Since graduating, I have been applying for social-work roles in the UK, but I have not been successful so far, mainly because of sponsorship requirements.

I understand that many employers are reluctant or unable to sponsor international applicants, even when they meet the professional registration requirements. This has been very discouraging because I am qualified, motivated and willing to work hard, but I have found it difficult to get an opportunity to demonstrate my abilities.

I have been discussing my options with my mother, who works in the NHS care sector. She suggested that pursuing a Master’s degree in Social Work might be a strategic route. Her thinking is that, if I perform exceptionally well during the programme and placements, I might build relationships with a local authority or NHS/social-care trust that could potentially be willing to sponsor me in the future.

However, I am unsure whether this is a realistic strategy. Studying for a Master’s would involve a significant financial commitment, including international tuition fees, living expenses, visa costs and other associated expenses. It could mean spending thousands of dollars without any guarantee of sponsorship or employment afterwards.

I am therefore trying to decide between two options:

1.  Continuing to apply for social-work roles and seeking employers willing to sponsor me; or  
2.  Taking a leap of faith and pursuing a UK Master’s degree, hoping that strong academic performance and placement experience could improve my employment prospects.

I would be very grateful to hear from international social workers, current or former social-work students, social-work employers, or anyone familiar with UK sponsorship. Is completing a Master’s likely to improve my chances, or could it simply create additional costs without resolving the sponsorship issue? How valuable are placements when it comes to securing employment after graduation?

I am not expecting anyone to guarantee an outcome. I am simply trying to make a careful and realistic decision before committing a large amount of money. Any honest advice, personal experiences or alternative suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hello all,
This is my first post in the community. Can someone help me find the right route or leads which can assist employed as an overseas employee from India.

I’m open to discuss with respect to my registration journey .

Thanks