Being a nurse is the most in demand out of the country job right now; however other countries like Saudi Arabia wants to accommodate their local applicants first. But according to the survey, 80% of Saudi men and women prefer to be treated by Filipinos since they are gentler especially when handling pregnancy cases. So Japan opens their doors for Filipinos to work as a nurse in their country. This is a good opportunity to start the same work in a different country.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has announced that Japan needs 500 nurses from the Philippines. The said proposal is under the present Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA). Nurses who would pass the qualifications shall be employed as an assistant and can be fully accepted as registered nurses after passing the local licensure examination. For those successful ones, they are expected to get ¥200,000, or approximately Php 100,000.

POEA will examine the job applicants starting November. The qualifications are as follow; should be a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Nursing at any reputable schools nationwide, must be a Philippine’s nursing board exam passer, at least 3 years practice of working in a hospital and should be physically and mentally fit. All interested applicants can submit their application online.

Every country has their own version of Nursing Licensure Exam. Before any foreign nurse would be allowed to work as a registered nurse, they need to pass that certain exam. Among those countries that has been giving the most difficult exams are those non-English speaking countries. Foreign nurses need to undergo didactic studies of that country’s language as well as their culture.

A total of 270 nurses and caregivers who applied under JPEPA or the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) left for Japan last May 10. They are the first batch of health care workers given the opportunity to work abroad as a nurse.

The second batch of 10 workers is scheduled to leave on May 31, for a total of 280 successful applicants. There are still 86 positions available for there are originally, 366 job vacancies for 134 Japanese institutions and facilities.

For Filipino nurses, we will now answer the basic questions just in case you want to work in Japan as a nurse or candidate-kangoshi.

How can I apply as a nurse in Japan?
Go to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) or apply as a nurse online.