Kenya is among the countries whose citizens account for the highest number of immigrant nurses in the United States, a report by CGFNS International has revealed.
CGFNS, an immigration-neutral non-profit organization that helps foreign-educated healthcare professionals live and work in their country of choice by assessing and validating their academic and professional credentials, released the statistics while announcing that a robust annual rate of nurse migration into the US held steady in 2024.
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According to the report, this was due to the continued outsourcing by healthcare systems looking for foreign-educated nurses to help address persistent staffing shortages.
CGFNS reported that in the fiscal year 2024, the workforce received 24,733 applications for its VisaScreen (VS) service, a 4.6% drop from FY 2023.
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The organization, however, noted that application levels remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic figures, with the 2024 figure at nearly 200% above FY 2018.
CGFNS report ranks Kenya third
The Philippines continued to account for more than 51% of VS certificates, followed by Canada and Kenya with 8% and 6.5% respectively.
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There has been a slight shift in this distribution recently, with the Philippines dropping from 60% of the total last year, while Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana have all shown considerable growth in their share.
“The Philippines remains the leading provider of foreign-educated healthcare professionals. However, Kenya has emerged as a key player, surpassing the United States to become the third most common country of education for VisaScreen® applicants. In fact, Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana have all shown considerable growth over the past three years,” part of the report reads.
According to CGFNS, this shift reflects changing global mobility dynamics and increased participation from regions with developing healthcare workforces.
The U.S. ranks sixth overall, having dropped from third in 2023, reflecting the number of healthcare professionals that have been educated in the U.S. but still require a visa to practice in the country.
Like countries of education, visa categories are also significantly concentrated, with 76% of VS certificates issued to those seeking permanent green cards (such as EB-3 visas), while TN (12%) and H1-B (11%) made up the only other significant categories.
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86% of VisaScreen® certificates were issued to registered nurses (RNs) while 12% were issued to clinical laboratory scientists.
Seven other allied health professions covered by CGFNS accounted for the remaining 2%.
Pearson VUE Test Centre
The ranking of Kenyan immigrant nurses comes after the government launched the Pearson Virtual University Enterprise (VUE) Test Centre in 2024.
Pearson VUE Test Centre is an assessment provider that is in charge of the administration of the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) crucial test for nursing licensure across the USA, Canada and Australia.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi while presiding over the launch of Pearson VUE Test Centre said the move will enable nurses qualifying from public and private training institutions like the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) to meet the requirements of securing international jobs, where the demand for nursing skills is ever rising.
The Centre was set up to oversee the administration of the NCLEX-RN exams, offering a significant solution for Kenyan nurses who previously had to take the exams in South Africa or India spearheaded by the State Department for Diaspora Affairs and the Kenya Embassy in Washington DC.
“This is a significant milestone not just for Kenya but also for our partners in East African Community and beyond, and now Kenya is the second in Africa, after South Africa, in certifying and licensing of nursing professionals,” said Mudavadi.
“Now, the Pearson footprint here offers us a great opportunity to rapidly scale up the licensing and certification of our nurses well beyond these numbers. We can considerably increase the number of nurses taking these exams, particularly if we align the Pearson test process with our nursing training curriculum.”
Stakeholders lauded
Mudavadi lauded stakeholders and partners who made the initiative a reality in the country, saying Kenyan nurses will now be able to explore key opportunities abroad and some will bring back the knowledge and expertise to support the local health sector.
He said his office will work closely with the Ministry of Health and other technical and professional institutions in the nursing ecosystem to deepen its engagement with Pearson International, to ensure that the country maximizes the benefits of their presence here.
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