Global shortage: Higher pay, better perks lure Indian nurses abroad
It's a long way from Tirupati to Schwaighofstraße in Munich, but for 24-year-old Sushma Sree Eri, her dream destination is now within arm's reach. A BSc in Nursing, Sushma has landed a job in a German nursing home through
BorderPlus
, and is just awaiting the results of her B2 level German language test before she heads out.
Her initial pay will be 2,700 euros (about Rs 2.6 lakh) a month, which will increase to 3,300 euros (Rs 3.2 lakh) once she gets licensed there. That's compared to Rs 20,000-40,000 monthly she would have earned in a private hospital in India, and Rs 80,000 had she managed to get a government job.
Opportunities galore are opening up for Indian nurses in overseas markets as ageing developed economies increasingly need skilled professionals in critical, geriatric, paediatric and prenatal care amid a global healthcare workforce shortage.
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An estimated 70,000-100,000 Indian nurses migrated overseas last year and demand is set to increase 15-30% this year, according to industry executives. The momentum is likely to continue for several years, they said, as Germany, Italy and Japan are hiring Indian nurses in big numbers now, while traditional Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) destinations including the UK, US, Australia and Canada, and Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, remain major employers.
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'It's the best time ever to be a nurse,' said Deepesh Gupta, director – general staffing, Adecco, a global provider of human resources solutions.
Around 640,000 Indian nurses are working abroad, including about 88,000 in OECD countries. There has been a notable surge since 2020, with an estimated 250,000-300,000 Indian nurses securing jobs overseas during this period, as per industry reports and government data from agencies like the Overseas Development and Employment Promotion Consultants.
Such is the potential that several big players have entered what was a largely unorganised segment.
BorderPlus, a talent mobility platform looking to connect blue-collar workers with global opportunities, starting with the healthcare sector in Germany, was launched by upGrad cofounder Mayank Kumar in January. Business services provider Quess has initiated efforts in the international nurse deployment space while talent company Randstad is working closely with government bodies from this fiscal to explore possibilities of facilitating the process of exporting nursing talent to high-demand countries.
BorderPlus has seen a 20–30% month-on-month increase in demand for
Indian nurses overseas
since its launch, according to its CEO Mayank Kumar. The growth trajectory suggests that over a year, the demand could potentially double, he said, adding that the surge is driven by the global shortage of nursing professionals, which the World Health Organization projects to reach 4.5 million by 2030.
'High-income countries are increasingly addressing this gap by recruiting from India, drawn by the reputation of Indian nurses for empathy, robust clinical skills, and comprehensive BSc-level training. These attributes make Indian nurses highly valued in healthcare systems worldwide,' said Kumar.
Demand up, requirements eased
Many countries have eased recruitment norms specifically for Indian professionals.
For instance, Germany plans to raise its skilled-worker visa cap from 20,000 to 90,000 for Indians, while Japan has simplified visa processes and offers eight to 10 times more pay than that in India. In addition, several countries are offering permanent residency or citizenship as part of their nurse recruitment strategies. Italy aims to recruit 10,000 Indian nurses in the coming years.
'Countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada have relaxed immigration requirements, providing streamlined visa pathways and bridging programmes,' said Adecco's Gupta.
Ireland issued 12,000 healthcare work permits in 2024, a significant share of which were granted to Indian professionals, said Sanjay Shetty, chief business officer - Quess Recruitment and International Services.
TeamLease chairman Manish Sabharwal, cofounder of Global Access to Talent from India (GATI) said there's potential for 500,000 Indian nurses to go abroad yearly on well-designed guest worker programmes. GATI, a non-profit foundation launched by The Convergence, Sabharwal and Godrej Foundation earlier this month, focuses on creating an enabling ecosystem for overseas employment from India.
Higher pay, better quality of life
Overseas nursing roles have become increasingly attractive to qualified Indians as they offer not just significantly higher pay but personal security, better quality of life and professional growth, said Quess' Shetty.
Indian nurses get seven to ten times higher pay packages abroad on average compared to the salaries in India, depending on their skill sets and levels of experience, said Shiv Nath Ghosh, chief commercial officer, professional talent solutions, Randstad India.
'In PPP (purchasing power parity) terms, these salaries often translate to 3-5x more effective income after adjusting for cost of living,' said BorderPlus' Kumar.
Shetty further said, 'A lot of countries abroad offer better workplaces, manageable patient-to-nurse ratios, regulated work hours and greater respect for the profession, leading to better job satisfaction and work-life balance.'
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