Working as an Optometrist around the world

Working in the rest of the world as a New Zealand trained optometrist can be very hard. Often considerable study needs to be undertaken to gain registration for that country. Some South East Asian Countries and Canada are New Zealand trained Optometrist friendly!

United States

The U.S requires you to do 4 years study (pretty much repeating your original qualification) to become a practicing optometrist. The U.S has recently removed their option of 2 years extra study if you had excellent grades from an Australasian Optometry School.

This website contains links to the State Optometry Boards around the U.S:
http://www.arbo.org/index.php?action=arboDirectoryOfBoards

United Kingdom

Exams need to be passed to practice Optometry in the U.K, although it seems unclear who first to approach to find out more information. Watch this space to find out more information soon.