If you’re a doctor who trained outside of the UK and looking for information about practicing in the UK, you’ve come to the right place.
Please read the article to explore what you need to know.
All doctors must have registration with a license issued by the General Medical Council (GMC) to legally practice medicine and undertake activities restricted by law to doctors, such as writing prescriptions and signing death certificates, regardless of whether they are working in the NHS or independent sector, either on a full or part time, permanent or locum basis.
It also applies to all levels of registration, whether provisional, full or on the specialist or general practitioner (GP) register.
Registration
All doctors intending to practise medicine in the UK are required to be registered with the GMC, doctors who hold registration but not a licence may be working as an academic or outside the UK. They cannot undertake any of the activities – clinical work – for which UK law requires them to hold a licence to practise.
Doctors who have never been registered with the GMC will have to apply for registration with a licence to practise.
The requirements for registration in the UK will depend on a number of factors:
- your nationality
- the country in which you gained your primary medical qualification
- the type of work you want to do
- whether or not you have completed a period of post-graduate training or an internship
First doctors should check that you possess an acceptable primary medical qualification to apply for registration.
In addition, international medical graduates (IMGs) will be required to demonstrate their medical knowledge and skills, and all applicants may have to demonstrate they are competent in using the English language before they are registered. We also shared an article as a helpful guide for IMGs on its website.
Non-UK nationals
If you are not a UK national you will also need to meet the requirements of UK Visas and Immigration regulations to gain the right to enter and work in UK.
Types of registration
Provisional registration
Provisional registration (alongside a licence to practise) only allows newly qualified doctors to undertake an approved Foundation Year 1 post. The law does not allow provisionally registered doctors to work in any other type of post. On successful completion of Foundation Year 1, you will be able to apply for full GMC
registration.Provisional registration is available to doctors with the following nationality, rights and qualifications:
- UK medical graduates who have completed their medical degree at a UK University recognised in the Medical Act 1983
- International medical graduates who have an acceptable primary medical qualification and who have passed the PLAB test but who have not completed an internship Nationals from the Switzerland
Full registration
Full registration enables doctors to work in any form of professional medical practice in the UK, provided they hold a license to practice. Doctors must, however, also hold specialist registration to take up a consultant post (other than a locum consultant post); and those wishing to work as GPs must be on the GP register.
Doctors qualifying from outside the UK may be eligible to apply directly for full registration if they hold an acceptable primary medical qualification and have completed a period of postgraduate clinical experience.
A doctor will need to provide documentary evidence to support their application. Only original documents can be accepted. To complete the process, all doctors must visit the GMC in person to undergo a pre-registration identity check.
UK graduates and IMGs who are new to full registration and taking up a new job, are required to work within an approved practice setting (APS) as assessed by the GMC as suitable for doctors new to full registration. NHS employers will have approved practice setting status.
Specialist registration
All consultants (other than a locum consultant appointment) must be on the specialist register of the General Medical Council (GMC). To be eligible to apply for specialist registration with the GMC, doctors must have successfully completed a GMC-approved training programme and been granted one of the following certificates:
- Certificate of Completion of Training [8] (CCT [9])
- Certificate confirming Eligibility for Specialist Registration (CESR)
Doctors who have not completed a full GMC-approved training programme and wish to have their training, qualifications and experience assessed for eligibility for entry onto the specialist register must make an application under The General and Specialist Medical Practice Order for a CESR. It is not possible to hold specialist registration without also holding full registration.
GP registration
All doctors working in general practice in the NHS in the UK (other than doctors in training such as GP registrars) are required to be on the GP Register. This requirement extends to locums.
