New Rule for Indian Students Pursuing MBBS in Abroad: NMC Guidelines 2023

By: Career Marg Team | on July 11, 2023

National Medical Commission

The National Medical Commission, following the gazette released on 8th August 2019. The National Medical Commission (NMC) has been constituted by an act of Parliament known as the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 which came into force on 25.9.2020 by gazette notification dated 24.9.2020. The Board of Governors in supersession of the Medical Council of India constituted under section 3A of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 stands dissolved thereafter.

Some of the many functions of NMC are listed as:

(a) lay down policies for maintaining high quality and high standards in medical education and make necessary regulations on this behalf;

(b) lay down policies for regulating medical institutions, medical researchers, and medical professionals and make necessary regulations on this behalf;

(c) assess the requirements in healthcare, including human resources for health and healthcare infrastructure, and develop a road map for meeting such needs; etc

Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations 2023 

After releasing a draft notification proposing the drastic change for the Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) released in April 2021, NMC received severe uproar from various stakeholders. NMC took note of all these concerns and issued the Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate (FMGL) Regulations on 18th Nov 2021. 

For the students planning to study MBBS abroad, the guidelines ensured that all foreign medical graduates could practice in India once after receiving the permanent registrations after qualifying for the Indian medical licensing exam & its related procedures. 

To be eligible to apply for permanent registrations by the FMGs, they are required to fulfill the below criteria: 

• The total course duration of MBBS in the chosen university abroad should be at least for 54 months, along with an internship period of a minimum of 12 months in the same medical institutions.
• The students should have studied in the university with English as the official medium of instruction. 
• The students must have studied the subjects like Community Medicine, General Medicine, Psychiatry, Paediatrics, General Surgery, Anaesthesia, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Orthopaedics, Otorhinolaryngology, Ophthalmology, Dermatology, Emergency or Casualty services, lab services, and their sub-specialties.

The duration and course details for the Foreign Medical Graduates are as follows:

• The students must have undergone theoretical, practical, and clinical training which should be equivalent to the MBBS course in India. 
• The students must have completed 12 months of compulsory internship from the same institution where they have completed their other parts of the course. 

The gazette emphasizes that the student must complete all the parts of the curriculum including the internship/ clinical rotation which must be completed within 10 years from the date of enrollment. 

Points to Be Noted!

• The minimum course duration studied by the applicant in the medical university abroad should be 54 months (4.5 years)
• A course of theory, practical and clinical training equivalent to a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in India; and an internship of twelve months in addition to the course, in the same foreign institution where the primary medical qualification has been obtained.
• The entire course, training, and internship or clerkship shall be done outside India in the same foreign medical institution throughout the course of study. No part of it should be done anywhere else.

Which Countries fulfill NMC Guidelines for Studying MBBS Abroad