There is more than one way to gain General Medical Council registration as an IMG. Dr Kimberley Tan from The Savvy IMG helps you consider your options.

What is a GMC route?

All IMGs will need to submit certain requirements to the GMC as part of the application for registration. One of these requirements is the “Proof of clinical knowledge and skills.” There are several ways to demonstrate proof of clinical knowledge and skills, and these make up the different “routes”. These include:

• PLAB (UKMLA from 2024)
• Acceptable overseas registration exam (eg. USMLE, MCCQ, AMC)
• Relevant European qualification (REQ)
• Acceptable postgraduate qualification (eg. MRCP, MRCS, MRCOG etc)
• Sponsorship (eg. MTI)
• CESR/CEGPR

So, if you hear someone talking about the PLAB route, MRCS route, MTI route to GMC registration, this is what it means.

How do you choose the right route?

There are five key factors when choosing your GMC route:

Where you completed your training

Whether you have passed any accepted foreign licensing exams

Your postgraduate specialist training experience

Whether or not you plan to work in the UK long-term

Age

1. Country of training

If you graduated from a European medical school or completed specialist training in Europe, then you do not have to sit any further exams for GMC registration. This applies even to those who are non-EU nationals.

To check whether you fall under this route, please consult the Relevant European qualifications list on the GMC website.

2. Foreign licensing exams

You can use the acceptable overseas registration exam route if you have passed USMLE, AMC or MCCQE. In order to use any of these exams for GMC registration, you need to show that you passed these exams on or before the following dates:

• USMLE: 13 March 2020
• AMC: 5 March 2020
• MCCQE: 27 October 2020

There are further conditions to using this route that you can read about on the GMC website.

3. Postgraduate training and experience

If you have yet to complete any postgraduate specialty training, then the PLAB route is the logical choice. The PLAB exam is set at the level of a doctor who has just completed an internship so it’s most suitable for recent graduates.

For those who have recently completed specialist training or intend to complete training before moving to the UK long-term, the acceptable postgraduate qualification route is a good choice. On this route, you will need to pass several exams that lead to a relevant qualification for your specialty. The GMC accepts both UK-based and certain overseas qualifications so definitely check out the official GMC list here.

For example, if you are a surgeon, the GMC accepts the MRCS (Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons) from the UK, as well as the Doctor of Medicine or MD (surgery) from Sri Lanka.

If you have already completed training and have worked as a Consultant for many years, then you can consider the CESR route. CESR stands for Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration. On the CESR route, you’ll need to submit documents to the GMC showing that you have the equivalent training and experience of a UK-trained specialist.

For example, if you are a paediatrician, you’ll need to show that you have similar training and experience as a doctor who has completed the eight-year paediatrics training programme in the UK.

For the family physicians or general practitioners, you can consider the CEGPR route. CEGPR stands for Certificate of Eligibility for GP Registration. On the CEGPR route, you’ll need to compile documents showing that you have the equivalent training and experience of a UK-trained GP. 

Just take note that in the UK, GPs are family and community medicine specialists with a minimum of five years’ postgraduate training so you need to show equivalent experience.

4. Short-term UK experience

Not keen on migrating to the UK long-term? If you are still training in your home country and want to gain UK experience with the ultimate goal of returning home in one to two years to complete your specialist training, then definitely look into the sponsorship route. 

The Medical Training Initiative (MTI) falls under the sponsorship route which you can read more about here.

5. Age

I’ve listed this as one of the factors when choosing GMC registration, but I really just wanted to highlight that age is not a factor at all! It’s a common misconception that one can be too old for certain routes, but if you meet all the other eligibility criteria and submit the correct documents for your application, then age is not an issue.

What about IELTS or OET?

All routes require an English test like IELTS or OET. For the full list of other requirements check out this article.

Summary

It can be difficult to choose from the six available routes to GMC registration, but if you carefully consider the five factors listed here then hopefully you’ve been able to come to a decision! None of the routes exclude IMGs based on age, and all routes require you to pass an English test such as IELTS or OET.

About the author

Dr Kimberley Tan is from The Savvy IMG, an online resource for IMGs, written by IMGs. The website now offers 80+ free guides, two online courses with more to come, and an IMG coaching service. Visit the website for more information: thesavvyimg.co.uk.