Background information
- The GMC is the regulatory body for doctors, physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs) in the UK, and among other duties is responsible for managing the register of doctors, PAs and AAs in the UK.
- In order to practise in the UK, a doctor must be registered and hold a licence to practise. Doctors seeking registration are divided into two broad categories based upon their country of qualification: UK graduates and international medical graduates.
- Until 12 December 2026 PAs and AAs do not require registration to work in the UK, however until then they are encouraged to obtain registration. Most PAs and AAs seeking registration will have a UK qualification, but there are a few applicants who hold an international qualification.
- Applicants for registration must satisfy a number of criteria, one of which is that they must hold a registrable qualification. For the purpose of this specification, a registrable qualification is defined as a primary medical qualification or associate qualification which is currently accepted by the GMC for the purpose of applying for registration as a doctor, PA or AA.
- GMC requires the registrable qualification of all doctors, PAs and AAs to be verified with the applicant’s awarding body before the applicant is granted registration. In the case of UK graduates, there is an established process whereby UK medical schools (for doctors) and UK course providers (for PAs and AAs) proactively share graduation data directly with the GMC; for international applicants, however, each applicant’s registrable qualification is verified by the GMC at the point of application.
- The GMC invites tender bids for primary source verification (PSV) of the registrable qualifications of international doctors, PAs and AAs at the point of registration. Some international applicants will also require other qualifications to be verified depending on the route they are taking to registration.
Scope of requirement
Overview of the international doctor cohort
- The GMC receives approximately 16-17,000 applications from international doctors each year, although not all of these go on to be granted registration. There are two broad types of international applicant:
- Doctors applying through the relevant European qualification (REQ) route
- Doctors not applying through the REQ route