Working in the UK is a fantastic opportunity to gain experience in the National Health Service (NHS), one of the largest employers in the world, and the biggest in Europe, with over 1.3 million staff. Here we provide information for doctors who are not UK nationals on the requirements you will need to consider before applying for work as a doctor in the UK. These vary from country to country.
Note: The following information is provided as a general guideline and we endeavour to keep it up-to-date.
Doctors from the European Economic Area / EC rights
This applies to doctors who are either nationals from countries in the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland or nationals from all other countries with EC rights, or doctors who graduated from a medical school in an EEA country (other than the UK) or Switzerland.
This link to the General Medical Council website lists which countries are applicable and provides information on the evidence of qualifications you will need to provide when you submit your application for registration with a licence to practice.
Coming to the UK as a doctor – from outside of Europe
The following elements are all required to enable you to practice within the United Kingdom. Please read the following carefully to assess the likelihood of our being able to put you forward for a post. It may be that you currently don’t have GMC registration for example; this is not insurmountable but requires you to take certain steps to enable you to increase your chances of working in the UK.
- GMC / GDC Registration
- IELTS
- PLAB
- VISAs