United Kingdom general registrants
You can apply via this pathway if you have passed Part 1 and Part 2 of the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) test administered by the General Medical Council (GMC), United Kingdom (UK); completed 12-months of satisfactory practice in the UK; and hold full general registration with the GMC.
Prerequisites
To apply for registration via this pathway you must:
- hold an acceptable primary medical qualification; and
- within the last 5 years immediately prior to application:
- have passed Part 1 and Part 2 of the PLAB test and
- completed Foundation Year 1 of the UK Foundation programme; or FY2 Stand-alone UK Foundation programme; or 12 months in an Approved practice setting (APS) in the UK; and
- hold full general registration with the GMC in the UK; and
- meet our fitness for registration requirements.
Applying for registration
You can apply for registration via this pathway if, you:
- meet all the prerequisites; and
- have a job offer as a house officer in a hospital setting which includes supervision.
Before you apply for registration, please refer to checklist 8 [PDF, 196 KB] [PDF, 195 KB] to find out what documents you will need to submit for us to consider your application.
You must work with your employer to complete your application as there are documents that only your employer can complete.
Primary source verification of documents
You must send the required documents for primary source verification through the EPIC system before you submit your application. The verification process can take time and we cannot start processing your application until we have received evidence that this process is underway.
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Doctors who hold overseas qualifications and who want to apply for registration in Aotearoa New Zealand must have key documents verified from their primary source.
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Special instructions and FAQs for applicants to the Medical Council of New Zealand
Eligibility for registration
We will consider your application once it is complete and then let you know the outcome of your application. Our processing time is 20 working days from the time we receive a complete application.
If your application is successful, we will send you an 'eligibility for registration' letter. This confirms for other agencies like Immigration New Zealand that you can be registered and give you the instructions for your registration meeting.
Registration meeting
The purpose of the registration meeting is to confirm your identity, complete registration formalities, apply for a practising certificate and discuss your supervision requirements while working in New Zealand.
Following the meeting and once payment for your practising certificate has been received, we will grant you registration within the provisional general scope of practice and you will be issued with a practising certificate. Please allow three days after your meeting for your practising certificate to be issued. You cannot practise in New Zealand until your registration has been confirmed and you have a practising certificate. You can only work within the endorsement and any conditions specific to you, noted on your practising certificate.
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All international medical graduates coming to New Zealand to practise medicine for the first time must attend a registration meeting and be able to produce the information we have asked for.
Working under supervision
You must work under supervision while registered within the provisional general scope of practice. Please see the link below for further information about supervision.
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Supervision is a registration requirement for all doctors registered in a provisional general, provisional vocational or special purpose scope of practice. Supervision supports a doctor’s practice and enables their performance to be assessed while they become familiar with the New Zealand health system and the expected standard of medical practice.
Variations
Your practising certificate will include an endorsement allowing you to work under approved supervision and employment.
You cannot work outside the requirements of your provisional scope of practice and any specific requirements imposed by Council. You must apply for a variation to the endorsement on your practising certificate if your employment, supervision, position or location changes.
You need to apply at least 20 days in advance of your planned change. You must then wait for Council to confirm that the change has been approved before commencing work under the new arrangement.
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You cannot work outside the requirements of your scope of practice and any requirements set by Council specific to you. These are shown on your practising certificate. If you are registered within a provisional general, provisional vocational or a special purpose scope of practice, you need our approval of any change to your employment, supervision, position or location.
Once we've received and approved your variation application we will issue you a new practising certificate.
Progression to General scope of practice
Progression to registration within the General scope of practice is not automatic. You can apply after you have:
- completed 12 months fulltime equivalent working within the provisional general scope of practice; and
- received three satisfactory supervision reports for the nine months of medical practice completed immediately prior to applying for registration in the General scope of practice, and
- achieved advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) certification within the last 12 months at the level of New Zealand Resuscitation Council CORE Advanced; and
- been recommended for registration in the General scope of practice by your Council-approved supervisor, who has been supervising you for at least 3 months immediately prior to the application.
If you do not achieve these requirements within a 12-month period, you need to continue to work under supervision until you have.
Recertification requirements
You do not need to work under supervision once you are registered in a General scope of practice. However, you must continue to meet the Council’s recertification requirements. The Council requires this to maintain the high standards of competence and fitness to practise expected of doctors in New Zealand.
You can enrol in either:
- Inpractice, the Council-approved recertification programme run by bpacnz; or
- an accredited vocational training programme.
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This page sets out the recertification programme requirements for doctors registered and practising in the General scope of practice only. This is typically either participation in a medical college vocational training programme, or in the Inpractice recertification programme.
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Inpractice is a recertification programme for doctors registered in the General scope of practice.