Get Irish Medical Council Registration – Step by Step guide for IMGS Pakistan
Ireland, a country with rich history and beautiful landscape,
is also among the top destinations for foreign medical graduates, aiming for career in an excellent health care service.
Health care in IRELAND is governed by the regulatory body
HEALTH SERVICE EXECUTIVE ( HSE), similar to the NHS in the UK. HSE ensures the
minimum service delivery standards and quality heath care for the citizens of Ireland.
Apart from the public sector health facilities under the HSE, private health
care establishments also cater to the medical needs of the public.
For IMGS especially, Pakistani medical graduates, working as
a doctor in Ireland has been lucrative due to the exemption for medical licensing
exam (PRESS), henceforth, Pakistani graduates as well as graduates from
countries listed below can apply medical practitioner license based on exemption
and proceed directly with the job.
Irish Medical Council IMC resgistration
Here we will discuss how to get Irish medical council registration license.
Application process overview:
First step is to apply to Irish medical council on the
appropriate form and submit fee for assessment and verification of the candidate and
his credentials.
After the initial assessment candidates can proceed with either
the licensing exam i.e. PRESS which consists of two parts, the first one is mcq’s
based exam that checks the medical knowledge followed by the part II exam which is
the OSCE, this assesses candidates practical skills.
Otherwise, if eligible candidates from select countries can apply
for registration based on exemption of press exam, based on candidates
internship experience in their native country.
Check your eligibility via this eligibility chart
Countries for which press exam is exempted:
If a candidate has internship experience from the following
countries, he can apply for Irish medical license without passing PRESS exam;
Pakistan (internship after 2009), New Zealand, Australia, South
Africa, Malaysia, Sudan, UK, Malta.
Read this official guide on recognized house-job rotation from Pakistan.
Applying for Irish medical license registration on PRESS exemption basis step
by step guide:
–Basic medical qualification i.e. MBBS degree (please get the
degree from your university, provisional certificates will not be acceptable).
–Passport
— OET (Minimum Grade B) OR Ilets certificate (overall 7.0 minimum score
6.5 in each module)
–Internship Certificate :
(IMC accepts
internship certificate from PMC/PMDC only for Pakistani medical graduates, the
hospital experience certificate will not be accepted directly. The house job
should be structured with 4 rotations in 1-year period including General Medicine,
General Surgery and two subspecialties e.g. Following specialities must not be less than 2
months and more than 4 months.
- Emergency
Medicine - General
Practice - Obstetrics
and Gynecology - Pediatrics
- Psychiatry
- Anesthesia
- Radiology
Following are lists of specialties that are acceptable by the
Irish medical council for PRESS exemption.
Anesthesia: Anesthesia.
Pediatrics: Pediatric Cardiology/Pediatrics.
Medicine & Allied: General Medicine,
Cardiology, Clinical Genetics, Clinical Neurophysiology, Clinical Pharmacology
& Therapeutics, Dermatology, Endocrinology & Diabetes Mellitus,
Gastroenterology, Genito-urinary Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, Infectious
Diseases, Medical Oncology, Nephrology, Neurology, Palliative Medicine,
Respiratory Medicine, Rheumatology, Tropical Medicine.
Surgery and allied: General Surgery,
Cardiothoracic Surgery, Neurosurgery, Ophthalmic Surgery, Oral & Maxillo-
Facial Surgery, Otorhinolaryngology, Pediatric Surgery, Plastic Reconstructive
&Aesthetic Surgery, Trauma & Orthopedic Surgery, Urology.
Psychiatry: Psychiatry, Psychiatry of old age,
Psychiatry of Learning Disability, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
Radiology: Radiology, Radiation Oncology.
Obstetrics and Gynecology: Obstetrics and
Gynecology.
Emergency Medicine: Emergency Medicine.
house-job rotations should consider the above-mentioned specialties and also
when applying for hospital experience certificates ensure the name of specialty
is the same as in the IMC approved list e.g. IMC approved list shows Otorhinolaryngology,
hence ENT wouldn’t be acceptable.
How to get EPIC account registration
Now having all the pre-requisites ready, First step is to sign-up
for an EPIC account, EPIC by ecfmg is a qualification verification agency that
verifies your qualification and submits reports to the relevant authorities, in
this case Irish medical council, we have already written on how to create your epic account here.
You will sign up for the EPIC account, after your account is
made and notarization done proceed with the verification of your primary
medical qualification i.e. MBBS Degree via EPIC
Second is the verification of your internship certificate via epic.
As already mentioned for the verification of your internship certificate you
will first have to apply for Practical experience certificate via PMC/PMDC,
this can all be done online now.
Visit the PMC
website sign-in to your account and head over to good standing / Practical experience
application section, fill the required data for practical experience certificate,
attach your hospital experience certificate, for the regulator details write in
Ireland, email: [email protected],
address of regulator “ Medical Council, Upper Ground Floor and 5th Floor, Block
9 (Europa House), Harcourt Centre, Harcourt Street, Dublin 2, D02 WR20”, select
no to courier option.
So to summarize, get your practical experience certificate
from PMC, proceed with epic account creation, submit your MBBS degree and practical
experience in EPIC for verification and enter the Irish medical council as the
body to which EPIC should send its
report.
Applying online at the Irish Medical Council portal:
Once your epic verification of documents is complete and
report sent, visit the medical council Ireland website https://www.medicalcouncil.ie/ and
create an account, provide your biodata details, provide your passport nnumber.
You will have to select “no”
for internship registration as you have already done internship, you will be
applying to the general medical registration, select certificate of experience
route as you will be applying on PRESS exemption basis.
Further details required are your medical qualification and
issuing authority, details about your registration with medical council in Pakistan/native
country any any regulator where you have worked in the past 5 years.
You will have to write down your experience starting from housejob {each rotation seperately}, uptill the current date, any gap should be filled as an entry e.g. education, exam etc with the dates, you can write N/A in speciality or hospital when making entry for gap period, making sure there is no gap in-between the dates.
In professional indemnity section, select section 5
Read any disclaimers, tick the appropriate ones and submit the appropriate fee ~ 410 euros.
After submission of the application, you will receive a cover
letter via email.
Submission of documents via post
After the application is submitted you will need to send the
following documents via post to IMC, at their provided address alongwith the cover letter they have emailed you.
- Cover letter
- Notarized Colour copy of passport
(Notarization can be done at your distrist or high court, just take your document and its copy and ask for notary public, they will apply the notary stamp, it costs around ~ Rs. 300)
- OET / ILETS Certificate copy
[ Update: IMC doesn’t send any cover letter now 2022 onwards, just take a pdf of your application form after you have finished completing it i.e. press print button on application page and save as pdf, this will be your cover letter.
Attach EPIC notarized Passport copy (you have already done epic notarization while having your credentials verified in first step)
Attach OET/ILETS Copy and email all three documents to [email protected] ] No need to send by post if you do this, however if passport copy is not epic verified you will have to send it via post after local notarization.
Apply for Good standing certificate at PMC website, submit the required fee, enter Irish medical council as the regulator and select send directly to council. Enter this email where email of foreign regulator is asked [email protected] It should be noted that good standing certificate is valid only for three months, previously IMC used to ask for CGS after acknowledging the application, however, now they have written for CGS in the inital requirments.
Now wait for receiving of your application which might take
few weeks, you will get an email acknowledging the submission of your application.
You will have to wait for your application assessment, currently waiting time is 5 months for the assessment to start once documents have been receieved by IMC. Once complete, the
council will send you an eligibility letter and a Genform. Fill in the required details
with the Genform and send it back to the council with required documents. {Indemnity form provided and notarized copy of passport, again}
Finally, you will be asked to submit the license registration
fee and wait for the formal issuance of your license.
Time required for the Irish medical council registration:
The whole process can take almost 6-12 months, so plan
accordingly.
Fee’s / expense for the Irish medical council registration:
EPIC account: $130
Verification of each credential: $100 each
In addition, there might be verification charges of the
university/ PMC etc.
PMC experience certificate ~ Rs. 3000 + ~Rs5000 for verification.
Good standing certificate issuance + verification ~ Rs. 9000
Irish Medical council application fee €410
License registration fee €560 (Full Year)
Half-year (Jan – Apr)
€280
These are the main expenses encountered in the registration
process, some other minor charges might occur along with the currency rate
fluctuation, which should be kept in consideration.
After getting a license:
With the Medical Council Ireland license in hand, the next
step is to proceed with is finding jobs, the jobs to look for are SHO Level or
Registrar level if you have prior training experience.
NCHD (Non-Consultant-Hospital-Doctor) jobs start between
January and July. Job offers for January induction run from September-December.
Similarly, Job offers for July induction run from April-June.
You can apply for jobs on HSE website https://www.hse.ie/eng/ or recruitment
agencies.
The license is general category but since last one or two
years license holders are now allowed training registration on the same license
without appearing in press exam.
The expected salaries at junior level vary from €2500 – 3000, living expenses are high in the
main cities e.g. DUBLIN.
A Single person can aim for saving’s around €1000- 1500.
Another positive about working in Ireland is it is comparably
easier to get nationality here than in neighbouring countries, or otherwise you
can proceed with yearly work visa (this adds up cost).
Another option for IMG’S can be, locum jobs, that pay a little
bit more.
For those currently in-training at cpsp, MTI-Ireland is a 2 years program i which you get ireland experience at the same time complete your cpsp training requirements with the caveat that you need to return after the 2 years are complete and can’t come back for at-least 12 months. More on the MTI-CPSP scheme here.
If you are planning long-term carrier than you can apply for
training positions as GP or BST (Basic speciality training followed by higher
speciality training to become a consultant).
Have anything to share, write down in the comments box
below.
Irish medical council license
Irish medical council docotor login
irish medical council website
irish medical council registration time
fee for IMC registration
ireland medical council application
irish medical council specialist registration
irish medical council registration check
Hey ! I have 3 years teaching experience after house job and then gap of 4 years.. what are the chances of getting the job in ireland?
The gap period will be definitely be inquired at the time of any job interview, should have some plausible reason and better to start practice prior to applying.
..
I need to know what are my chances of gettin a job at Ireland as m done with FCPS in General Surgery and OET as well !!! On the basis of PRESS exemption
Dear doctor,
With your stated experience of post-graduation, you can easily secure a registrar level job, but Pakistani postgrad qualifications are not recognized there. If you want to proceed with consultant position, you will have to go through their training pathway and exams.
Hello sir/ma, please why are certain countries exempted/wavier from writing PRESS while others are not? Especially English speaking countries like Nigeria?
Other than internship or house job there is also a minimum 3 year training criteria in any speciality for general registration.does it apply
I graduated in 1986 from pakistan after MBBS i did diploma in gynae and obstetrics from pakistan in 1990.i was working in gulf as Gynaecologist for 28 years , (from 1993 till 2021 )
Can i get registered with irish medical council or i have to give press ..
Depends upon the coordination of healthcare regulators of both countries, countries where press is exempted have housejob pattern that is acceptable to medical council ireland
housejob criteria will not be acceptable as they accept housejob done after 2009, you can try based on post-grad experience, but better to email irish medical council directly for best route to follow
Sir can u tell us how long does it take after ur done with imc registeration to secure ur first job a rough estimatimation would also b suffice thanks
Difficult to say, but should keep an estimate of 2-3 months in finding a job and interview process. Following which there is the documentation, visa etc, so total approx 4-6 months if you get all things done in time. Though, you can try applying for jobs when your gen form is ready, most of the jobs come in 2 sessions, January and july.
Sir i am doing my housejob right now and will complete within 5 months can i apply now?
And i have done my minor ward in gastroenterology is it acceptable?
Ent won't be accepted? Wht should I do now?I have done 3 months of ent rotation.
Dear Anas,
I came across an Irish press article from Ms Valerie Ryan dated the 24th November 2020 regarding the exemption of non EEA doctors for PRES exams in Ireland. Did my Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) at the Witwatersrand University in South Africa and was graduated in December 2020. I got my registration with the Medical Council of South Africa and applied for internship in December itself and as a foreigner my application has been put on a waiting list. I waited for a placement till June 2021 and as there was no sign of succeeding, I decided to return back to Mauritius Fortunately I got a placement in a public hospital in August 2021 and will complete my internship in March 2023.Furthermore I also sat for the Plab 1 exams in November 2022 and results will be proclaimed by the 16th of December 2022.Would be grateful if you could please let me know if am eligible for the Pres exams exemption. After being registered as a General Practitioner with the Medical Council of Mauritius can I apply for registration with the Medical Council of Ireland and subsequently for trainee specialist registration.
No, please complete your house job and get experience certificate, that is necessary for press exam exemption.
Ensure that name of rotation is "Otorhinolaryngology" not ENT, if this is ENT ask your hospital to change the name on your experience certificate
Please note for the press exemption, requirement is internship from the countries included in their list, of which South Africa is one, you can only apply for press exemption once your internship is complete and have experience certificate in hand.
I have done a house job rotation in Eye Ward, for 3 months. On experience certificate, its written as "Ophthalmology". Should I change it to "Ophthalmic Surgery"?
Secondly, I did my house job in 2015, if I change the rotation name now, the new experience certificate will have issue date of 2023. Is that will be an issue or not?
There was a difference of father's name on my CNIC/Passport and educational documents. I have corrected my father's name on my educational documents. I hope, it will not be an issue for IMC registration. Kindly guide.
No
no 3 years training is required if you don't have housejob as per IMC criteria
you can refer to IMC for exact details about specific rotation registration, this article just refers as an example, however when if you do need to change, the hospital will make new certificate but your H.J dates remain the same so no issues.
The name at the moment should be the same on I.D, PASSPORT, EDUCATIONAL DEGREES, ETC. Get the same name on all documents and you will have no issues, otherwise in your whole career you will have to explain name difference.
hello.
i submitted application online on 26/12 /2022. but i didn't receive any cover letter in email. what should i do now?. please reply me.
Nowadays IMC doesn't send any cover letter, you can take the print of your online application, write down your application registration number on it as shown in your portal and attach notarized copy of passport and copy of oet/ilets and send to IMC. Good standing certificate should be sent directly to IMC by PMC
Hello sir . I started my house job in march 2009 .I did 6months in general medicine and 6 months in general surgery . After house job I started working in emergency department in a private hospital
Am I eligible for PRESS exemption .
Dear Dr Anas,
I wrote wrong email of regulator while applying for PMC experience certificate online.I wrote [email protected] instead of [email protected].
Would that make any trouble for me in future?
are gradutes of RCSI Bahrain exempted from press exams….. how can they work in ireland as a junior dr
Hi. Thankyou for writing down a comprehensive article. You mentioned IMC accepts internship certificates for Pakistani medical graduates only. Can you please elaborate on that? Case in point, I have done my MBBS from China and did my household in Pakistan. Will IMC accept my experience certificate?
As per my knowledge, they ask for 4 rotations.
they now provide [email protected] as email for receiving good standing, so no issues.
check on the official medical ireland website for details on exemption
The Pakistani Housejob experience will be considered however please confirm about the medical qualification from medical council ireland before applying
Dear Dr Anas,I am talking about experience certificate issued by PMC not Good Standing certificate.
IMC accepts the epic verified report of the experience certificate, not directly.
Hello Dr ana's, thanks for such a helpful post.i have already done epic verification and now applying for IMC registration. I have a copule of questions.
1. I have already done IELTS general training UKVI with 7.5 band.Is it acceptable for IMC registration? I emailed IMC and they replied but they did not say yes or no.they just shared the IMC website link where it states IELTS academic or any equivalent English language test.
2.can I send notarized documents through email or is it must to send through courier?
You should have ILETS ACADEMIC/ OET
Secondly, for the documents', passport copy requires notarization, if done from local court you have to send by courier, other option is to send the epic notarized copy, this can be sent via email. (Take a print of Your EIF file from your epic portal that has your passport notarization and save as pdf in print options and send that)
Thanks allot for the response it was really helpful. I have epic notarized passport and I will send it via email. Do I have to send any other other document like degree etc, should it be notarized? And what about IELTS certificate. Should it be notarized also? And sent via email or courier? And what about professional indemnity certificate?
Respected Dr Anas i am planning to start the imc reg process but i am confused about 1 thing that i am chinese medical graduate and my house job is from pakistan am i eligible to apply and will i get press exemption as you mentioned in your article that only pakistani medical graduate are eligible for this process kindly need your giudence best regards
Kindly refer to this eligibility chart: http://www.medicalcouncil.ie/registration-applications/what-division-of-the-register-are-you-eligible-for/
you can send the oet/ ilets result pdf in email to IMC, for oet etc usually you need to allow access to the regulator e.g IMC, in their portal too, so that IMC can officially verify your results. Indemnity is not needed at this stage
Respected sir, I am planning on moving to Ireland, especially for the exemption of press exam. After housejob my gap period is about 5 years, due to marriage. Which steps do you think I might face difficulty? Will it be more challenging to get a job after this much gap period?
Hello. Which option to select in epic account for verifying your practical experience certificate??
Can foreign medical graduates like graduated from China, doing house job in Pakistan, but don't have Pakistani license bcz not passed nle yet. Can I apply for Ireland?
Regarding exemption from Pres, it’s on the website that those with at least three years training are also exempt. I have done FCPS from Pakistan. Will I be able to get exemption? My house job is before 2009.
Hi. I am having difficulty filling in details of my experience as I do not have any work experience after my house job completed in April 2021. How should I fill the gap? Should I go with studies or career break or what else will be appropriate? TIA.
Hello sir i want to ask what are the job possibilities for fcps radiology along with frcr 1 having 2yrs post fcps exp plus 9yrs overall experience.
Hello sir. I want to ask about job oppurtunities for fcps radiology with 2yrs post fcps qualification along with frcr 1 and overall 9yrs exp.
Dear Dr Anas
Thank you for your help and detailed guidance.
Can you please guide should we ask PMDC to send the good standing certificate to IMC through courrier? Or just sending through an emails would be sufficient?
Kind regards
Dear Dr Anas,
Thank you so much for your help and detailed guidance.
Can you please guide should we ask PMDC to send good standing certificate through courrier, or sending through an email would be sufficient.
Salam
I have done mcps training in obs and gynae … did my house job in 2018 …. now practicing private in my field … I want to get Irish medical license what is pre requisites???? Kindly elaborate
AoA, Sir!
I did my house job in 2015, completed my fellowship training in Pediatrics, with 2 years post fellowship experience. Didn't passed part 2 yet. I have 2 questions.
1. One of my house job rotation is is Ophthalmology. On my house job certificate, it is written as "Ophthalmology". Do, I need to change it to "Ophthalmic Surgery"?
2. Which level job can I secure, with stated experience?
1.
Aoa Dr Anas.
GMC now accepts OET up to 3 years. Does IMC also accept OET up to 3 years or is it 2 years?
Will appreciate your response.
Regards
Dr Ali
Not as per the official source. Publicly mentioned duration is 2 years