After completing 5 years of MBBS abroad, can my son return to India to give the licensing exam?
Yes, your son can return to India for the licensing exam, but only if he qualified NEET-UG in his admission year, attended an NMC recognised university in the World Directory of Medical Schools, completed a 54 month course plus a 12 month internship abroad, then clears the FMGE or NExT.
Yes, your son can absolutely return to India to sit the licensing exam and practise medicine, but a foreign MBBS degree alone does not automatically qualify him. The National Medical Commission has specific conditions he must have met from the very start of his course. Here is exactly what needs to be in place.
Mandatory Conditions for Eligibility
| Requirement | What It Means |
|---|---|
| NEET-UG qualification | Must have been cleared in the exact year he took admission abroad |
| University recognition | Must be NMC recognised and listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools, with English as the medium of instruction |
| Course duration | Minimum 54 months of academic study plus a 12 month compulsory internship |
| Internship location | Must be completed entirely abroad at the university or its affiliated, recognised hospital |
The Final Licensing Step
- He must clear the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination or the National Exit Test, depending on which is operational at the time.
- His degree and internship certificates need to be apostilled or attested before he applies.
- Passing the exam and fulfilling provisional registration leads to permanent registration with the State Medical Council or NMC.
My Advice
Confirm right now, using his admission year records, that he had a valid NEET-UG score and that his university appears in the current World Directory of Medical Schools, since these two checks alone rule out most eligibility problems. Keep his internship completion certificate and all academic documents ready for attestation well before he plans to sit the exam.
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