FMGE 2025: A complete guide to eligibility criteria

FMGE or the Foreign Medical Graduate examination is a checkpoint that foreign- graduated Indian doctors have to cross successfully, if they wish to get registered with the Indian Medical Council and begin medical practice in India. The FMGE, conducted by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), ensures that the medical graduates are aware of the general medical principles that fall under the syllabus of Indian education, as well as that they are well-versed in the conditions in India and prepared to handle them. Let us go through some basic checkboxes, before you apply for FMGE 2025.

Who is required to clear FMGE?

Doctors who have acquired a medical degree from any country outside India but wish to work as practicing doctors in India need to clear the FMGE exam. This is applicable only to foreign- graduated doctors who are Indian citizens or overseas Indian citizens. After clearing the FMGE examination, the doctors are also required to undergo a one-year internship in a medical institute recognised by the National Medical Council (NMC). However, foreign-qualified Indian doctors who intend to proceed with their medical practice in any other country need not take up this examination.

Eligibility Criteria for FMGE

The following are the mandatory criteria for FMGE Eligibility:

• The applicants must be either Indian citizens or Overseas Citizens of India. 
• They must possess a primary medical degree from a recognised institution of a foreign country and should also be verified by the Indian Embassy of the respective country. 
• The candidates must have completed their medical graduation before they apply for FMGE 2025. 
• Doctors who have completed their medical graduation from certain countries need not apply for the FMGE exam. Confirm your eligibility on the exemption before applying.

Note that the FMGE is not a licensing examination that grants doctors of foreign origin permission to work as practicing doctors in India. It is only applicable to Indian candidates who have completed a medical qualification from a foreign medical institution.

FMGE 2025 is soon approaching. Before you apply, make sure that you meet the FMGE exam eligibility. Also, start your preparation well beforehand so that you can clear the FMGE exam in your upcoming attempt and begin your internship at the earliest. If you have done your medical studies abroad, you will be able to become a registered medical practitioner in India only after completing the mandatory one-year internship post the FMGE exam..