How to Apply for GMC Registration

The day after your PLAB 2 result, the GMC will email you to congratulate you and inform you that you can begin your process for GMC registration.

 

How to Begin the Process

1. Log in to your GMC Online account.
2. Click on My Registration.
3. Go to My Applications.
4. Click on Apply.
5. Click on Continue with application
6. Click on No (click on Yes if you have EC right).
7. Click on No (click on Yes if you want to register as a specialist or a GP).
8. If you have completed an acceptable pattern of internship, click on Yes.
9. Click on Apply.

The above 9 steps will lead you to the GMC registration form.

 

GMC Registration Form

This form has 8 sections. Make sure the details that you enter here are correct, as they will stay on your record forever.

 

1. Internship

Here you will provide details of your internship. You will include the dates and specialty for each rotation separately. Do not put your whole period of internship on one line.

Make sure the details that you enter in this form correlate with the details on your internship certificates.

 

2. Name Details

Write your full name.

 

3. Recent Professional Experience

Here you have to provide details of your work experience in the last five years. You also have to account for any gaps between your employment.These gaps include holidays and study breaks.

Each and every single day has to be accounted for. You can not have a gap even for a single day in this section. If applicable, you also have to provide documentary evidence for your activities during these gaps.

 

4. Registration and Licensing

Here you will provide details of your registration with the local medical authority from the country where you have practiced medicine.

I entered details of my registration with Pakistan Medical and Dental Council.

 

5. Fitness to Practice – Your Health

Here the GMC wants to know if your health can affect your fitness to practice.

I checked all five boxes with No. But make sure you read properly before answering these questions.

 

6. Declaration of Fitness to Practice

Here the GMC wants to know if you have had any problems with any law enforcement authorities.

I checked all 12 boxes with No. But make sure you read properly before answering these questions.

 

7. Final Declaration

Here you will sign a declaration, agreeing to GMC’s rules and regulations.

 

8. Payment

You have to make an online payment of ‎£425 for your application to proceed.

 

Providing Documents

As soon as you fill the form and make the payment, GMC will send you an email. In this email, the GMC will ask you to send a PDF file to them, containing scanned copies of the following documents:

1. Passport.
2. Primary medical qualification certificate (MBBS degree).
3. Certificate(s) of good standing.
4. Evidence of your knowledge of English (IELTS).
5. Evidence of completion of an acceptable pattern of internship (House Job certificates).
   .
6. Employer reference form (only for candidates who have worked without registration).

The GMC will give you 28 days, to send these documents. Otherwise, they will close your application and send you a full refund of your application fee. You would then need to start the application process again.

 

Application Processing

In the next few days, the GMC will do the following:

1. Check the information that you have provided in your application.

2. Contact you and let you know if they need more information.

3. When you have sent them all the information that they need, and they have checked it, they will give you a decision on your application.

4. If they decide to grant your registration, they will ask you to come for an identity and evidence check. You will be asked to take your original documents with you. You can attend this check only if you have pre-booked an appointment.

 

ID Check

When to Book Your ID Check?

You can book your ID check appointment even before your result comes out. I booked mine as soon as I took my PLAB 2 exam. It’s best to book your appointment as early as possible, because the dates are booked a few weeks or months in advance.

 

How Long Would I Have to Complete My ID Check?

You will need to have the ID check completed within three months of your application being approved. If you have not attended the check within three months, you will have to complete a new application.

 

When to Book Your ID Check For?

If all of your documents are in order, it might be ideal to schedule your ID check appointment 4 or 5 weeks after your PLAB 2 result, just to be on the safe side.

Since I had started my internship in Karachi before I got my PMDC registration, I knew my GMC registration process was going to take slightly longer. So I scheduled my GMC ID check appointment 6 weeks after my PLAB 2 result.

 

What If My Application Has Not Been Approved By The Time I Have My ID Check?

In this case, you would have to book a new ID check appointment. This is why it’s best to book your ID check appointment 4 to 5 weeks after your PLAB 2 result, just to be safe. And if you know there can be an issue with your documents, it’s best to have even more time before your ID check.

 

How to Make an Appointment?

Go to your GMC Online account. Click on My Appointments. Book and appointment from here.

 

Which Documents are Needed at the Appointment?

The GMC will send you a list of documents that you need to take with you. This list contains the documents that you had sent to the GMC earlier via email (except for the IELTS certificate – they do not check IELTS certificate at the ID check).

 

What Happens at the Appointment?

1. You sign a declaration form.
2. GMC checks original documents.
3. GMC takes a photograph of you, for their records.

 

How Long Does it Take?

The appointment usually lasts for 20-30 minutes.

 

When Will I get the Licence to Practice?

If everything checks out, the GMC will award you GMC registration and the licence to practice right there and then. You can check this on the Online Register.

 

When Will I get the GMC Registration Certificate?

It usually takes the GMC 3-10 days to send your GMC registration certificate at the address specified by you.

 

Summary of GMC Registration Process

1. Fill your online application.
2. Send your scanned documents to the GMC.
3. Wait for the GMC to process your information.
4. Attend your ID check appointment.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How long does the registration process take?

It usually takes 2 to 5 weeks. But it depends on individual cases. My process took 36 days. But out of these 36 days, 26 days were taken by my university to reply to GMC’s email. So if they had replied earlier, I would’ve been free from GMC’s processing in less than 2 weeks.

 

2. When should I book my GMC registration ID check?

This is a personal choice. I made a good estimate of how long it would take for my application to get approved and I booked my ID check a day after I took PLAB 2.

 

3. For when should I book my GMC registration ID check?

I start my House Job without registration in my home country; I knew that would require an explanation and it would take time. So I booked my ID check for 6 weeks after my result. And my application was approved only 2 or 3 days before my ID check date.

 

4. What is a Certificate of Good Standing?

It is a certificate issued by your local medical authority to show that, at the time of issuing the certificate, there are no fitness to practise proceedings in progress against you.

 

5. If I started my internship in my home country without getting registered with the local medical body, what should I do?

First of all, do not panic. You will get your GMC registration. 🙂

Secondly, ask your employer to fill the employer reference form. Bear in mind that the GMC will email your employer to confirm the details provided in this form.

Lastly, the GMC will email you and ask you for an explanation for this unregistered period of work. You should contact your local medical body. They will issue you a letter which might look like this.