Will MBBS from Nepal be valid in India?

Kathmandu: The recent notice by the Nepal Medical Council specifying that foreign doctors will not be treated as similar to Nepali graduates has raised questions regarding the eligibility of Indian Medical Graduates from Nepal to practice in India.

While the National Medical Commission's Foreign Medical Graduates Licenciate Regulations 2021 demand that in order to be able to practice in India, the medical graduates from abroad must be registered with the respective professional regulatory body or allowed to be granted license to practice medicine in their respective jurisdiction of the country where the parent institute is located, the recent notice by the Nepal Medical Council mentioned that citizens other than Nepali are allowed to register as in the foreign doctor registration category only.

Nepal Medical Council issued the notice while addressing the concerns regarding the medical council registration process for foreign citizens studying in various medical/dental colleges in Nepal. These concerns were raised by foreign students, parents, media, and other agencies.

Addressing these concerns, medical council clarified that foreign nationals who wish to enrol in various medical colleges in Nepal to pursue under-graduation/post-graduation degrees under the foreign category must fulfill the requirements set by the regulatory bodies in Nepal.

"We would like to clarify that, in order to get enrolled in various medical colleges in Nepal to pursue under-graduation/ post-graduation degree (MBBS/BDS/MD/MDS) under foreign category, students must fulfil the requirements set by regulatory authorities in Nepal," mentioned the notice dated 17.10.2024 issued by the Nepal Medical Council.

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Further, the Council clarified that Foreign Medical Practitioners are registered as per regulation 21 (f), which states that the applicant has to produce a good standing certificate issued from their regulatory bodies of country of origin.

"However, NMC also would like to inform that students graduating from Colleges in Nepal can appear for licensing examinations conducted by NMC as per NMC regulation 20 (e) 3.a," it added.

Additionally, Foreign Physicians need to complete all the provisions set out by medical council's Act & Regulations and Labor Act & Regulations to practice in Nepal.

"Thus, Nepal Medical Council allowed citizen other than Nepali to get registration as foreign doctor registration category further clarifies that they will not be treated as similar to Nepali graduates," clarified the NMC notice issued by the Registrar of the Council Dr. Satish Kumar Deo.

On the other hand, the FMGL Regulations 2021 states that in order to be granted permanent registration, the Foreign Medical Graduates must be "registered with the respective professional regulatory body or otherwise, competent to grant license to practice medicine in their respective jurisdiction of the country in which the medical degree is awarded and at par with the license to practice medicine given to citizen of that country."

Therefore, if the Indian students pursuing their medical education in Nepal do not get their registration to practice in Nepal, they may not be eligible under the FMGL Regulations to practice in India as well.

Sharing the experience of how choosing to pursue MBBS in Nepal proved to be a futile affair, a student on the condition of anonymity, told Education Times, "In 2022, I enrolled in a private medical college in Nepal and paid approximately 40% of the required fees as requested by the college authorities. The Nepal Medical Council misled Indian students by promising them a licence to practice in Nepal at the time of admission but later changed the rules by releasing a circular in the National Gazette (Nepali Rajpatra) on April 12, 2023. The circular was written in ambiguous language, creating confusion while encouraging more admissions. However, after reaching out to the Indian embassy in Nepal, I learned that the NMC would not provide licences to international students, complicating their return to India. This notice shattered my dream of becoming a doctor, leaving me with no choice but to abandon my MBBS course and return to India. My parents spent around Rs 20 lakh on my education in Nepal, which was never refunded."

Amid this situation, the Association of Private Medical and Dental College of Nepal tried to assure that international students regarding granting their registration when they go back to their home countries to practice.

The circular issued by the Association on October 17, 2024, stated, "All foreign national students are registered with the NMC during their studies and can appear for the NMC qualifying exam for registration. They shall be considered eligible to obtain the same registration as natives of Nepal. The Association would like to assure all concerned parties that it remains committed to safeguarding the interests of students."

However, a study abroad counsellor based in Varanasi claimed that some of the private medical colleges in Nepal have been misleading the students and their parents regarding the licensing process for the international students. He told ET, "The association has no legal basis to claim that it can safeguard the interests of foreign national students. Agents in India and Nepal have making money by enrolling gullible students. Meanwhile, Nepal’s medical education body has clarified that while international students can take the licensing exam, there is no provision for these graduates to receive a permanent practising license equivalent to that of Nepali citizens. There are around 2-3 batches of Indian students in Nepal who will have to face the consequences soon after they complete their education. Some have been continuing their course in the hope that the issue might get resolved and some amendments in the policies might take place."

Meanwhile, countering the claims of the association, Nepal Medical Commission issued the recent notice and clarified that while citizens other than Nepalis may obtain registration under the foreign doctor registration category, it is further clarified that they will not be treated at par with Nepali graduates.

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