All doctors wishing to practice medicine in the UK will need to hold full registration with a licence to practice with the General Medical Council (GMC).
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine is one of the Medical Royal Colleges taking part in the Medical Training Initiative (MTI). The MTI is a government authorised exchange under Tier 5 of the Points Based System allowing overseas trainees to obtain training in the UK for up to two years. As National Sponsor of the MTI, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) is responsible for the issuance of Tier 5 certificates of sponsorship to be used for visa application.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s International Sponsorship Scheme offers Emergency Medicine training opportunities within the MTI by providing successful applicants with sponsorship for full GMC registration without the need to take the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) test and matching successful applicants to training posts. Posts are available for between 6 and and a maximum of 24 months and at the end of their training period in the UK, trainees must return to their home country in line with the primary purpose of the scheme.
You can read further information about the scheme at the AoMRC’s MTI web page here
The primary purpose of the MTI is to contribute to improving the quality of healthcare in developing countries. The main intention of the scheme is to provide doctors from developing countries with a period of training and development in the NHS before returning to their home countries where their patients and colleagues can benefit from the skills and experience they have obtained in the UK.
A mechanism was introduced in 2017, which demonstrated support for the Department for Health’s main focus of supporting developing healthcare systems, which is for doctors applying from the DFiD priority and Low & Lower middle income countries to benefit from the scheme by receiving priority over all other applications.
The new criteria reflects the principles and intent of the scheme and it has been agreed that the following priority list be used.
The prioritising system had worked effectively but had unintended consequences for applicants not applying from DfID priority and LI & LMI countries. These applications were considered at the end of each month and CoS’s allocated if there was available capacity from the monthly quota once the priority applications has been processed. The overall volume of applications received, had resulted in a growing proportion of applications from the ‘other applications’ category being rolled over for consideration at the end of the following month.
The consequence was that these applicants could find themselves waiting up to several months to confirm an MTI placement. This delay and uncertainty understandably caused real problems for individual applicants, employers, Colleges and Deaneries.
The Department of Health, Health Education England and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges all believe that this position was unsustainable and unfair to applicants. For the sake of transparency it was felt better to explicitly state that these applicants can have no guarantee or expectation of receiving a CoS, although they will not be barred from making applications.
Applicants from countries not considered DfID priority or LI&LMI countries may apply at their own risk. If there is any remaining capacity at the end of each month – having processed all priority category applications – other applicants will be awarded a CoS taken in order of the receipt of their applications. When there is no spare capacity, applications will be be placed on a waiting list held by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges where a substantial wait is likely and no placement is guaranteed.
From 11 June 2018, applicants will need to have their primary medical qualification (and acceptable postgraduate qualification, if they have one) independently verified by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) before the GMC can grant registration with a licence to practise.
Please read the full guidance from the GMC website here.
You can download the full application RCEM sponsorship guidance in PDF format here.
The full AoMRC MTI guide can be found here.
To be eligible for sponsorship you must be one of the following:
Candidates must:
A full assessment of your eligibility can only be made once all of your evidence has been received.
Copies of documents that are not in English must be submitted with an accurate translation, full guidance on this can be found at the GMC website
The Medical Training Initiative is a government authorised exchange operated under Tier 5 (Temporary Worker) of the Points Based System. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges will issue a certificate of sponsorship for each successful applicant. This certificate supports application for entry to the UK under Tier 5. Please see ‘Scheme Prioritisation and Allocation’ above.
Please note that changes to the IELTS requirement from UKVI from April 2015 will not effect the Medical Training Initiative. These changes relate to those applying for Tier 1, 2 or 4 visas where there is a proof of English Language requirement. Sponsorship for these visa tiers are not available within the MTI.
The fee for the administration of an individual application is £115 for applicants based in lower and lower middle income economies (as defined by the World Bank), and £215 for all other countries.
You will be charged the fee when your application has been accepted.
Please note that the GMC’s Registration application fee is a separate fee and is payable to the GMC directly on submitting your application.
Please contact MTI@rcem.ac.ukfor an application pack.
+ I already live in the UK. Can I apply for a place on the International Sponsorship Scheme?
No. The International Sponsorship Scheme is only open to doctors currently based in non-EEA countries.
No. Doctors who have been offered a place on the International Sponsorship Scheme can obtain GMC registration without taking the PLAB test. The International Sponsorship Scheme is NOT a route to GMC registration for doctors who have taken and failed the PLAB test.
If your application is successful the Royal College of Emergency Medicine will find a post for you.
No. The International Sponsorship Scheme allows overseas trainees to train in the UK for up to two years after which they have to return to their home country.
Further information about the College’s recognition of overseas training programmes please download our guide.