Five good reasons to pick GMC Registration with ECFMG-EPIC by UKmed

For speed and peace of mind, UKmed will handhold you all the way to your final registration identity check by combining into a single professional service both

• ECFMG verification

and

• GMC registration.

UKmed will take care of every step of the way for you. Among others, we will:

• obtain all official documents, including certificates of good standing (“current professional status”) and criminal record checks from every European country you have been registered in at any time during the last five years
• officially translate the right documents, the right way
• deal with regulations and bureaucracies, saving you valuable time and energy
• avoid costly verification and registration errors
• offer you practical advice on how to start your career in the UK.

Is GMC registration without exams possible for non-EU passport holders?

Correct. Your non-European citizenship doesn’t matter, as long as your qualification is a Relevant European Qualification, or REQ. This is also true of your specialist qualification (specialty title), if you have one.

However, if your medical degree isn’t an REQ, then you will likely have to pass the PLAB, although there are exceptions to that.

In case you also hold a specialist or GP qualification that’s also listed as a Relevant European Qualification, then it may be acceptable by the GMC in the same application and without any exams. However, various specialist qualifications are not REQ, or you may not need specialist registration at all, depending on your career plans. Please contact us for advice if you are unsure about how to proceed.

Will I have to visit the UK for a final identity check?

Not any more. Starting in Spring 2023, your identity check will be completed through a digital identity checking service approved by the GMC.

The GMC is obliged by UK law to check your identity and passport. This check may last up to 20 minutes, but no interview or assessment of knowledge is included. To be clear, you will not be assessed in any way. And you could start applying to NHS posts with UKmed’s expert support much earlier than your identity check, to find an interesting position faster.

How much is the GMC’s annual fee to stay registered?

This depends on whether you hold a licence or not. Fees are updated annually.

Broadly speaking, the annual retention fee for Full Registration with a Licence to Practise is around GBP 450. Here is the GMC’s up-to-date list of fees.

Please note that you cannot obtain your first registration without a licence. However, after you are registered for the first time, you can hand back (‘relinquish’) your licence if you don’t need it. Your retention fee will then drop to about GBP 175 annually. If you relinquish your licence mid-way through your registration year, the GMC will refund part of the licence fee based on a pro rata calculation.

For fairness, the GMC registration year starts on the day of your first successful identity check and lasts exactly 365 days.

You can also apply for a discount depending on your financial circumstances, but only after a successful registration.

I am fully registered and just need to add a Specialist Title

First of all, do you really need specialist registration in the UK? You can avoid wasting time and money with our expert Career Advice.

If you do need to have your specialist title (specialist medical qualification) recognised and registered, then it can be automatically – i.e. without an exam – as long as it appears in the list of Relevant European Qualifications. Contact us if you are unsure.

Importantly, before applying to the GMC for specialist registration, your title will have to be verified through ECFMG-EPIC. Please be aware that your medical degree may also have to be verified again if you first obtained full registration with the GMC before Brexit. You definitely won’t be required to attend an identity check again, though.

Leave your specialist registration to us, safe in the knowledge that if your medical degree doesn’t need verification, our all-inclusive GMC Registration with ECFMG-EPIC will cost you less.

May 2024 fees update! For the first time in years, the GMC has imposed a one-off fee currently standing at GBP 489 for those applying for specialist registration. UKmed considers this an unjustifiable barrier to much-needed, highly qualified doctors joining the NHS, and has made its views known. This makes it even more important to ask yourself or UKmed whether you absolutely need specialist registration to start with, or leave it for after you start earning a UK doctor’s salary.

I am fully registered and just need my GMC licence back

This is possible and usually much faster. You should check out UKmed’s GMC Add Licence service.

I was registered in the past and only need GMC restoration

This may be possible without the extra stage of ECFMG-EPIC verification, depending on the GMC’s assessment of your registration history. Please contact us for personal advice. You could then trust UKmed’s GMC restoration service.

If the GMC decides to ask you to re-register from scratch, then continue reading.

Price options

If you agree with us that registration is important yet just one step for a successful career in the UK, then it’s worth discovering our UK Ready packages – they combine everything you will need to step across from your current position to the NHS:

• UK Ready Clinician for doctors without any UK experience
• UK Ready GP specially designed for GP’s (General Practitioners) without any UK experience

If you would rather complete your registration first, then we recommend:

• GMC Registration with ECFMG-EPIC for non-specialists
• GMC Registration with ECFMG-EPIC for specialists.
• These are final prices that include ECFMG-EPIC costs (around EUR 330).

If you can’t yet estimate how long your language certification will take, you can start with our

• First stage – GMC Registration with ECFMG-EPIC

As part of First stage we focus on evaluating your current level of English, with a formative, friendly and collaborative assessment of your language skills to both Academic IELTS and OET standards. With UKmed’s support, you

• obtain a personal needs analysis and plan for improving your language level
• come away with a realistic roadmap to certification
• save the expense and personal cost of unsuccessful test takes
• complete all ECFMG-EPIC verifications and other steps up to being ready to submit the GMC application itself.

Our services do not include GMC one-off and annual retention fees. UKmed issues tax-deductible invoices for all its services.

How can UKmed help me join and thrive in the NHS?

We offer comprehensive support every step of the way.

Our services cover every step of your professional transition from your present role to the NHS. We believe that the best career strategy is to start early. You don’t need to wait until your GMC registration is complete. In that way, the day your name appears on the UK’s medical register, you will already have done the necessary prep for the best possible job hunting outcome.

UKmed’s most popular services for doctors follow:

• Professional CV and job application service – you get a personalised, highly polished and well-targeted job application form for TRAC (the system virtually all NHS Trusts use and a ‘relative’ of NHS Jobs) or the Scottish NHS applications platform. Alternatively, you get a well-scripted free-form CV. With this service, you will improve your chances of being invited to interviews by NHS Trusts and independent employers.
• Group training in selection interview techniques and skills (introductory level)
• Personal interview training for intensive preparation
• Training in professional knowledge and skills for the NHS
• Specialist applications and coaching for doctors who aim to compete for Foundation Programme Year 2 or Specialist Training posts.

Not sure which skill areas you should focus on first? Then contact us for help.