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India: the ten-year limit for completing a foreign medical course

Sources checked · Unofficial summary

For foreign medical graduates (FMGs) seeking a licence or permanent registration to practise medicine in India, the time limit comes from the National Medical Commission (India). Its Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations, 2021 give the limit in Schedule I, and three later FAQ or notice texts from the same Commission restate it in their own words. This page sets out each of the four texts in turn, with its document and date.

This page is part of this register's section page on practising back home. It describes documents only and does not assess any university or course against the conditions.

Schedule I of the 2021 regulations

Schedule I is headed “CRITERIA TO RECOGNISE FOREIGN MEDICAL GRADUATES APPLYING FOR LICENCE OR PERMANENT REGISTRATION TO PRACTICE IN INDIA” and is stated to apply “See regulation 4”. Paragraph 2(iv) of Schedule I reads: “The total duration of the foreign medical graduation course shall be completed within ten years from the date of joining the course.”

These regulations were gazetted as an Extraordinary Part III, Section 4 notification dated 18 November 2021. Under regulation 5, the regulations do not apply to people who had acquired their foreign degree, or were already pursuing their education in a foreign institution, before the regulations came into force on 18 November 2021, as Q2 and Q4 of the Commission's FAQ also state. Regulation 5(2) says those people shall be governed by the erstwhile applicable regulations.

Q10 of the FAQ on the 2021 regulations

Q10 of the Commission's FAQ on the 2021 regulations asks, “Is there any time limit for completion of the course?” The answer begins “Yes;” and repeats the rule: the total duration of the foreign medical graduation course shall be completed within ten years from the date of joining the course. The FAQ cites this as “Reg. 2 (iv) of Schedule I of FMGL. 2021”. The scope note under Schedule I above applies to this answer as well.

The FAQ's disclaimer says its answers “cannot be upheld in a court of law” and asks readers to refer to the gazette notifications for legal validity.

Item 5 of the public notice of 7 December 2023

Public Notice No. U-15024/9/2023-UGMEB, dated 7 December 2023, begins by stating that it is “In supersession to the Public Notice dated 22.11.2023”. It says the National Medical Commission, in its meeting held on 30.11.2023, decided to provide clarifications and decisions on various issues with respect to FMGs. This section covers item 5 only.

Item 5, headed “ISSUES RELATED TO CAPPING OF TIME LIMIT TO QUALIFY FMG EXAMINATION”, reads: “All FMGs shall have to complete their internship within 10 years from date of joining their Foreign Medical Institutions to procure qualification equivalent to MBBS in India.” Item 5 uses the word “internship” where Schedule I uses “foreign medical graduation course”.

Q12 of the FAQ dated 8 June 2026

The FAQ, numbered U-15024/15/2024-UGMEB(Pt) and dated 8 June 2026, is based on queries about a Public Notice issued on 18.03.2026. This page does not describe the text of that notice.

Q12 asks what the effective date is for the clause in the Public Notice dated 07.12.2023 that caps the time limit to qualify as an FMG at 10 years. The answer says the requirement “shall be construed in consonance with the provisions of the Graduate Medical Education (Amendment) Regulations, 2019”, which it says “first prescribed that the MBBS course must be completed within 10 years from the date of admission”. It then states that “the FMG who has taken admission in medical course outside India after year 2019, they are required to clear the FMG examination within 10 years from the date of admission.”

The four wordings side by side

  • Schedule I, paragraph 2(iv) of the 2021 regulations (gazetted 18 November 2021): “from the date of joining the course”.
  • Q10 of the FAQ on the 2021 regulations: “from the date of joining the course”.
  • Item 5 of the public notice of 7 December 2023: “from date of joining their Foreign Medical Institutions”, applied to “internship”.
  • Q12 of the FAQ dated 8 June 2026: “from the date of admission”, for FMGs who “taken admission in medical course outside India after year 2019”.

This page does not reconcile these four wordings or decide which one applies to a particular student. For the full context, see the licensing guide on the 2021 rules.

Questions people ask

What does Schedule I say about the ten-year limit?

Paragraph 2(iv) of Schedule I says that the total duration of the foreign medical graduation course shall be completed within ten years from the date of joining the course. The Schedule is headed as the criteria for FMGs applying for licence or permanent registration to practise in India.

Which regulations govern students who were already studying abroad before 18 November 2021?

Regulation 5(1)(b) says the 2021 regulations do not apply to candidates who were pursuing their education in foreign institutions before they came into force. Regulation 5(2) says such candidates shall be governed by the erstwhile applicable regulations.

What does the FAQ of 8 June 2026 say about students admitted after 2019?

Q12 says that an FMG who has taken admission in a medical course outside India after year 2019 is required to clear the FMG examination within 10 years from the date of admission.

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026.

This page is an unofficial summary. It is not legal, medical or professional-licensing advice, it is not published by the bodies named, and it promises no admission, examination or registration outcome. The official text and the regulator's own instructions prevail if they differ.

MBBS Register Desk