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Why a low fee tells you nothing without list status and home-country conditions

Sources checked · Unofficial summary

Before price, three checks come from three documents. The first is whether the school is on the Ministry of Education list for English-taught undergraduate clinical medicine, which covers the 2023–2024 academic year. The second and third are home-country rules: for Indian students, the conditions of the 2021 Regulations and the risk described in the May 2025 advisory; for Pakistani students, the October 2025 public notice on recognised institutions. This guide describes the documents only. It does not compare fees, and it does not decide whether any course meets any condition. For how this register covers admission, fees and study, see this register's section page on admission, fees and study.

Check Document Publisher and date What it sets out
1. Listed for English-taught enrolment Notice 教外厅函〔2023〕10号, paragraph 2 Ministry of Education General Office; signed 15 May 2023, published 30 May 2023 Which schools may enrol international students in English-taught undergraduate clinical medicine, 2023–2024
2. Conditions for permanent registration (India) National Medical Commission (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations, 2021, regulation 4 National Medical Commission (India); Gazette of India, 18 November 2021 Four conditions, items (a) to (d)
2. Risk of disqualification (India) Advisory U-14021/UGMEB-2025, section 4 National Medical Commission (Undergraduate Medical Education Board); 19 May 2025 Eligibility for licensing exams, including FMGE
3. Recognition status (Pakistan) PM&DC Public Notice, 22 October 2025 Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (Registrar) Provisional registration and eligibility for the National Registration Examination

Check 1: the Ministry of Education list

The notice's paragraph 1 says that the Ministry entrusted 44 universities with enrolling international students in English-taught undergraduate clinical medicine for 2023–2024. The notice is dated 15 May 2023 and was published on the Ministry's site on 30 May 2023. The English wording of paragraph 2 below is this site's translation of the Chinese text.

Paragraph 2 says that universities on the list shall continue to enrol under the notice's terms. It then says that a university not on the list may not enrol international students in English-taught undergraduate clinical medicine. It also says that such a university may not issue an English-version degree certificate, or an English-version degree certificate containing the word "MBBS". Under paragraph 2, such a university may enrol only students for Chinese-taught undergraduate clinical medicine, and the training standard may not be lower than the standard for undergraduate clinical medicine students in China. Paragraph 2 also prohibits enrolling international students in disguised form through a "bilingual teaching" model.

The annex lists universities by their Chinese names. This register uses English names for them. The annex has three columns: serial number, institution, and enrolment plan for 2023–2024. It has no column for fees. The order of the annex and the size of each enrolment plan are not a ranking, and this guide does not treat them as a quality measure.

The Ministry's policy index listed no later edition of this list when this site read it on 11 October 2026. Confirm the current year's status with the university and the Ministry.

Check 2: India's conditions and the advisory (for Indian students)

The National Medical Commission (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations, 2021 were published in the Gazette of India on 18 November 2021. Regulation 5 says that the regulations do not apply to foreign medical graduates who acquired a foreign medical degree before the regulations came into force, or to candidates who were pursuing their education in foreign institutions before then. Those people are governed by the earlier regulations. The Commission's FAQ gives 18 November 2021 as the date (Q2 and Q4).

Regulation 4 says that no foreign medical graduate shall be granted permanent registration unless the graduate has the following:

  • (a) (i) undergone a course leading to a foreign medical degree with a minimum duration of 54 months;
  • (a) (ii) undergone an internship for a minimum duration of 12 months in the same foreign medical institution;
  • (a) (iii) received a foreign medical degree with the medium of instruction in English; and
  • (a) (iv) studied the mandatory subjects specified in Schedule I;
  • (b) registered with the respective professional regulatory body or otherwise, competent to grant a licence to practise medicine in the country where the medical degree is awarded, at par with the licence given to citizens of that country;
  • (c) undergone supervised internship in India for a minimum term of 12 months, after applying for it to the Commission; and
  • (d) cleared the National Exit Test or such other mandated test or tests conducted by the Commission.

The FAQ states that its answers are an explanation for ease of understanding and cannot be upheld in a court of law. The regulation is the rule; the FAQ gives the plain-language answer.

The advisory of 19 May 2025 has a section 4 titled "Risk of disqualification". It says: "Students graduating from non-compliant institutions will be held ineligible for licensing exams i.e. FMGE in India. The onus of this disqualification lies solely with the student, as per the regulations of the Commission." Section 4 does not define "non-compliant institutions".

Check 3: the Pakistan notice (for Pakistani students)

The Pakistan Medical & Dental Council's public notice is dated 22 October 2025. It says that the Council has started the process of recognising foreign medical and dental institutions that award undergraduate degrees to Pakistan nationals. It says the PM&DC website is being updated from time to time.

The notice says that graduates of foreign institutions not recognised by the PM&DC shall not be issued provisional registration unless they have qualified from a PM&DC recognised institution. For eligibility to appear in the National Registration Examination, it says that the recognition of the respective foreign regulatory authorities, along with accreditation of the institution by the Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), shall be the standard criteria. It says candidates may visit the ECFMG website to review the recognition status of a foreign institution.

The paragraphs of this notice name no foreign institution. Check the PM&DC's list of recognised institutions and the ECFMG recognition status yourself before relying on either.

This guide does not set out rules from Bangladesh or Nepal.

Questions people ask

Does the annex show fees for each university?

The annex has three columns: serial number, institution in Chinese, and enrolment plan for 2023–2024. It has no column for fees, so a fee cannot be read from the annex.

Which years does the Ministry's list cover?

The notice covers the 2023–2024 academic year. The Ministry's policy index listed no later edition when this site read it on 11 October 2026, so confirm the current year's status with the university and the Ministry.

Does the PM&DC notice name any foreign university?

No. Its paragraphs name no foreign institution. The notice refers readers to the PM&DC website and to the ECFMG website for recognition status.

Does the advisory say which institutions are non-compliant?

Section 4 does not define "non-compliant institutions". It says that students graduating from non-compliant institutions will be held ineligible for licensing exams, i.e. FMGE in India, and that the onus of this disqualification lies solely with the student, as per the Commission's regulations.

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.

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