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What to get in writing from a medical school in China before you pay anything

Sources checked · Unofficial summary

This page lists what a school in mainland China should give you in writing before you pay anything for an English-taught undergraduate clinical medicine (MBBS) programme, and it ties each item to the provision that makes the school responsible for it. The items come from China's Ministry of Education rules for schools, not from the rules of any home country. India's National Medical Commission (NMC) gives separate advice to Indian students, and that advice is labelled as the NMC's in the sections below. For the other pages on this register, see this register's section page.

The documents this page uses

  • Notice 教外厅函〔2023〕10号 from the Ministry of Education's General Office. It is dated 15 May 2023 and was published on the Ministry's site on 30 May 2023. It covers the 2023–2024 academic year only. The English wording of the Chinese text on this page is this site's own translation.
  • Order No. 42, the Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students, issued by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security. It takes effect from 1 July 2017. The English wording of the Chinese articles is this site's own translation.
  • Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial), issued by Ministry of Education notice 教外〔2018〕50号 dated 3 September 2018. The standards are addressed to universities and are trial standards.
  • NMC advice in advisory U-14021/UGMEB-2025 of 19 May 2025 and on the NMC's study-abroad information page.

The Ministry's policy index listed no later edition of the annual list notice when this site read it on 11 October 2026. Confirm the current year's status with the university and the Ministry. The annex to the notice lists universities by their Chinese names; this register uses English names.

The checklist at a glance

Item to get in writing Provision What the provision says
Programme name and teaching language Paragraph 2 of the notice; Article 19 of Order No. 42 Article 19 says a school that meets the conditions may offer professional courses taught in a foreign language.
Admission prospectus and its conditions Article 11 of Order No. 42 The school formulates and publishes its prospectus and admits students under the conditions and procedures in it.
Fee items and fee standards Article 14 of Order No. 42 The school publishes its fee items and fee standards.
Refund rules for withdrawal and transfer Article 14 of Order No. 42 The school publishes refund rules for withdrawal and transfer.
Insurance requirement Article 40 of Order No. 42 International students must insure under national rules and school requirements.
Public information on the school and programme Article 23 of Order No. 42; section 2.1 of the standards The school makes its basic information, teaching information, prospectus and student service rules public.
Fee structure and course details (Indian students) NMC study-abroad page The NMC advises that these be obtained directly from the university before admission.

Programme and teaching language

Paragraph 2 of the notice says that universities listed for 2023–2024 shall continue to enrol students strictly in line with the notice. It then says that a university not on the list may not enrol international students for English-taught undergraduate clinical medicine. It also says that such a university may not issue an English-version degree certificate for the MBBS programme, or an English-version degree certificate that contains the word "MBBS". The university may enrol only students for Chinese-taught clinical medicine, at a standard not lower than the standard for Chinese clinical medicine undergraduates. The paragraph strictly prohibits enrolling international students in disguise under a "bilingual teaching" model.

Article 19 of Order No. 42 says that a school that meets the conditions may offer professional courses taught in a foreign language. It says that a degree thesis for a foreign-language programme may be written in the corresponding foreign language, and that its abstract shall be in Chinese.

Ask the university in writing for the programme name as it is registered, the teaching language, and whether the school appears on the list for the year in question.

Admission prospectus and conditions

Article 11 of Order No. 42 says that a school formulates and publishes its international student admission prospectus under the national admission rules. It says the school admits international students under the conditions and procedures the prospectus sets.

Section 2.1 of the quality standards says that the admission information a school provides shall at least include its admission procedures and requirements. It names application deadlines and methods, entry standards, examination methods, financial guarantee requirements, how violations are handled, and the admission timetable.

Ask for the prospectus with its conditions and procedures, and check that the prospectus covers each item named in section 2.1.

Fees and refunds

Article 14 of Order No. 42 says that a school's fee items and fee standards follow national rules. The second paragraph of the article says that a school shall publish its fee items, fee standards, and refund rules for withdrawal and transfer. It also says that fees and refunds are priced in Renminbi (RMB).

Section 2.1 of the quality standards lists fee standards, payment methods and refund policies among the admission information a school shall at least provide.

Article 14 gives no fee amount, and this page gives none. Ask the university in writing for each fee item, its fee standard, its payment method, and its refund rule for withdrawal and transfer.

The NMC's study-abroad page says that, before taking admission in MBBS or an equivalent course at a university outside India, confirmation of the fee structure should be directly obtained from that university.

Insurance

Article 40 of Order No. 42 says that a school operates a whole-student insurance system for international students. It says that international students must insure under national rules and school requirements.

The article then sets out what happens to a student who has not insured as required. A student must insure within a set time limit. If the student does not insure after that time limit, the school does not admit the student. For a student who is already studying at the school, the school shall withdraw the student from school or not register the student.

Section 2.1 of the quality standards also lists insurance among the campus life information a school shall at least provide. Ask the university in writing for the insurance it requires, the time limit it sets, and the cover the policy gives.

Public information

Article 23 of Order No. 42 says that a school shall make public its basic situation, its education and teaching situation, its admission prospectus, and its management and service rules for international students. It says this is so that students can access the information.

Section 2.1 of the quality standards says the admission information shall at least include the school's city and conditions, the programme's level of study, training objectives, length of study, degree awarded, and transfer and change-of-major rules. It also names the school's contact details and complaint and reporting channels, and campus life items such as accommodation, medical care and insurance.

Section 17.1 of the standards says that a school shall publish admission, teaching, management and service information in electronic or paper written form that is easy to consult.

What the NMC advises Indian students

The NMC's study-abroad page says that the NMC does not endorse any list of foreign medical institutions or universities for MBBS or an equivalent course. It advises the public that, before taking admission in MBBS or an equivalent course at a university outside India, confirmation of the fee structure and details of the course should be directly obtained from the university. It says that course details should be commensurate with MBBS courses in India, such as content, duration and internship.

The same page says that Indian citizens and Overseas Citizens of India who obtained a primary medical qualification from a medical institution outside India have to qualify the prescribed Screening test for registration in India, in addition to other eligibility criteria.

The NMC's advisory of 19 May 2025 gives three pieces of advice to students and parents. It says that no college can guarantee admission outside official channels, which it names as the NEET examination. It advises students to confirm approvals before making any payments or committing to a programme. It asks anyone who knows of an institution illegally offering medical admissions to report it to the NMC.

These are the NMC's advice to students and parents. They are not rules of the Chinese schools.

Questions people ask

Can a school that is not on the 2023–2024 list issue an MBBS English-version degree certificate?

Paragraph 2 of the notice says that a university not on the 2023–2024 list may not issue an English-version degree certificate for the MBBS programme, or an English-version degree certificate that contains the word "MBBS". The notice applies to the 2023–2024 academic year only.

What does Article 14 of Order No. 42 require a school to publish about fees?

Article 14 says that a school shall publish its fee items, its fee standards, and its refund rules for withdrawal and transfer. It says that fees and refunds are priced in Renminbi (RMB). Article 14 gives no fee amount.

Does India's National Medical Commission endorse a list of foreign medical universities?

The NMC's study-abroad page says that the NMC does not endorse any list of foreign medical institutions or universities for MBBS or an equivalent course. The same page advises that fee structure and course details should be directly obtained from the university concerned.

What does Article 40 of Order No. 42 say about a student who does not buy the required insurance?

Article 40 says that such a student must insure within a set time limit. If the student does not insure by the end of that time limit, the school does not admit the student. For a student already studying at the school, the school shall withdraw the student from school or not register the student.

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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