📋 Overseas Doctor Licensing Requirements — Country by Country
🇨🇳
China
NHSA — National Health Service Authority
📋 Chinese Medical Licence Exam (执业医师资格考试 Zhíyè Yīshī Zīgé Kǎoshì)🗣 Mandarin Chinese
Obtain credential recognition from the Ministry of Education of China for your foreign medical degree.
Pass the National Medical Licensing Examination (NMLE) — written and practical components. Available in Chinese only.
Register with the local Health Bureau of your city of practice.
Mandarin language proficiency to HSK Level 5 or above required.
International hospitals and clinics (Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou) sometimes hire foreign doctors under different visa/licence categories — check individual hospital requirements.
💡 International private hospitals (UFH, Raffles, SOS) hire foreign doctors under different work permit categories — often without requiring the Chinese NMLE. This is the most practical route for non-Mandarin speakers.
💡 Malaysia is relatively IMG-friendly. Degrees from many South Asian, UK, Australian, Irish and Egyptian universities are recognised. Process takes 3–6 months.
KKI — Konsil Kedokteran Indonesia (Indonesian Medical Council)
📋 UKMPPD (Uji Kompetensi Mahasiswa Program Profesi Dokter) + KKI Registration🗣 Bahasa Indonesia
Foreign doctors must have degree recognised by the Directorate General of Higher Education (Dikti).
Pass the UKMPPD national competency exam (Indonesian language).
Register with KKI (Indonesian Medical Council) to obtain STR (Surat Tanda Registrasi).
All practice in Indonesia requires STR and SIP (Surat Izin Praktik) from local health office.
Bahasa Indonesia required for government hospitals; international hospitals accept English.
💡 Indonesia is a large country with 270 million population and significant doctor shortage in outer islands. Remote area postings (Kalimantan, Papua, Sulawesi, NTT) are always available and offer incentives.
📋 Philippine Licensure Examination for Physicians (MEDLEX)🗣 English / Filipino
Foreign medical graduates must apply to PRC for recognition of their foreign medical degree.
Pass MEDLEX — Philippine Medical Licensure Examination (MCQ format, in English).
Register with PRC Medical Board and obtain a PRC ID.
English is the primary medical language in the Philippines — advantage for most IMGs.
Intern/residency training in the Philippines is competitive — available via separate hospital application.
💡 The Philippines has an English-language medical education system — one of the easiest countries for English-speaking IMGs to integrate. MEDLEX has a reasonable pass rate. Many Filipino doctors themselves train and work abroad, creating a domestic shortage.
📋 Vietnamese Medical Licence + MOH Recognition🗣 Vietnamese
Foreign doctors must apply for a practice licence from the Ministry of Health of Vietnam.
Degree recognition through the Ministry of Education and Training.
Vietnamese language proficiency required for public hospitals.
International private hospitals (FV, Vinmec, Family Medical Practice) hire foreign doctors under international work permits — bypass for non-Vietnamese speakers.
Work permit (Giấy phép lao động) required via employing hospital.
💡 International private hospitals are the most accessible route for foreign doctors. Vietnam's healthcare sector is growing rapidly with increasing demand for specialist skills.
📋 HK: Limited Registration or Full Registration Exam | Taiwan: Physician Licence Exam🗣 Cantonese/English (HK) / Mandarin (Taiwan)
Hong Kong: Foreign doctors from recognised universities may apply for Limited Registration (for training posts) or Full Registration via sitting the Licensing Examination.
Hong Kong: Graduates of UK, Australian, Irish, NZ, Canadian and US medical schools may be eligible for simplified registration via the Special Registration Scheme.
Taiwan: Foreign medical graduates must sit the Taiwan Physician Qualification Examination (in Chinese).
Taiwan: Work permit required; most positions are at public university hospitals.
Both systems highly competitive — targeted at overseas-trained Chinese-descent doctors or those with recognised foreign degrees.
💡 Hong Kong's 2023 Special Registration Scheme allows overseas non-locally trained doctors to work in public hospitals without sitting the licensing exam — actively recruiting.
Sri Lanka: Foreign doctors (especially from South Asian countries) must register with the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC).
Sri Lanka: The SLMC requires credential verification and may require a placement/assessment period.
Sri Lanka: English used in teaching hospitals; Sinhala/Tamil used in rural settings.
Maldives: Register with the Maldives Medical Council. Foreign doctors routinely recruited for IGMH and private hospitals.
Maldives: Work permit via Ministry of Economic Development. Attractive tax-free salaries.
💡 Maldives actively recruits doctors from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. IGMH and ADK Hospital regularly have vacancies. Short-term contracts (1–2 years) are common.
📋 MOH Registration in each country🗣 Burmese / Khmer / Lao
All three countries: Foreign doctors must obtain a licence from the respective Ministry of Health.
Humanitarian organisations (MSF, IRC, IMC) operate under NGO registration and provide work authorisation for foreign medical staff separately.
Myanmar: Current conflict situation (since 2021 coup) means humanitarian organisations are the main viable route for foreign doctors.
Cambodia: Foreign doctors increasingly recruited for international private hospitals and NGOs; English accepted.
Laos: Very limited international recruitment — mostly NGO and development sector roles.
💡 For Myanmar, MSF and IRC are the most established routes for foreign doctors. Cambodia's private hospital sector is growing and recruits internationally. Laos remains very limited.
📋 MOH Licence Exam (in local language) + AKDN NGO route🗣 Mongolian / Russian / Kazakh / Uzbek / Kyrgyz
All Central Asian countries: Foreign doctors must pass a national licensing exam in the local language.
Russian is widely understood and used in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan healthcare settings.
AKDN (Aga Khan Development Network) operates extensively in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan — hires English/Russian-speaking doctors directly.
MSF operates in Kyrgyzstan (TB programme) — another accessible route.
Mongolia: Increasing international recruitment especially for ulaanbaatar private hospitals; English-medium positions available.
💡 The most practical routes for non-local-language speakers are through AKDN, MSF, or international private hospitals in Almaty/Astana (Kazakhstan) or Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia).