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An agent's brochure usually leads with low fees. The rules that decide whether your child can practise in India are set by the National Medical Commission (NMC), not the university. Check them before any money changes hands.
What has to be true for a foreign MBBS to count in India?
The conditions are in NMC's Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate (FMGL) Regulations, 2021. In a November 2024 advisory reported by Careers360, NMC listed them:
at least 54 months of study, plus a 12-month internship at the same foreign institution
the whole programme finished within 10 years
teaching in English
a syllabus and clinical training equivalent to the Indian MBBS
a degree recognised by that country's medical regulator
NMC warned that “any variation in duration, medium of instructions, syllabus, clinical training or internship/clerkship may lead to disqualification in grant of registration in India.” The entire course and internship must be done at the same foreign institution, and graduates then complete 12 months of supervised internship in India, as the FMGL rules summarised by Careers360 set out.
NEET-UG comes first. The Supreme Court upheld the NMC rule that students going abroad for MBBS must qualify NEET-UG, and refused exemptions to those who enrolled after it came in (Careers360, February 2025). NMC has also told students to avoid offers that bypass NEET (Careers360, May 2025).
Is the FMGE hard to pass, and is NExT replacing it?
After the degree, your child must clear the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), conducted by NBEMS. A 2026 NMC draft keeps FMGE as the qualifying exam for registration “until National Exit Test (NEXT) comes into force”, with no date given (Medical Dialogues, August 2026). So plan for FMGE, and watch NMC notices for NExT. Our guide to the screening test for foreign medical graduates covers it in more detail.
The pass rate is the number to ask about first. The overall FMGE pass percentage in June 2026 was 12.78%, Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel told Parliament (Medical Dialogues). Among first-time candidates it was more than 35%, and around 88% of that session's applicants were repeaters.
Ten questions to ask the university or agent
Does this exact programme meet every FMGL condition: 54 months, a 12-month internship at the same place, English medium? Show me in writing.
Is the degree recognised by this country's medical regulator?
How many Indian students passed FMGE on the first attempt, and out of how many?
Is teaching in English for every year, including hospital postings?
Which language do patients speak, and is it taught from the first year?
In which hospitals are clinical years spent, and how much bedside time does a student get?
Is any part online, offshore or on another campus? NMC requires the whole course at one institution.
What is the total cost for each year, and what is the refund policy if we leave after year one?
How far is the hostel from the Indian embassy or consulate?
Can we speak to three current Indian students we find ourselves, not ones you choose?
What will MBBS abroad really cost in total?
Agents quote tuition. Build your own sheet, one row per year, with tuition, hostel, food, flights home, visa renewals, health insurance, books, language classes and FMGE fees. Add the year of internship in India, and a currency line: fees set in dollars or euros cost more if the rupee weakens. If you will borrow, see our steps for applying for an education loan in India.
How safe will my child be, and who do they call?
Safety can change in days. On 18 May 2024, after mob violence targeting international students in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, India advised students there to stay indoors and the embassy shared a 24x7 emergency number (News On AIR).
Before departure, save the embassy's emergency number in both your phones, agree on a fixed weekly call time, and keep scans of the passport, visa and admission letter at home.
Homesickness can get heavy. In the first week, your child should find the university's counselling service. In India, Tele MANAS (14416) is a free, round-the-clock mental health helpline launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and you can call it too.
What if staying in India is the better choice?
If NEET-UG went worse than hoped, compare all the routes first: NEET score lower than expected? Your options.
Wherever your child studies, physics, chemistry and biology concepts carry through. The Fermi Concept Library has a lesson for every concept in those subjects, and Fermi's AI tutor can work out what your child already knows and build a plan for the session, so study time starts with a clear next step.
Write the answers to the ten questions down, compare two universities side by side, and say yes only when every FMGL box is ticked.
