{"id":28000,"date":"2026-09-20T19:05:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T15:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/blog\/plab-gmc-registration-uk-doctors\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T22:22:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T18:52:20","slug":"plab-gmc-registration-uk-doctors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/en\/blog\/plab-gmc-registration-uk-doctors\/","title":{"rendered":"PLAB and GMC registration: what decides the job you can actually take"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you are a doctor thinking about working in the UK, PLAB is probably the first thing you looked into. It is the exam the General Medical Council uses to test the knowledge and English of doctors who qualified outside the UK. But what decides which job you can actually take afterwards is not your PLAB score. It is your internship.<\/p>\n

The GMC gives you a licence, not the right to work<\/h2>\n

GMC stands for General Medical Council<\/a>. It keeps the official register of doctors in the UK and issues the licence to practise, roughly the role Iran’s Medical Council plays there.<\/p>\n

To practise medicine in the UK you must be registered with the GMC and hold that licence. The licence says nothing about your right to work, though. Unless you hold a British or Irish passport, you need permission from the Home Office as a separate application.<\/p>\n

The GMC also says plainly that registration does not guarantee you will find a job. Most people plan carefully for one of these two and get caught out by the other.<\/p>\n

Have you completed an internship?<\/h2>\n

The answer changes everything that follows.<\/p>\n

If you pass PLAB but have not completed an internship, the GMC grants you provisional registration. With provisional registration you may only work in a Foundation Programme Year 1 post, and UK law does not permit any other kind of job. If you completed a period of clinical experience after graduating, you can apply directly for full registration and that restriction does not apply to you.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Registration<\/th>\nWhat it lets you do<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Provisional<\/td>\nFoundation Programme Year 1 only<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Full<\/td>\nAny medical work, with the two exceptions below<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Specialist<\/td>\nRequired for a consultant post<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GP Register<\/td>\nRequired for NHS general practice<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

You cannot hold either of the last two on their own, because full registration has to come first.<\/p>\n

The exam has two parts<\/h2>\n

PLAB stands for Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board. Part 1 is written: 180 multiple choice questions in three hours, so about a minute per question. Part 2 is practical, with sixteen eight-minute stations.<\/p>\n

You can sit Part 1 in Cairo, Alexandria, Dubai and Riyadh among other places. Part 2 runs only in Manchester, so for that one you have to travel to the UK.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Fee<\/a> (from 1 April 2026)<\/th>\nAmount<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
PLAB Part 1<\/td>\n£283<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PLAB Part 2<\/td>\n£1,036<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Full registration with a licence<\/td>\n£481<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Annual fee to stay on the register<\/td>\n£481<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Put one date in your diary. If you cancel Part 2 with fewer than 28 days to go, nothing is refunded and the whole £1,036 stays with the GMC. If your trip depends on a visa being granted, that date matters more than the exam date itself.<\/p>\n

An overall 7.5 in IELTS is not necessarily enough<\/h2>\n

The GMC<\/a> wants an overall score of 7.5, but alongside it a minimum of 7.0 in each of the four skills. So if your average comes out at 7.5 but your writing is 6.5, you will not be accepted.<\/p>\n

OET is accepted too, with a grade B in each of the four skills. Both certificates are valid for two years, and yours has to be valid on the day you sit Part 1.<\/p>\n

Booking the exam is your job alone<\/h2>\n

The GMC is explicit: a place is booked only from your own GMC Online account, and nobody but the account holder may access it. So if you give your login to somebody else, that act is itself misconduct and it can affect your registration later.<\/p>\n

Any agency offering to book your exam place is therefore asking you to carry the risk for them.<\/p>\n

Money you should never pay<\/h2>\n

The UK government’s own guidance<\/a> says a recruitment agency must never charge you for finding you work. If one does, it is either a scam or unlawful.<\/p>\n

Three costs are the employer’s to pay, not yours:<\/p>\n