MBBS Overseas: Indian students eyeing medicine in Georgia need to check licensing rules carefully

 MBBS Overseas: Indian students eyeing medicine in Georgia need to check licensing rules carefully

TNNPublished: Sep 29, 2026, 17:59 IST Updated: Sep 30, 2026, 14:08 IST

Indian students planning to study medicine in Georgia need to look beyond the advertised six-year course and check whether they will be legally eligible to practise medicine in Georgia after graduation, a requirement that could determine whether they can eventually register as doctors in India.

Under Clause 4(b) of the National Medical Commission (NMC)’s Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate (FMGL) Regulations, 2021, a foreign medical graduate must possess licence to practise medicine in the country where the medical degree was obtained, at par with the licence granted to citizens of that country.

Georgia currently has around 21 medical universities where Indian students are pursuing medicine, with an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 Indian students enrolling each year.

"If we look at the six-year medical education cycle, that means roughly 30,000 to 40,000 student enrolments across successive batches. A large part of this cohort has enrolled after the November 2021 FMGL Regulations came into force. If there is uncertainty around the licensing, internship or registration pathway, the medical education and future careers of tens of thousands of Indian students could potentially be affected by non-compliance with the FMGL Regulations, 2021," said an educational consultant.

Documents from the Embassy of India in Yerevan, which also covers Georgia, indicate a distinction between completing the six-year medical programme and obtaining an independent licence to practise medicine. A revised embassy advisory dated September 29, 2022, said graduates of the six-year MD programme could work as ‘junior doctors’ in a supervised, non-independent role. For independent practice, they would need to clear the relevant certification examination and complete residency/postgraduate training.

An April 2024 RTI response from the embassy said postgraduate education in a specialised field is mandatory for obtaining a licence to practise in Armenia and Georgia, with the duration ranging from one to four years. A June 2024 embassy communication further said Georgia grants a licence at par with citizens only after successful completion of a postgraduate programme and knowledge of the Georgian language.

This makes it important for prospective students to distinguish between a medical degree and a licence permitting independent practice.

After the six-year MD, a graduate may have junior-doctor status, while independent practice requires additional examinations and postgraduate training. Depending on the specialisation, the overall pathway could therefore extend substantially beyond the advertised six-year degree.

NMC’s Undergraduate Medical Education Board had, in an August 8, 2023, public notice, advised students to independently verify the duration of the course, medium of instruction, syllabus, clinical training and internship requirements before enrolling in a foreign medical institution.

It also warned that discrepancies could affect eligibility for registration in India.

"Regulation 4(b) requires a medical graduate to have a legal licence to practise medicine independently. Therefore if Georgia requires a graduate to complete postgraduate training or certification before independent practice, then simply becoming a “Junior Doctor” after the 6-year medical degree would not be sufficient to meet the requirement of regulation 4(b)," he added.

A Georgian Embassy notice issued in India in August 2024 described MD graduates as junior doctors authorised to perform their duties under a certified specialist. It claimed that they were fully equivalent to MBBS graduates for that purpose. However, the question under FMGL 4(b) is whether that status amounts to the level of practice and licensing required under the regulation.

The NMC’s response to a CPGRAMS grievance dated September 24, 2026, provides a further indication of the regulatory concern.

It said junior-doctor status would satisfy Clause 4(b) only if it legally permits practice at the required level. If independent practice in Georgia is possible only after postgraduate certification, junior doctor status alone would not satisfy the requirement. The response also said the determination depends on Georgian law and licensing requirements.

Students who joined foreign medical programmes before and after November 18, 2021 may also fall under different regulatory frameworks. Those joining after the FMGL Regulations came into force will be among the cohorts whose eligibility under the newer rules will become increasingly relevant when they seek registration in India.