GMC Sponsorship Scheme: Application Process
A note about timescales.
Our application and assessment process is rigorous and may take up to 4 months. These timescales are heavily dependent upon a number of factors, such as how quickly you are able to submit all of your supporting documents and the time it takes for the employing hospital or Trust to submit their documents too.
We can only assess applications that are complete with all of the required supporting documents.
You should not make any plans to travel to the UK until your registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) has been approved.
The journey & process.
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Guidance:
In our experience, the task of gathering all of the documents that you need to submit with your application takes the most time.
Here is a quick re-cap:
- Work through the GMC Supporting Documents Checklist;
- If you have not had your PMQ and PGMQ independently verified by the ECFMG, start this process straight away (we will ask you for your EPIC ID as part of the application process);
- Check that your IELTS or OET test score is valid (i.e. within date) and that you have achieved the required individual and overall score.
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If you wish to apply for GMC Sponsorship, you will first need to answer a few questions from us. We will ask you to provide certain documents (see Stage 1), including the job offer letter that you have received from the UK hospital or Trust.
The answers and documents that you provide will enable us to assess whether you are eligible for sponsorship.
Please refer to the GMC - SS Eligibility Criteria for more information and guidance on this.
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Guidance:
If you are assessed as eligible for sponsorship, we will write to you confirming this and send you our GMC Sponsorship Application Form for you to complete and return to us via our online application system.
Your application and supporting documents must be submitted via our online application system. All communications between you and our team will take place within our system.
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Guidance
During this stage, we will take up references from your current and/or former employers.
We use an online reference and work history service to obtain your references and confirm your work history.
You will be asked to provide us with the contact details three referees for this purpose. They will be contacted and asked to submit their references electronically via our online referencing system.
We will also write to the employing Trust/ hospital for confirmation of the job offer and further details about the post.
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Guidance:
Your application and documents that we have received will be reviewed by our team and assessed to make sure that it is complete and meets our criteria.
We will also assess the training post that was offered to you, to make sure that it is suitable for sponsorship.
During this process, we may seek further clarification or information from you and/or the UK Trust or hospital.
We will keep you updated on the progress of your application and write to you to let you know the outcome of the assessment process.
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Guidance:
If we are satisfied that your application and supporting documents are in order, and that your references and the UK post being offered is acceptable, we will send you guidance and instructions to commence your application for registration with the GMC.
Once you have submitted your application for registration, you will receive an email from the GMC setting out the documents that must be submitted as part of the registration process.
This email should be forwarded to us and we will submit the documents required, including our Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).
We will also monitor and respond to GMC requests for further information or supporting evidence as required.
If the GMC considers everything to be in order, you will be accepted onto the register pending an identity (ID) check.
You will be required to inform us of the date and time of your ID check.
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Guidance:
Tier 5 visa
If you intend to travel to the UK on a Tier 5 visa to take up a post in the UK, you will need to be sponsored for this. The College can arrange sponsorship and our team will provide you with specific information and the requirements regarding this.
Tier 2 visa
If you are being sponsored for a Tier 2 visa to take up a post in the UK, you must contact the UK Trust who offered the post and confirm arrangements with them.
It will be the responsibility of the UK Trust to arrange Tier 2 visa and we are not able to provide guidance regarding this.
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Guidance:
You arrive in the UK and attend your GMC ID check.
About Advancing surgical care. Worldwide.
The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is the professional membership organisation and standard-setting body for the education, training, assessment and professional development of surgeons in the United Kingdom and around the world. We exist to advance surgical and patient care.
We are a registered charity and our work supports 30,000 members in the UK and internationally by improving their skills and knowledge, facilitating research and developing policy, standards and guidance.
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