Medical registration after training abroad
Your registration route depends on where you qualified, your internship and any recognised postgraduate qualifications. This guide explains the registration divisions, PRES exams and exemptions, and the documents and fees involved.
Checked on 22 August 2026 against the Medical Council's own pages and ECFMG's Ireland instructions.
Start here
Intern eligibility for non-EU/EEA graduates
Graduates of medical schools outside the EU and EEA may not apply for intern posts or internship registration in Ireland.
Graduates who are ineligible for Irish internship must use another registration route. The options below cover General and Supervised registration and the Council’s qualification requirements.
Medical Council, internship registration
If you are choosing a medical school, see studying abroad and coming back.
Registration divisions
Each division has different conditions on the posts you can hold. Check the requirements for the job you intend to apply for.
| Division | Who | What it permits |
|---|---|---|
| Internship | Graduates of the six Irish schools, of EU and EEA schools applying through the HSE, and of UK schools. | The intern year, leading to a Certificate of Experience.Closed to non-EEA graduates. |
| General | Doctors who have passed the PRES or hold an exemption from it, plus EU and EEA graduates whose training is recognised directly. | Practice without the confinement of a supervised or training post. |
| Trainee Specialist | Doctors who hold General registration or are eligible for it, appointed to a recognised training post. | Practice inside posts allocated by the HSE with the postgraduate training bodies.Tied to the post. Registration follows automatically once the clinical site and the training body update DIME, and drops back to the General Division when the post details expire. |
| Supervised | Doctors offered a HSE-approved post that carries specific supervisory arrangements. | Practice in that post, under supervision, for an aggregate of two years.Leave the post before it expires and you must stop practising medicine in Ireland, and file form SUPDIV2. Application fees are not refunded, so the post must be offered before you apply. |
The Certificate of Experience requirement for Trainee Specialist registration has been removed. The Council also no longer issues individual eligibility emails: you give your training body either a General registration certificate, past or present, or your General Division eligibility email.
The PRES
The Pre-Registration Examination System. Two levels, testing obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, and medicine and general practice, against the Council's Eight Domains of Good Professional Practice.
PRES Level 2
A written multiple-choice paper, answered inside three hours. Each question opens with a short scenario. The PRES 2 Content Map sets out what is examined.
€352
PRES Level 3
A clinical assessment of communication, interpretation and practical skills: one interpretation paper, written or on a computer, and one clinical exam rotating through scenarios or skill stations. The PRES Handbook and Blueprint set out the structure.
€1,500
Alternatives to PRES Level 2
1 January 2016, when the Council stopped requiring PRES Level 2 of non-EU and EEA applicants outright.
| Exam | Body | How long a pass lasts |
|---|---|---|
| PLAB Part 1 | GMC, United Kingdom | Two years from the date of the exam, for passes from 31 March 2025. |
| USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK | United States | Seven years. |
| MCCQE Part 1 | Canada | As long as the awarding body considers it valid. |
| AMC MCQ | Australia | As long as the awarding body considers it valid. |
Producing one of those passes moves you straight to Level 3, on the same two years or three attempts from the date you are declared eligible.
Eligibility and booking
Apply online with your documents. The Council assesses eligibility before emailing the application form for an exam sitting.
Places are limited. Level 2 is allocated first come, first served on a completed form and payment; Level 3 is allocated in order of priority. Late applicants go to a second preference or a standby list, and the Council can move a sitting if too few candidates book.
Once you are declared eligible for a level, you typically get two years or three attempts to pass it, whichever runs out first. The same rule applies at both levels.
Published exam dates
Level 2 runs roughly quarterly and has been sitting in Dubai as well as Dublin since May 2026. Level 3 runs less often and only in Ireland, which is the practical bottleneck: two sittings were published for the second half of 2026, at Cork and at RCSI.
| Level | Exam date | Venue | Apply by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 2 | 12 February 2026 | Dublin | 27 January 2026 |
| Level 2 | 21 May 2026 | Dublin and Dubai | 7 April 2026 |
| Level 2 | 6 August 2026 | Dublin and Dubai | 25 June 2026 |
| Level 2 | 5 November 2026 | Dublin and Dubai | To be confirmed |
| Level 3 | 19 September 2026 | University College Cork | 21 August 2026 |
| Level 3 | 31 October 2026 | Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin | 2 October 2026 |
These dates were published when this page was last checked. Confirm the current schedule with the Medical Council before booking travel.
Immigration permission for the exam
Doctors may enter the State to sit the PRES and must leave on completion of it. Passing does not change that: re-entry needs an employment permit already issued. A resit has to be applied for from outside the State, and staying on illegally makes you ineligible for a permit altogether.
There is no reciprocal arrangement with the GMC. A PRES pass does not stand in for PLAB.
Full PRES exemptions
Certificate of Experience
An internship the Council considers at least equivalent to the Irish one.
Judged against a published list of jurisdictions. Anything outside that list is assessed individually, and the Council does not publish how it decides.
Higher Qualification
A recognised postgraduate qualification, plus either an internship or accredited training.
The qualification alone is not enough. You also need either twelve months of internship including three months of medicine and three of surgery, or three years on an accredited training programme.
PLAB Part 2
A pass in the GMC's PLAB Part 2.
PLAB 1 must be passed first. If more than three years pass after PLAB 2 without practising medicine, the Council reviews your recency of practice under its Fit and Proper Policy.
Internships the Council recognises
Whatever the country, the internship has to run twelve months minimum, normally consecutive, and include at least three months in general medicine and three months in general surgery.
| Country | Condition |
|---|---|
| Australia | A two-year internship, evidenced, from 1 January 2008. |
| Malaysia | The general twelve-month requirement only. |
| Malta | Foundation Year 1 and Foundation Year 2 both completed. |
| New Zealand | A two-year internship, evidenced, from November 2014. |
| Pakistan | The internship must have commenced on or after 1 January 2009. |
| South Africa | The internship must have commenced on or after 1 July 2006. |
| Sudan | The general twelve-month requirement only. |
| United Kingdom | Foundation Year 1 completed. |
Since 1 December 2025, who issued the certificate matters
The Council accepts Certificates of Experience only from the relevant competent authority. Certificates issued by a hospital site are no longer accepted.
ECFMG classifies an internship completed before you graduated as a pregraduate credential and one completed after graduation as postgraduate training. The distinction is on timing alone, and it changes which credential you are verifying.
English
Applies to all new applications received on or after 1 March 2025.
| Test | What is accepted |
|---|---|
| OET | Grade B in every module of OET Medicine, in a single sitting, within the last two years. OET @ Home is not accepted. |
| IELTS | Academic IELTS only: overall 7.0 with no module below 6.5, single sitting, within the last two years. Online and Indicator tests are not accepted. |
| Cambridge CAE | Advanced English at CEFR level C1 or C2, within the last two years. |
The certificate has to be inside two years both when you apply and when you are registered. If it expires while the application is open, references showing three recent months of full-time work or study in English can be given instead of resitting.
English test exemptions
- Graduates of Irish medical schools
- Graduates of EU and EEA medical schools, whatever their citizenship
- Graduates of medical schools in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the USA
- Anyone applying for Specialist, Visiting EEA or Internship registration
- Anyone whose medical degree and internship were both in English in a recognised English-speaking country
EPIC verification before applying
Every medical education credential has to be primary-source verified through ECFMG's EPIC before the Medical Council application is submitted, not alongside it. Required of category 4 applicants, meaning graduates of medical schools outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland. Since 1 September 2015.
- The basic medical qualification, showing the full graduation date. Transcripts, licences and graduation certificates are not accepted in its place.
- The postgraduate training credential, from the relevant training body, naming the programme and its duration. Pakistani applicants need the Pakistan Medical Commission's version with the rotation breakdown by specialty.
- A specialist qualification, but only where the PRES exemption rests on it.
Registration fees
The Council is phasing in a fee increase: 10 per cent from the 2026 annual retention process, which opens in late May 2026, and another 10 per cent in 2027.
| Fee | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Internship registration | €310 | Application and registration in one. |
| General or Trainee Specialist, first application | €451 | |
| PRES Level 2 | €352 | |
| PRES Level 3 | €1,500 | |
| Annual retention, registered three years or more | €665 | |
| Annual retention, newly qualified | €560 | Registered less than three years. |
| Annual retention, recently registered | €616 | Registered less than three years. |
| Annual retention, aged 70 or over | €75 | |
| Specialist Division, EU, EEA or UK trained, first application | €704 | |
| Category E specialist evaluation, non-EU | €4,086 | Dual application evaluation is €5,399. |
| Certificate of Good Standing | €55 |
Retention is late after 1 July, and the late fee is €50. Tax relief on fees explains which costs may qualify.
Work permits and immigration
Check your right to work as well as your registration. The work-permits guide covers employment permits, exemptions, immigration permission and the arrangements for NCHDs rotating between public hospitals.
Work permits and Stamp 4 for doctors →Common questions
Can an international medical graduate do the intern year in Ireland?
Not if you graduated outside the EU and EEA. The Medical Council's position is that graduates of non-EU and EEA medical schools may not apply for intern posts or internship registration in Ireland. UK graduates can apply through the HSE, and EU and EEA graduates are generally treated as having completed basic medical training already.
What is the PRES exam in Ireland?
The Pre-Registration Examination System, run by the Medical Council for doctors who qualified outside the EU and EEA. Level 2 is a three-hour multiple-choice paper costing €352. Level 3 is a clinical assessment of communication, interpretation and practical skills, costing €1,500. Both cover obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, and medicine and general practice.
How do you get an exemption from the PRES?
Three routes. A Certificate of Experience, where your internship is considered at least equivalent to the Irish one. A recognised higher qualification, which only works alongside either a twelve-month internship with three months of medicine and three of surgery, or three years on an accredited training programme. Or a pass in the GMC's PLAB Part 2.
Does PLAB let you skip the PRES?
PLAB Part 2 exempts you from the PRES entirely. PLAB Part 1 is narrower: it is accepted in place of PRES Level 2 only, and since 31 March 2025 a pass is valid for two years. There is no reciprocal arrangement, so a PRES pass does not count towards PLAB.
When is the PRES exam held?
Level 2 runs roughly quarterly, in Dublin and, since May 2026, Dubai. Level 3 runs less often and only in Ireland: the sittings published for the second half of 2026 were 19 September at University College Cork and 31 October at RCSI in Dublin, with application deadlines about six weeks ahead of each. Places are limited, Level 2 is allocated first come first served, and you can only apply once the Council has declared you eligible.
How many attempts do you get at the PRES?
Once you are declared eligible for a level, you typically get two years or three attempts to pass it, whichever runs out first. That applies at both Level 2 and Level 3.
What English test does the Irish Medical Council accept?
OET Medicine at grade B in every module, Academic IELTS at 7.0 overall with nothing below 6.5, or Cambridge Advanced English at CEFR C1 or C2. All in a single sitting within the last two years, and online versions are not accepted. Graduates of Irish, EU, EEA, UK, Australian, New Zealand and US medical schools are exempt.
What could not be verified
- How the Council decides equivalence for an internship from a country not on its list. The criteria are not published.
- PRES pass rates, at either level. The Council publishes the dates, the format and the attempt limits, but not how many candidates get through.
- The Guide to Registration appendix listing recognised higher qualifications in full. The specialties are published; the complete list sits in a document that was not readable.
- HSE guidance on how applicants who need an employment permit are treated in intern recruitment. The HSE intern unit pages have been behind a maintenance notice since roughly 28 January 2026.
- Processing times for any of these applications.
- Whether the Certificate of Experience FAQ still exists. The Council's own link to it returns a page not found.
Fees and rules here are the Council's published ones on the date above. They move. Tell me if a figure has changed.