Indian Doctors: PLAB or the AMC? Choosing Between the UK and Australia (2026)

The choice, in one paragraph

An Indian medical graduate has two realistic English-speaking routes: the UK through PLAB and GMC registration, or Australia through the AMC's Standard pathway. The UK is cheaper and faster to enter but pays less early on. Australia takes longer to enter and pays substantially more. And there is a third option most doctors miss — doing the UK first makes Australia easier later, because UK experience opens Australia's Competent Authority pathway.

The UK: PLAB and the GMC

Two exams. PLAB 1 is a 180-question written paper sat in India or the UK; PLAB 2 is an 18-station clinical exam sat only in Manchester. From 1 April 2026 the fees are £283 and £1,036.

English is the gate that stops most people: the GMC requires IELTS Academic 7.5 overall with at least 7.0 in each component, or OET Medicine grade B across all four sub-tests. That is a materially higher bar than Australia's. For full registration you also need 12 months of postgraduate experience including three months of medicine and three months of surgery — an Indian internship generally satisfies this, though the GMC assesses it individually.

India is on the UK's green list with a government-to-government agreement, so there is no ethical recruitment restriction on recruiting Indian doctors. Most IMGs start in non-training NHS posts and move into training later, sponsored on the Health and Care Worker visa, which is exempt from the immigration health surcharge. Our GMC guide covers the process in full.

Australia: the AMC Standard pathway

Doctors who trained outside the UK, Ireland, Canada, the US and New Zealand — India included — are not eligible for Australia's Competent Authority pathway on their Indian qualification alone. The route is the Standard pathway: the AMC CAT multiple-choice examination, then either the AMC clinical examination or a workplace-based assessment in an accredited Australian health service, followed by supervised practice and general registration.

The clinical stage is the bottleneck. Places are limited, and workplace-based assessment requires a job in an accredited service, which in turn generally requires you to already be in Australia. Ahpra's English requirement is lower than the GMC's, and doctors are assessed against the standard shared across Ahpra's boards rather than a medicine-specific bar. Our AMC pathways guide sets out all four routes.

The sequence worth considering

Here is the part that changes people's plans. Australia's Competent Authority pathway is open to doctors assessed by a recognised competent authority who have practised in that country — and the UK's GMC is one of them. A doctor who passes PLAB, registers with the GMC and works in the NHS becomes eligible for a route into Australia that does not require the AMC exams at all.

New Zealand goes further: it accepts PLAB 1 and 2 passed within the last five years as a registration pathway in its own right.

So the question is not only "UK or Australia" but "in what order". Doctors who are certain about Australia and can manage the AMC exams should go direct. Doctors who want to start earning in English-speaking practice sooner, and keep Australia open, often find the UK-first sequence the lower-risk path. It costs more in total and takes longer overall — that is the trade-off, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling a service.

If you already hold a specialist qualification

Indian specialist qualifications — MD, MS, DNB — are assessed by the relevant Australian college under the Specialist pathway, which decides whether your training is substantially comparable, partially comparable or not comparable, and sets whatever supervision or top-up follows. Australia's faster Expedited Specialist pathway is defined by a list of qualifications from the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, so an Indian qualification does not qualify for it — but a UK college fellowship earned along the way might, depending on the specialty and the current list.

In the UK, MRCP, MRCS, MRCOG and other royal college qualifications can replace PLAB entirely for GMC registration, which is why many Indian doctors sitting postgraduate exams already are closer to the UK than they realise.

Side by side

• Exams: UK — PLAB 1 and 2. Australia — AMC CAT plus clinical exam or workplace-based assessment.
• English: UK — IELTS 7.5 overall, 7.0 each component, or OET B. Australia — Ahpra's standard, which is lower.
• Where you sit the clinical stage: UK — Manchester only. Australia — in Australia, or via a workplace assessment if you have a post there.
• Entry pay: the UK's non-training grades pay less than Australian equivalents; Australian resident and registrar salaries are materially higher.
• Onward options: UK experience opens Australia's Competent Authority pathway and New Zealand's PLAB route. Australian experience does not open a reciprocal shortcut to the UK.

Frequently asked questions