Regulating doctors, ensuring good medical practice

Help with registration fees for refugee doctors living in the UK

This guidance tells you about the discount on registration fees available to those doctors who have been given refugee status or who have been granted leave to remain in the United Kingdom.

Contents

  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. Who can claim the concessions
  3. 3. What concessions can be claimed
  4. 4. Providing evidence of refugee status or leave to remain in the UK 
  5. 5. Booking a PLAB Test Place
  6. 6. Useful website links

 

 

1. Introduction

If you are a refugee doctor seeking registration with a licence to practise in the United Kingdom, you may be eligible for a discount on the fees you must pay to register with the GMC.

2. Who can claim the concessions

The following doctors with refugee status (having been recognised as a refugee under the 1951 United Nations Convention) or who have been granted leave to remain in the UK are eligible to receive fee concessions:

  • Those with indefinite leave to remain (with refugee status).
  • Those with indefinite leave to enter (with refugee status).
  • Those with exceptional leave to remain (granted prior to 1 April 2003).
  • Those with humanitarian protection (granted on or after 1 April 2003).
  • Those with discretionary leave to remain (with no restrictions on working)(granted on or after 1 April 2003).

3. What concessions can be claimed

If your current status falls within one of the above categories, you will:

  • Be entitled to two attempts at Part 1 of the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) test, free of charge. If you fail the first attempt, you can re-take the exam one more time, again without charge. The standard fee for the exam and the re-sit is £145 each. There is no restriction on the number of attempts at Part 1 of the test. However, the concession only applies to the first two attempts. 
  • Pay only £215 to take Part 2 of the PLAB test, instead of the standard fee of £430. The same discount will apply to the first re-take of the test. You can make up to four attempts at Part 2, but the concession applies only to the first two attempts.
  • Be able to pay the fee for your first period of full registration with a licence to practise in quarterly or ten monthly payments. Please note quarterly or monthly payments do not apply to PLAB test fees, which must be paid for when the test is booked.

4. Providing evidence of refugee status

To claim these concessions you will need to provide the GMC with an original letter from the Home Office Border and Immigration Agency as evidence of your current immigration status. Only those with active status in one of the five categories outlined under Point 2 above will be eligible to claim the concessions. You MUST inform us if your status changes such as, for example, if you are naturalised and become a  British citizen.

5. Booking a PLAB Test Place

If you want to book a Part 1 or 2 PLAB test place, please contact the GMC Refugee Doctor Liaison Officer on 0161 923 6602 or e-mail refugeehelp@gmc-uk.org.

In order to secure the concessions on Part 1 or Part 2 of the PLAB test, you will need to bring your original Home Office Border and Immigration Agency documentation into GMC reception in London or Manchester. Alternatively you can post it to the GMC at 350 Euston Road, London NW1 3JN or 3 Hardman Street, Manchester, M3 3AW. If you are applying for Part 1 of the test, you are not required to pay for your first two attempts.

For Part 2, you are entitled to up to two attempts, each at the reduced fee of £215. If your fees are being paid on your behalf by a refugee charity, you will need to provide the GMC with an original letter from that charity undertaking to cover your costs, or a cheque from that charity when you book the PLAB test.

6. Useful website links