Portugal – Evidence of qualifications

This page is to explain what evidence of qualifications doctors who qualified in Portugal need to supply to support their registration application.

Below is information about

Medical regulatory authority

Ministério da Saude
Avenida Miguel Bombarda 6
1000 Lisbon
Portugal

Ordem dos Médicos
Avenida Almirante Gago Coutinho 151
1700 Lisbon
Portugal
Tel: +351 847 0654
Fax: +351 1847 0467

Provisional registration

You will need to hold:

A Carta de curso de licenciatura em medicina (diploma confirming the completion of medical studies) awarded by a Portuguese University.

Full registration

If you have previously held provisional registration you will need to hold:

A Diploma comprovativo da conclusão do internato geral (diploma confirming the completion of general internship) or your diploma do internato médico de medicina geral e familiar (diploma of medical internship - general and family medicine) awarded by the Ministerio da Saude (Ministry of Health) of Portugal. Please note that we do not accept diplomas issued by Portuguese hospitals as evidence of completion of general internship training.

To apply for full registration if you have previously held provisional registration and completed your internship in the UK you will need to hold:

A Certificate of Experience form completed by an authorised officer of your UK medical school or deanery. Please contact us to obtain a blank Certificate of Experience form that you will need to pass to your medical school or deanery to be completed.

Please note the following information:

  • You cannot apply using the UK on-line registration method through MyGMC.
  • If you are granted full registration in the UK, your primary medical qualification may not be automatically recognised in another EEA member state. You can check by contacting the medical regulatory authority in the country in which you wish to obtain registration.

If you have not previously held provisional registration you will need to hold:

A Carta de curso de licenciatura em medicina (diploma confirming the completion of medical studies) issued by a Portuguese University

AND

Your diploma comprovativo da conclusão do internato geral (diploma confirming the completion of general internship) or your diploma do internato médico de medicina geral e familiar (diploma of medical internship - general and family medicine) awarded by the Ministerio da Saude (Ministry of Health) of Portugal. Please note that we do not accept diplomas issued by Portuguese hospitals as evidence of completion of general internship training.

Specialist register

To hold specialist registration you must also hold full registration. If you want to apply for specialist registration and you do not already hold full registration, you should apply for full and specialist registration at the same time.

Your specialty must be listed in Annex V of the Directive 2005/36/EC by the country that awarded it and have a corresponding entry for the United Kingdom. You will need to hold:

A Grau de Assistente (Assistant Grade) awarded by the Ministerio da Saude.

OR

A Título de Especialista (professional qualification of specialist) awarded by the Ordem dos Medicos.

If your Portuguese specialist certificate was awarded before 1 January 1986, or if you began your training leading to the award of that certificate before that date, you will also need to hold either:

A letter from the Ordem dos Medicos or the Ministerio da Saude confirming that the training leading to the award of your specialist certificate meets the standards laid down in Articles 25, 26 and 27 as appropriate of Directive 2005/36/EC.

OR

If your specialist training does not meet those standards, you will need to hold a letter from the Ordem dos Medicos or the Ministerio da Saude, or the medical regulatory authority of the country where you are now working, confirming that you have been practising in the specialty in which your specialist certificate was awarded for the period required by Article 23.1 of Directive 2005/36/EC.

If the title of your Portuguese specialist certificate is not as described above or the specialty in which it is awarded is not the same as that specialty listed in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC you will also need to hold:

A letter from the Ordem dos Medicos or the Ministerio da Saude confirming that your training leading to the award of the specialist certificate meets the standards laid down in Articles 25, 26 and 27 as appropriate of Directive 2005/36/EC and that the specialty is treated in law by Portugal as a certificate of medical specialisation in the relevant specialty as set out in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC.

If you are not eligible to enter the specialist register via the criteria outlined (above) you can apply to the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB) to be assessed via the Article 14 equivalence route. Doctors applying via the Article 14 route will be required to demonstrate that their specialist qualifications, knowledge and experience gained are equivalent to that of a doctor completing a UK specialist training programme in your specialty. For further guidance, including application forms and a list of frequently answered questions, please visit the PMETB website. Please note that PMETB cannot accept CVs/resumes in isolation.

GP register

To hold GP registration you must also hold full registration. If you want to apply for GP registration and you do not already hold full registration, you should apply for full and GP registration at the same time.

You will need to hold either:

A Diploma do internato complementar de clínica geral (certificate of specific training for general medical practice) awarded by the Ministerio da Saude. If your Diploma does not clearly state that your training for general medical practice meets the standards laid down in Article 28 of Directive 2005/36/EC you will need to hold a letter from the Ministerio da Saude which confirms that your training meets those standards.

OR

A certificate of acquired rights for general medical practice awarded by the Ministerio da Saude. The certificate must state that it was awarded to you in accordance with Article 30(1) of Directive 2005/36/EC.

If you are not eligible to enter the GP register via the criteria outlined (above) you can apply to PMETB via the Article 11 equivalence route. Doctors who apply using this method will have their training, qualifications and experience compared against the standard required for doctors completing a UK General Practice training programme. Successful applicants will be given a statement confirming their eligibility for entry to the GP Register and hence eligible to work as a GP in the UK. For further information and to request an Article 11 application pack, please visit the PMETB website. Please note that PMETB is unable to accept CVs/resumes in isolation and cannot process applications that are not made through the correct channels.