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🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Doctors from the Philippines

How to work as a doctor in the UK from the Philippines

A doctor from the Philippines registers with the GMC in 8 steps over about 9 months on the main route, with £1,800 in published fees, and one thing is different from the Philippines: the Department of Migrant Workers' Overseas Employment Certificate.

Checked 22 Oct 2026 · GMC ↗

What is different from the Philippines

If your passport is from the Philippines

What do I need from the Department of Migrant Workers?

A DMW (formerly POEA) clearance and an Overseas Employment Certificate, valid 60 days from issue and used once.

Direct hiring is prohibited except by the diplomatic corps, international organisations and senior government officials, and by others the administration allows, including employers of professionals and skilled workers on verified contracts above POEA standards (no more than five first-time hires) and relatives who are permanent residents of the host country.

Your steps, in order

GMC registration via PLAB · General Medical Council · ~9 months · 8 steps
  1. 1
    Internship of 12 months in a public hospital with three months of medicine and three of surgery, or two years of continuous supervised practice after graduation
    ~52 weeks · Source ↗
  2. 2
    Acceptable overseas primary medical qualification (checked against the GMC's criteria and the World Directory of Medical Schools)
    Source ↗
  3. 3
    Confirm your medical school is listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools (search.wdoms.org)
    Source ↗
  4. 4
    English: IELTS Academic 7.5 overall with 7.0 in each part, or OET Medicine grade B in each part, in your most recent sitting (one IELTS One Skill Retake within 60 days can make up a single part); valid two years
    ~8 weeks · ~£250 · you pay · Source ↗
  5. 5
    Pass PLAB 1 (180 questions, three hours)
    ~12 weeks · ~£283 · you pay · Source ↗
  6. 6
    Pass PLAB 2 in Manchester within two years of PLAB 1
    ~16 weeks · ~£1,036 · you pay · Source ↗
  7. 7
    Certificate of good standing from every regulator you have been registered with in the last five years (valid three months)
    ~4 weeks · Source ↗
  8. 8
    Overseas Employment Certificate from the Department of Migrant Workers, through a DMW-licensed recruitment agency or an employer the DMW allows to hire directly (Filipino workers)
    who pays varies · Source ↗

The published fees leave out the English test, certificates from home and the visa or work permit.

Other routes

The Department of Migrant Workers' Overseas Employment Certificate applies on each of them too.

Every step on every route →

What to do next

Tell us about your training, your registration and your experience, and we show which of the GMC's steps you have left, with each fee and how long it takes.

Sources

outcomeOS describes each regulator's published rules; it does not advise on your individual case. · What changed · Privacy · Terms

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