Azerbaijan's residency exam: two phases, 200 questions, one competitive score

Medical and health education in Azerbaijan

Medicine in Azerbaijan is a six-year programme leading to a general medicine degree, taught mainly at Azerbaijan Medical University in Baku and a few other institutions, in Azerbaijani with Russian and English streams. The Ministry of Science and Education oversees higher education and accreditation, and the Ministry of Health regulates practice. Nursing and midwifery are generally taught at medical colleges at diploma level, while pharmacy and dentistry are longer university programmes of about five years.

Graduates traditionally continue to a supervised internship and, for a specialty, to residency (rezidentura). The documented national exam is the residency entrance test run by the State Examination Center (DIM), a two-phase test whose first phase is valid for five years. We could not verify a separate licensing exam for graduates. English-medium cohorts, which include students from India, Pakistan and elsewhere, study at Azerbaijan Medical University. These graduates generally cannot register in Azerbaijan on that basis alone and must sit their home licensing exam, such as the FMGE in India (its planned successor NExT has been deferred) or the NRE in Pakistan. Check NMC or PM&DC recognition of the course before you enrol.

A two-phase filter, with a five-year shelf life

What distinguishes Azerbaijan is the design of its residency exam. Phase 1 tests core subjects and is pass or fail, but a pass stays valid for five years, so a student can clear it early and spend the rest of their time on the second, competitive phase. Phase 2 covers the chosen specialty field and ranks candidates against each other. Because there is no negative marking, guessing is rational on questions you cannot resolve, which affects how you should train under time pressure.

This is a gateway to specialty training rather than a licence in the narrow sense. It also draws a large non-Azerbaijani audience: Indian and Turkish students on English-medium MD programmes at Azerbaijan Medical University are a visible group.

Who sits the exam

• Graduates with an Azerbaijani basic medical degree: Phase 1 and Phase 2.
• Foreign-trained graduates: only after nostrification of the degree by the Ministry of Science and Education.
• Third-year students and above: permitted to sit Phase 1 early.

Doctors

Administrator. DİM, working with the Ministry of Health, which handles certification of practitioners. The detail of that certification was not verified for this page.

Format. Paper-based. Phase 1 has 100 MCQs in 2.5 hours covering core subjects; Phase 2 has 100 MCQs in 2.5 hours in the specialty field. The scoring is competitive in Phase 2.

Language. The DİM page does not state language streams. DİM usually runs Azerbaijani and Russian sections, so English is not something to assume.

1. Check eligibility. Basic medical degree from Azerbaijan, or a nostrified foreign degree.
2. Open the DİM residency page. It carries the current calendar, registration and the classification of fields.
3. Register for Phase 1. Pass it once; the result lasts five years.
4. Register for Phase 2. Select the specialty field in line with the classification.
5. Apply for residency places. Competitive ranking determines the offer.

Dentists

DİM's page refers to "medical majors" in a 2011 residency classification. Whether dentistry sits within that list was not confirmed, so we treat dental entry as probably the same two-phase format but unverified. If you are a dentistry graduate, ask DİM which Phase 2 field applies before you invest in preparation.

Nurses and midwives

We found no national licensing exam for nurses or midwives. They are trained in medical colleges and appear to register on qualification. Foreign nursing or midwifery diplomas need nostrification. This is unverified; ask the Ministry of Health for the current registration route.

Pharmacists

No licensing exam was identified for pharmacists. Pharmacy residency may fall within DİM's residency classification, but the page did not confirm it. Treat the position as uncertain.

Physiotherapists

No national exam found; registration by qualification is assumed. Confirm with the Ministry of Health.

At a glance

Questions to put to DİM and the Ministry before you commit

Because several rows here are unverified, a short written enquiry saves months. Ask these, in this order:

• Is the residency exam available in English, or only in Azerbaijani and Russian?
• Is dentistry included in the current residency classification, and which Phase 2 fields exist for it?
• Does pharmacy residency use the same exam, or a separate admission route?
• What documents does nostrification require for a degree taught in English abroad?
• How does the Ministry of Health certify practitioners after residency, and does it involve a further exam?
• Do nurses, midwives and physiotherapists with foreign diplomas need a test after nostrification?

Keep the replies. Rules in this region can change by decree, and a dated written answer is more useful than a forum post.

Planning the five-year window

The five-year validity of Phase 1 shapes the best timetable. A student in the third or fourth year who passes Phase 1 has the result banked until after graduation and a year or two of residency applications. Someone who waits until after graduation may have to fit both phases into one cycle, with less room to recover from a poor first result. Where the calendar allows it, bank Phase 1 early, then treat Phase 2 as a ranking exercise in which every mark counts.

Preparing under no-negative-marking rules

With no penalty for wrong answers, the best practice is to answer every item. In practice, that means rehearsing a time budget: 150 seconds a question in a 2.5-hour block of 100 is ample, so most candidates should finish a first pass early and return to flagged items. Use that spare time to eliminate options rather than to second-guess answers you were sure of.

The Phase 1 core subjects overlap with the basic sciences taught in the first three years. Candidates who sit Phase 1 early, while the material is fresh, free the final years for clinical work and for Phase 2 preparation. Because the result stays valid for five years, early sitting carries little downside.

Language and recognition

Azerbaijani is the official language, and Russian is widely used in professional settings. English-medium MD programmes exist, but the residency exam is not documented as available in English. If you are a foreign graduate planning to practise outside Azerbaijan, the DİM exam is probably not your target; your home-country licensing exam is. If you want to train in Azerbaijan, expect to work in Azerbaijani or Russian during residency.

Last reviewed October 2026