Studied MBBS abroad? The PM&DC requirements, in order

Start with one question: is your university recognised?

PM&DC splits foreign graduates into two groups, and everything else follows from which group you are in. A third category exists on paper: PM&DC's colleges page describes List A and List B for recognised colleges in two lists of countries, and List C for colleges "still under process of recognition". Find your university on the PM&DC foreign colleges page before you do anything else.

The two public statements are not worded identically, and the sequence can differ by the date you started your degree. If you are unsure which cell you fall into, write to PM&DC and keep the reply.

The five requirements

1. A degree PM&DC will accept. The Registration Regulations 2023 provide for provisional registration on an undergraduate MBBS or BDS from a foreign university or institution recognised by the Council. The September 2025 press release adds that only graduates of institutions on the ECFMG-accredited lists are eligible to appear in the NRE. Check your school in that listing as well, which now sits within the World Directory of Medical Schools. We have not verified how PM&DC maps the two lists, so ask PM&DC if your school appears on one but not the other.
2. Verification of the qualification. Foreign qualifications are subject to verification from the issuing authority. The regulations tie the 14-day provisional registration timeline to this verification, so the time it takes your university to answer is the main delay. Start it early.
3. Provisional registration. Apply before your house job begins (Regulation 9A). A hospital may award a house job only if you hold valid provisional registration or proof that you have applied (Regulation 12(iv)). House job done before provisional registration does not count (Regulation 12(ii)).
4. The NRE. Both parts: Step I theory and Step II clinical skills. Passing is mandatory for full registration (Regulation 27) and there is no limit on attempts. Doctors with certain standard postgraduate qualifications (for example MRCP or FRCS, or a Council-recognised level III qualification) and a valid foreign licence in good standing are exempt (Regulation 27(iv)).
5. House job, BLS and full registration. One year of house job in a council-approved hospital (Regulation 9), in four compulsory three-month modules: internal medicine, allied medicine, general surgery and allied surgery (Regulation 13). Modules shorter than three months are not accepted (Regulation 14). BLS certification is mandatory for full registration (Regulation 15).

Documents to prepare

PM&DC's Registration Regulations 2023 do not give a document checklist, and the NRE notices we reviewed do not list one either. The December 2025 provisional-registration directive, as reported in the press, names the final degree, the transcript and the internship completion certificate for graduates of recognised universities. Treat the list below as a safe working set, then match it to the current portal page.

• Final degree certificate, and a translation into English if it is not in English. Use the translation form the portal specifies.
• Full academic transcript for all years, with subject marks.
• Internship or clinical training completion certificate, where your university issues one.
• Passport and CNIC, with the same spelling of your name as the degree. A mismatch is the easiest thing to prevent.
• Entry and exit records or other proof of residence in the country of study, if PM&DC asks for them on the portal.
• For the NRE: your provisional licence where required, photographs, and the bank challan for the fee.

Keep both originals and clean scans. Re-uploading because a scan is unreadable wastes days when a deadline is close.

What changed in 2025

Several things moved at once, and many forwarded messages describe only one of them.

• The pass mark fell. The Step I pass mark was 70% in 2023 and 60% from the 2024 syllabus. A December 2025 notice referred to the old 70% only to give a one-time extra attempt to candidates who had used three chances under it.
• The recognition position was restated. The September 2025 press release (dated 14 September) restated that graduates of recognised institutions can get provisional registration but must still pass the NRE for full registration, and that eligibility to sit depends on ECFMG-accredited listing.
• Provisional registration became explicit before house job. A directive reported on 24 December 2025 says provisional registration is mandatory before a foreign graduate starts a house job in Pakistan, and that hospitals must verify it. We read this through press reports rather than the PM&DC page itself, so read the original notice.
• Exam dates moved. The October 2026 Step I sitting was moved to 8 November 2026.

Media also reported disputes about how these rules apply to graduates who started before 2023, and about house-job places being full. We cannot verify those claims and do not rely on them. If your case is affected, the safest evidence is a written PM&DC reply.

Fees to budget

These come from two sources and may have been revised. Re-check before paying.

A practical order of work

If you are still abroad, in your final year or just back, this order saves the most time.

1. Find your university on the PM&DC recognised list and on the ECFMG/World Directory listing. Save screenshots with the date.
2. Request verification from the university and collect transcripts. This is slow, so do it first.
3. Open your portal profile and make sure the personal details match every document.
4. Apply for provisional registration if your university is recognised, or go to NRE registration if it is not.
5. Start Step I preparation as soon as you are eligible. Twelve weeks of structured work is the minimum we recommend; the study plan has options.
6. Plan the house job only after provisional registration is in hand.

Common mistakes

• Starting house job before provisional registration. Under Regulation 12(ii) it does not count.
• Assuming a recognised university means no exam. PM&DC states otherwise: the NRE is required for full registration.
• Trusting an agent's claim. Rules differ by graduation date. Ask for the notice number and read it yourself.
• Paying a fee that is not on a PM&DC challan. Pay only through the portal or authorised bank channel.
• Letting the five-year window run. A Step I pass is valid for five years for sitting Step II. Plan the clinical exam while the pass is fresh. See the Step II OSCE guide.
• Using the wrong title. The provisional certificate describes your qualification as equivalent to MBBS (Pak) and says the holder should not write "MBBS (Pak)" after their name. Use the wording the certificate gives.

Questions to put to PM&DC in writing

Verbal answers from a helpdesk, an agent or a classmate are not evidence. If your case is not clear from the published documents, write to PM&DC and keep the reply. Useful questions include:

• Is my university on the PM&DC recognised list, and in which list (A, B or C)?
• For my year of admission, is provisional registration granted before or after the NRE?
• Which documents does the portal need for my provisional registration and for the NRE?
• Does my foreign internship, if I completed one, count towards the house job requirement?
• What is the current fee for each step, and where is it published?

Quote your full name, CNIC, university, year of admission and graduation, and the notice number you are relying on. A short, specific email is answered faster than a long one.

Where this guide stops

This page describes publicly available PM&DC documents. It is not legal advice and it does not predict future policy. For eligibility questions that depend on your intake year, your university or your country of study, the answer must come from PM&DC in writing. For preparing for the exam itself, start with the NRE Step I overview and the booking and fees guide.