Indian Embassy in Beijing issues advisory for students planning to study medicine in China

The Embassy of India in Beijing has recently issued a detailed advisory to students who have been intending to pursue medical studies in China. As per a press release, Indian parents and prospective students have continued to contact the Embassy with questions about the student's eligibility "who are pursuing clinical medicine program in China to appear in the qualifying examination conducted by National Medical Commission of India."  

Furthermore, in this connection, the National Medical Commission (NMC) published a Gazette Notification dated November 18, 2021, which the students and their parents are urged to review. According to the release from the embassy, “It has unambiguously stated in Clause 4(b) that foreign medical students must be “registered with the respective professional regulatory body or otherwise, competent to grant a license to practice medicine in their respective jurisdiction of the country in which the medical degree is awarded and at par with the license to practice medicine given to a citizen of that country”. 

Indian Embassy issues advisory to its students studying medicine in China

The Embassy has further informed the relevant Chinese authorities and medical colleges of the situation and requested that they take steps to ensure that all students from India going to China for a clinical medicine program are given the necessary education, training, and support to enable them to meet the aforementioned NMC requirements. Any student who enrols in a clinical medicine program in China after November 2021 and is unable to secure a license to practice medicine in that country would lose their right to take the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination, it added. 

Besides this, another related question was whether Indian students who completed their medical studies in China but did not receive a medical practitioner license there may still work in Chinese hospitals in a role such as "assistant doctor" in order to support themselves and pay off college loans. The Embassy has officially contacted the appropriate Chinese authorities to inquire about the availability of such a choice. The release stated that when the Embassy would receive information from the Chinese side, it will post it on its social media accounts. 

Before considering the possibility to enroll in clinical medicine programs in China, the Indian Embassy further urged all potential Indian students to consult past advisories and the pertinent NMC rules. 

Meanwhile, it is pertinent to mention that China started providing visas to foreign students who were granted permission to return to their universities and colleges in China in order to continue their studies. However, they have trouble getting to China because neither nation has started flying again. According to reports, around 23,000 Indian students, most of whom are studying medicine, are stranded abroad because of COVID visa limitations. 

China said in the month of July that it has progressed in making it simpler for Indian students to return and that it was working with the required organizations to guarantee that the first group of Indian students may travel to China as soon as possible to finish their degrees, ANI reported. 

(Image: PTI)