A file photo of Foreign Medical Graduates protesting for issuance of Permanent Registrations in Vijayawada.
After two years of waiting and multiple protests and court cases, Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) in Andhra Pradesh have begun receiving Permanent Registrations (PRs).
According to information, around 30 graduates, who approached the A.P. High Court regarding the delay in issuance of PRs to them, have received PRs from March 12 till date.
Though the process is sluggish, the move has given fresh hope to the graduates, around 400 in number, who have been waiting for the PR the past two years.
A medical graduate, after finishing the MBBS-equivalent course in a foreign country, needs a PR to practise or study further in India. The PR is granted after the graduate clears a national-level screening examination and completes the one-year Compulsory Rotatory Medical Internship (CRMI).
Many FMGs from A.P., whose studies were disrupted during the pandemic, were asked by the A.P. Medical Council (APMC) to undergo another year of internship to compensate for the lost clinical classes.
The FMGs reasoned that the APMC’s direction was in contrast to the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) notification of June 19, 2024, which stated that those having valid compensatory certificates from their parent universities need not undergo two years of internship.
Despite the favourable A.P. High Court ruling, where in the APMC was directed to grant PRs without insistence of additional year of internship, FMGs in the State did not see any progress.
“We then approached Health Secretary Saurabh Gaur, who assured us that all of us would be granted PRs at the earliest,” says Karthik, an FMG from Srikakulam district, who completed his internship in May, 2024.
On March 5, 2026, a letter, signed by Mr. Saurabh Gaur, was sent to the APMC Registrar, which said that the strict adherence to the orders of the High Court was mandatory and that “any delay, deviation, or misinterpretation of the said orders may lead to avoidable litigation and administrative complication.”
The NMC also clarified in its notification of March 18, 2026, that if an FMG had cleared the FMG examination and completed one year of internship and had a compensatory certilicate, then they become eligible for registeration.
While the Health Secretary’s support and the NMC clarification have provided much-needed relief to the students, they are still worried because the APMC has now asked for Indian Embassy’s apostille on the compensatory certificates. However, this is not mentioned in the NMC’s notification of March 18.
Amid the uncertainty, the students have lost two years, crucial in their studies. They have remained unemployed over the past two years, even after studying the six-year medical course, clearing the screening exam, and doing the internship.
“One of the juniors, who completed his internship in Karnataka, received the PR, cleared the NEET last year and has begun his PG course now,” says Karthik, who now hopes to receive the PR at least before August, so that he can become eligible to take the NEET-PG exam this year.
Published – March 21, 2026 11:12 pm IST
