Medical Council Malta: Registration, Exams and Fees

• Medical Register: medical practitioners (Article 11 of the Act).
• Temporary register for doctors who are not citizens of Malta or an EU state, for up to two years at a time (Article 11(2)).
• List of provisional registration: doctors serving as house physicians or surgeons, including Malta Foundation Programme doctors (Article 11(3)).
• Register of Dental Surgeons, with a temporary register for non-EU citizens for up to two years (Article 12).
• Specialist registers for each medical specialty listed in the Fifth Schedule of the Act, applied for separately.
• Temporary and occasional provision of services by doctors and dentists established in another EU state.

• A primary medical or dental qualification. The council follows the EU rule that basic medical training is at least five years and 5,500 hours of theoretical and practical training at, or supervised by, a university.
• For third-country graduates whose qualification is not recognised in an EU state: the MCMSE, if the council requires it.
• For doctors in that group: possible service as a house physician or surgeon for up to two years in a hospital recognised by the council, if required.
• Evidence of English proficiency before you can sit the MCMSE: IELTS Academic 7.5 overall with at least 6.5 in each component, or OET Medicine grade B in all components.
• Good conduct, which the Act makes a condition of the licence to practise.
• A legal right to work in Malta, such as a single permit, for the licence to practise if you are not an EU citizen.
• A complete application on the council's form for non-EU nationals, with every document it lists.
• Payment of the annual retention fee (ARF) each January once you are registered.

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   1. Read the requirements for your profession

   The council publishes separate requirement documents for medical practitioners and dental surgeons and a separate application form for non-EU nationals. Read them before you collect documents, because the council will only start work on a complete file. Questions go to the council by email; it does not handle employment queries.
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   2. Sit IELTS or OET

   You need IELTS Academic with 7.5 overall and no component below 6.5, or OET Medicine at B in all components. You can combine results from no more than two sittings within one year. Certificates must be less than a year old when you submit them and still valid on the MCMSE date, so time your test around the exam calendar.
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   3. Submit the non-EU application

   Send the completed form and all requested documents, on paper or through the online Medical Council registration service on gov.mt. Incomplete applications are not processed. If you also hold specialist training, the specialist register is a separate application with its own form.
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   4. Council assessment

   The council assesses your qualification against the Act and the EU minimum training standards. For third-country qualifications not recognised in another EU state, it decides whether you must sit the MCMSE and, for doctors, whether you must serve a period as a house physician or surgeon first.
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   5. Sit the MCMSE if required

   The examination is held in English. The council publishes guidance for medical practitioners and reports on past sittings, and the dental MCMSE is organised under an agreement with the University of Malta. You may sit it only twice, so prepare fully before your first attempt.
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   6. Complete any house officer service

   If the council requires it, you serve as a house physician or surgeon in a hospital it recognises, for up to two years. During that time the Act treats you as a medical practitioner for legal purposes, and the council can discipline you as it would any doctor.
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   7. Registration and licence to practise

   Once approved, a non-EU citizen is entered in the council's register for a period of no more than two years, with any conditions it sets. The council then recommends you to the President of Malta for a licence to practise; you must also be legally entitled to work in Malta, usually through a single permit your employer obtains from Identità.
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   8. Keep your registration current

   The annual retention fee is due automatically each January together with a declaration form. Before your time-limited registration ends, contact the council about renewal. If you disagree with a decision of the licensing committee, you can appeal in writing to the Appeals Committee within 20 calendar days.

• Medical Council Malta Statutory Examination (MCMSE) for medical practitioners

  The professional and linguistic proficiency test set under Articles 11 and 12 of the Act for doctors whose primary degree is not from Malta or another EU state. It is held in English. English evidence (IELTS Academic 7.5 with 6.5 in each part, or OET Medicine B in all parts) must be submitted before you are considered eligible to sit. You may sit only twice. The council's published guidance document dates from July 2021; dates and the current format are announced by the council.

• MCMSE for dental surgeons

  Organised under an agreement between the University of Malta and the Medical Council. It is held in English, with the same English proficiency evidence required before you sit. The council's published reports on past dental sittings run up to 2016, so ask the council when the next sitting is planned.

• Adaptation period

  The council says its adaptation period guidance is being revised and that previous versions are currently void. Ask the council directly whether an adaptation period applies to your case.

• IELTS Academic: overall band 7.5 with no component below 6.5.
• OET Medicine: grade B in all four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking).
• Results from no more than two certificates may be combined, provided both sittings were within one year.
• Certificates must be less than a year old when you submit them and must still be valid on the date of the MCMSE.
• The council has applied these requirements to medical practitioners since 5 October 2023.
• The MCMSE itself is held in English. The council's published requirements that we reviewed do not ask for Maltese.

Estimate your total cost

• English test: book early, because results must be in before you can sit the MCMSE and must still be valid on the exam date.
• Application: the council starts only once your file is complete. It does not publish a processing time for third-country applications.
• MCMSE: dates are set by the council; with two attempts allowed, a failed first sitting adds at least one exam cycle.
• House officer service, if required: up to two years under the Act.
• Registration for non-EU citizens: no more than two years at a time, then renewal.
• Appeal: within 20 calendar days of a decision.

1. 1Medical Council Malta: Application forms and procedures
2. 2Medical Council Malta: Statutory examinations (MCMSE)
3. 3Medical Council Malta: Adaptation period
4. 4Medical Council Malta: Provisional registration
5. 5Medical Council Malta: Annual retention fee (ARF)
6. 6Medical Council Malta: Registers
7. 7Health Care Professions Act, Chapter 464 of the Laws of Malta
8. 8Identità: Single permit