Every developed country is short of doctors, so doctor jobs abroad are not hard to find and the visa is rarely the problem. The licence is. Permission to enter a country and permission to practise medicine in it are two different processes, run by two different bodies, and the second one is measured in years.
So this is ranked by how long it takes before you can work as a doctor, not by how much anyone wants you. Those are very different lists.
Ranked by time to practise
| Country | What licensing takes | The visa side |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | GMC registration. The most streamlined of the major systems for internationally trained doctors | Health and Care Worker visa: GBP 324, and no health surcharge at all, dependants included |
| Ireland | Medical Council registration, and an internship or supervised period depending on where you trained | Critical Skills Employment Permit at EUR 40,904 with a relevant degree, and a fast route to residence |
| Canada | Provincial college licensing, which is the slowest part and varies sharply between provinces | Physicians are now their own Express Entry category, added 8 December 2025. This is permanent residence, not a work permit |
| Australia | AHPRA registration, with competent authority and specialist pathways depending on your training | Core Skills Income Threshold AUD 79,423, but the visa charge is AUD 4,015 per adult |
| Germany | Approbation. C1 professional German, a medical language examination, and a knowledge examination if your degree is not certified as equivalent | EU Blue Card, and a bridging permit that lets you work while the licence is pending |
The UK is the cheapest by a very large margin
This is worth stating plainly because a lot of doctors apply on the wrong route and pay for it. The Health and Care Worker visa costs GBP 324 for up to three years, GBP 628 beyond, and is completely exempt from the immigration health surcharge.
On the general Skilled Worker route the surcharge is GBP 1,035 per person per year, paid up front. A doctor bringing a partner and two children on a five-year visa would pay GBP 20,700 in surcharge on the general route and nothing on the health route. Same country, same job, same visa length. The full comparison is in Health and Care visa vs Skilled Worker visa, and the application steps are in our guide to the route.
One condition catches people: your sponsor must be an NHS body, an organisation providing services to the NHS, or a CQC regulated provider. A private clinic outside that definition cannot use this route even to hire a consultant.
Germany: the longest road, and the one people misjudge
German hospitals are actively recruiting and the pay is good. The licence is the obstacle, and it is a serious one. Approbation requires:
- General German at B2, which is the entry ticket to the next step rather than the requirement itself.
- Professional German at C1, proven by passing the Fachsprachprufung, a medical language examination set by the regional medical association and focused on patient conversation and clinical handover. Most authorities look for TELC B2 plus TELC Medizin C1.
- The Kenntnisprufung, a knowledge examination, if your degree cannot be certified as equivalent to a German one. Whether it can depends on where you trained.
Realistically that is about 18 months if you start from a solid B2 with a clear plan, and up to three years from scratch or if you have to resit. Anyone quoting you six months is describing the paperwork, not the process.
Here is the part most guides leave out, and it changes the arithmetic completely. The Berufserlaubnis is a temporary permission to practise under supervision, and it lets you work as a doctor in Germany while the Approbation is still in progress. So the recognition period stops being dead time you have to fund from savings and becomes paid clinical work in the language you are learning. Doctors currently holding one have until January 2028 to complete the Kenntnisprufung, and applications filed before 1 July 2026 can be completed under the previous system to the end of 2026.
Canada now treats doctors as their own category
On 8 December 2025 physicians became a dedicated Express Entry category, separate from the broader healthcare and social services category. That is a meaningful change: it means IRCC can invite doctors at a score that has nothing to do with the general pool.
For scale, the healthcare and social services draw on 4 September 2026 issued 3,500 invitations at CRS 475, against general rounds clearing 500 to 530. Two things to know before you build a plan on it:
- Every renewed category now needs 12 months of qualifying experience, up from six.
- A job offer no longer adds CRS points. Arranged employment was removed in March 2025, so an offer helps you work but not your score.
The catch remains provincial. Immigration is federal, licensing is not, and a college in one province may recognise your training when another will not. Research the province before the visa. See the 2026 category draws and the wider immigration routes.
What to do first
- Start the licence, not the visa. Registration is the long pole in every country on this list and it does not wait for immigration.
- Find out whether your degree is treated as equivalent in your target country. In Germany that single answer decides whether you sit the Kenntnisprufung, which is a year of difference.
- If you are considering the UK, use the health route. Check that the employer is an NHS body or a CQC regulated provider before accepting anything.
- If you are considering Canada, pick the province first. Licensing varies more than immigration does.
- Take the language exam that the regulator names, not a general one. A medical German certificate is not interchangeable with a general one.
Related: countries that need nurses in 2026, Ireland’s Critical Skills list and free German language courses for visa holders. Browse healthcare roles with visa sponsorship on our board.
Last checked September 2026. Licensing rules are set by medical regulators rather than immigration authorities and change independently of visa rules. Confirm with the regulator for your target country and, in Canada, your target province.
