Where internationally-qualified GPs come from
As of July 2026, internationally-qualified GPs who independently choose to work in UK general practice follow the same route wherever they trained: GMC registration with a licence to practise first, then entry on the GP Register — for most overseas GPs, through the portfolio (equivalence) route. This page gives pathway information for permitted source corridors that are not on the WHO safeguards / UK red and amber lists. It is information, not active recruitment.
Ireland
Irish GP training is closely aligned with UK general practice, and the Common Travel Area means Irish citizens do not need a UK visa. GMC registration and GP Register entry are still required — the GMC confirms whether Irish GP training supports a CCT-equivalent route. See the UK doctor (GMC) pathway for the Ireland corridor in detail.
EEA & EU (Spain, Italy, Romania, Portugal, Poland, Greece)
Since Brexit, EEA GP (family-medicine specialist) qualifications are no longer automatically recognised. The GMC assesses each application and confirms whether the qualification supports the portfolio (equivalence) route to the GP Register.
India
Doctors who completed family-medicine or general-practice training in India generally register with the GMC first (often via PLAB or a recognised postgraduate qualification), then apply for the GP Register through the portfolio (equivalence) route.
Doctor pathway for India →Egypt
Egyptian-qualified family doctors register with the GMC first, then evidence GP equivalence through the portfolio route. The GMC assesses the primary qualification and postgraduate training case by case.
Doctor pathway for Egypt →the Philippines
Filipino family-medicine physicians typically register with the GMC first, then apply for the GP Register via the portfolio route, evidencing that their training and experience are equivalent to a UK CCT.
Doctor pathway for the Philippines →the United Arab Emirates and the wider Gulf
Many Gulf-based family physicians qualified elsewhere and are licensed by a Gulf health authority. The GMC assesses the primary medical qualification (not the Gulf licence) and requires a Certificate of Good Standing from every regulator held in the last five years, before the portfolio route to the GP Register.
Doctor pathway for the United Arab Emirates and the wider Gulf →Ethical recruitment and the safeguards list
Gera provides career pathway information for clinicians who independently choose to migrate and does not actively recruit from countries on the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List (which includes, for example, Nigeria, Ghana, Pakistan, and Nepal). The UK Code of Practice restricts active recruitment from those countries; it does not stop any individual from applying directly, of their own accord, to an advertised vacancy.
Source
Code of Practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England — Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
The route is the same — the starting point differs
Whichever corridor you are in, the GP-specific step is the same: you need to be on the GMC GP Register. What differs by corridor is the starting point — whether you already hold GMC registration, which good-standing certificates you need, and how your existing GP or family-medicine training maps onto the UK GP curriculum for the portfolio route. If GMC registration itself is still ahead of you, start with the UK doctor (GMC) pathway, which covers the EEA and Gulf corridors in detail.