New Zealand fast-tracks registration for overseas-trained doctors

Applications from the US, Canada, and Singapore will be processed within two months.

The Medical Council of New Zealand has announced new measures to speed up the registration process for overseas-trained doctors seeking to practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Key changes include fast-track registration for general practitioners (GPs) from the US, Canada and Singapore. Applications for provisional vocational registration will be processed within two months.

Meanwhile, doctors with recent clinical experience in Chile, Luxembourg, and the Republic of Croatia will be eligible to apply for provisional general registration through the “Comparable Health System” pathway.

This move follows the inclusion of Japan and South Korea in the list last February.

A fast-track registration pathway has also been established for eligible specialists from the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia.

This accelerates registration in areas such as anaesthesia, dermatology, emergency medicine, general practice, internal medicine, pathology, and psychiatry.

Moreover, the provisional vocational registration pathway for specialists from other countries now processes applications within three months.