S'pore to recognise 8 more overseas medical schools' degrees, including from M'sia, China, India, Pakistan & UK

From Feb. 1, 2026, those who receive medical training at some schools abroad will be able to practise as doctors in Singapore.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) and Singapore Medical Council (SMC) will be adding eight overseas schools to its list of medical qualifications recognised for registration, bringing the total number from 112 to 120.

The eight schools that will be newly recognised are:

• Adelaide University (Australia)
• Manipal Academy of Higher Education (India)
• University of Galway (Ireland)
• Universiti Sains Malaysia (Malaysia)
• The Aga Khan University Medical College (Pakistan)
• Tsinghua University (China)
• City St George’s, University of London (United Kingdom)
• University of Exeter (United Kingdom)

All graduates from these medical schools, whether they graduated before or after 2026, can register with SMC to practise medicine in Singapore.

This applies to graduates of all nationalities.

Approval will be subject to the fulfilment of prevailing requirements.

For an ageing population

The annual intake at Singapore medical schools went up from around 440 students in 2014, to 555 in 2025.

With more overseas medical schools recognised, Singapore would be better able meet the growing demand for doctors as its population ages, MOH and SMC said in a Jan. 27 joint press release.

Review process

SMC regularly reviews the list of registrable medical qualifications to ensure that foreign-trained doctors who apply to practise in Singapore have received training comparable with schools in Singapore.

To evaluate this, SMC considers factors, such as the international rankings of schools, the performance of doctors from these universities, and whether the school uses English as its language of instruction.

During their first few years of practice in Singapore, SMC will assess foreign-trained medical doctors through a supervisory framework to ensure high standards of medical practice.

Top images from Tsinghua University's website and ESB Business School's website