Before applying

Introduction

Thinking of coming to work in New Zealand? Before you apply, consider some of the advice given below.

Self-assessment	Use the self-assessment tool to see if you are eligible for registration in New Zealand.
Acceptable primary medical qualifications criteria	The Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) currently regards most, but not all, of the primary medical qualifications listed in the WHO directory of medical schools as acceptable for the purposes of registration with the MCNZ. MCNZ have found it necessary to define criteria for acceptable primary medical qualifications for the purposes of registration or entrance into NZREX in New Zealand. For more information click here.

English language	All doctors must satisfy the English language requirements before they submit their application for registration. Find out if you qualify for a English test exemption.

Immigration

Before contacting us about registration, we advise overseas trained doctors to become familiar with immigration requirements. Being registerable as a doctor is only one requirement.

Employment opportunities

Investigate job prospects in your chosen field. While there are shortages in some areas, there is an oversupply of doctors in NZ in others.

To locate a suitable position, you can contact District Health Boards (DHBs)directly.

DHBs are the organisations in New Zealand responsible for providing, or funding the provision of, health and disability services in their district. Many DHBs advertise available positions on their websites.

Alternatively, you can contact medical recruitment agencies- These agencies place locums and permanent positions. They are listed on request and are not endorsed by the Medical Council.

Scopes of
practice

In New Zealand there are no registration categories (eg full registration, specialist registration). Instead, doctors are registered in a 'scope of practice'. Your scope of practice will depend on your qualifications, experience and the purpose and duration of your employment in New Zealand.

Introduction

Self-assessment

Acceptable primary medical qualifications criteria

English
language

Immigration

Employment opportunities

Scopes of
practice

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Some of the content on www.mcnz.org.nz is presented in the Adobe Acrobat portable document format (PDF). You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader version 4.0 or later to read these documents. You can download and install the latest version of the reader here.

Introduction

Self-assessment

Acceptable primary medical qualifications criteria

English language

Immigration

Employment opportunities

Scopes ofpractice

This site is best viewed with a resolution of 800x600 (or higher) and supports Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0+, Netscape 7.0+ and Firefox 1.0+. We also recommend that you enable pop-ups for this site in your browser's settings.

Some of the content on www.mcnz.org.nz is presented in the Adobe Acrobat portable document format (PDF). You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader version 4.0 or later to read these documents. You can download and install the latest version of the reader here.

English
language

Scopes of
practice