English Language

Am I required to sit the IELTS?

Any applicant who is applying for registration on the grounds that they have been awarded a Certificate of Experience (Internship) or equivalent document (“Level 4 Assessment”) is required, amongst other things, to provide evidence of effective communication skills.  An original Academic IELTS Certificate is one form of evidence which the Medical Council will accept for this purpose.  See below for other forms of acceptable evidence.  Applicants who do not undergo this “Level 4 assessment” are not currently required to submit an IELTS Certificate. 

How do I provide evidence of “effective communication skills”?

You could submit any of the following:

1. You have a current Academic IELTS Certificate (dated within the last two years) with an overall band score of 7.0 and a minimum score of 6.5 in each module; or
2. You have passed another equivalent English language test*; or
3. Satisfactory proof that you have been awarded a Higher Qualification listed in Appendix A of the Registration Rules which was obtained through English; or
4. Satisfactory proof that your basic medical degree and internship training were completed through English in a country where English is the language spoken by the vast majority of the population, e.g. in Australia or New Zealand over 97% of the population speak English; and in the USA over 95% of the population speak English.  This is comparable to Ireland, where over 98% of the population speak English. 

*Note: When considering the equivalence of another English language test, the Academic IELTS is used as a benchmark.  Click here for further information about the standard of that test:

• http://www.ielts.org/PDF/IELTS%20Guide%20for%20Stakeholders%20March%202009.pdf 

Other English language tests currently considered to be equivalent are:

• USMLE if passed after the English language component was introduced in 2004.
• Cambridge ESOL Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) - CEFR Level C1

What is an acceptable IELTS Score?

A current Academic IELTS Certificate (dated within the last two years) with an overall band score of 7.0 and a minimum score of 6.5 in each module is the score accepted. 

I completed my medical degree and/or internship training in English but not in a country where English is an official language.  Is this acceptable?

Both your medical degree and internship training must have been completed through English in a country where English is the language spoken by the vast majority of the population, to ensure that you have been completely immersed in the English language throughout the duration of your medical studies.  The Council does not consider whether or not English is an “official” language in that country – it considers whether or not the vast majority of the population speak English, in order for you to have been immersed in the language.  For example, over 98% of the Irish population speak English.

I have a Higher Qualification listed in the Registration Rules for exemption from the PRES.  Am I exempt from the IELTS?  Does this include the IMRCSI?

Yes.  These Higher Qualifications were obtained and awarded through English by an approved postgraduate training body in Ireland. 

I have a Higher Qualification which is equivalent to a qualification listed in the Registration Rules for exemption from the PRES.  Am I exempt from the IELTS? 

Evidence that you have been awarded a Higher Qualification obtained through English in another country, which is equivalent to a Higher Qualification listed in the Rules, can be submitted for consideration.  However, it may take some time for Council to reach a decision and a positive outcome cannot be guaranteed.