AMC Exam After MBBS in Europe: The Route to Australia

The AMC exam is the Australian Medical Council's two-part assessment for doctors who trained outside Australia: a 150 question computer MCQ, then a clinical exam or a workplace assessment. If you finish an MBBS in Europe, you can take the AMC exam as long as your university, degree title and graduation year are on the AMC's eligibility list. This guide shows how each step works, what it costs today and where Indian graduates lose time.

Key Takeaways

• A European MBBS can lead to Australia. Most international graduates go through the Standard pathway: pass the AMC CAT MCQ, then the clinical exam or a workplace-based assessment, then 12 months of supervised practice.
• Eligibility depends on your school, not your passport. Your university, degree title and graduation year must appear with an ECFMG sponsor note in the World Directory of Medical Schools.
• The MCQ is 150 questions in 3.5 hours. It runs at Pearson VUE centres worldwide, and your authorisation to book it is valid for 12 months.
• The clinical exam has 16 stations. Fourteen are scored and you pass with 9 or more of those 14.
• Budget about AUD 6,562 in AMC fees. That is AUD 642 for the portfolio, AUD 2,920 for the MCQ and AUD 3,000 for the in-person clinical exam, before English tests, travel and visas.
• English is tested separately. For tests taken from 23 April 2026, Ahpra wants IELTS Academic 7 overall with 6.5 in writing, or the matching OET, PTE or TOEFL scores.

Short version: the AMC exam is open to European graduates, it is expensive, and it rewards students who plan it during their final years rather than after graduation.

What is the AMC exam, and who runs it?

The AMC exam is the national assessment that checks whether a doctor trained abroad has the medical knowledge and clinical skills expected of an Australian graduate at the start of internship. The Australian Medical Council sets and runs it. Registration itself comes from the Medical Board of Australia, working with Ahpra, the national regulator.

So there are two separate bodies. The AMC tests you. The Medical Board registers you. Students often mix these up and then wonder why passing the AMC exam did not hand them a licence.

For a graduate of a European university, there are three official routes into Australian practice:

If you are reading this as a student or a fresh graduate, the Standard pathway is almost certainly yours. The rest of this guide focuses on it.

Can you sit the AMC exam with an MBBS from Europe?

Yes, if your school and degree are on the list. The AMC's eligibility checker works in three steps: find your medical school in the World Directory of Medical Schools, open the "program details" and "sponsor note" tabs, and confirm that your exact degree title and graduation year are covered by the ECFMG sponsor note.

That last detail matters for European degrees. Many universities award an MUDr., an MD or a "general medicine" degree rather than a degree called MBBS. That is fine, as long as the title on your diploma matches the one in the sponsor note. Check it in your first year, not your last, and keep a screenshot.

Your nationality is not the test. An Indian citizen with a degree from Prague, Budapest or Riga goes through the same AMC exam as anyone else.

Before you can book anything, your credentials are verified at the source. The AMC's primary source verification page says it uses ECFMG's MyIntealth platform, and that it accepts your final medical diploma, final transcript or an alternate graduation document. Internship and foundation certificates are not accepted for this step. The AMC's how to apply page then walks you through creating an AMC account and setting up your AMC portfolio.

How does the AMC CAT MCQ exam work?

The first part of the AMC exam is the CAT MCQ, short for computer adaptive test with multiple choice questions. According to the AMC's MCQ exam page, it is:

• 150 questions, each with one correct answer out of five options;
• one sitting of 3.5 hours;
• delivered by Pearson VUE at examination centres worldwide;
• booked with an authorisation from your AMC account that stays valid for 12 months.

The questions cover the disease process, clinical examination and diagnosis, investigation, therapy and management. In plain words: everything you meet in the clinical years of a European MBBS, tested the way an Australian intern would use it.

Results come out at 4 pm on the Friday three weeks after your exam. That three week wait is worth knowing if you are trying to line up the clinical exam or a job interview right after.

How hard is the AMC exam MCQ for someone from Europe? Your European curriculum gives you a solid base, because the clinical subjects match. The real gap is local context: Australian guidelines, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, and general practice in a system you have never seen. Plan dedicated preparation for that part.

What happens in the AMC clinical exam?

Once you pass the MCQ, the second half of the AMC exam is the clinical examination. It is an OSCE-style circuit, and many European universities already use a similar format in final exams.

• There are 16 assessed stations and four rest stations.
• Each station lasts 10 minutes: two minutes of reading and eight minutes of assessment.
• Two of the 16 are pilot stations, so your result is decided on 14 scored stations.
• You pass with a pass score in 9 or more of the 14.
• Stations cover medicine, surgery, women's health, paediatrics and mental health, and each tests history taking, examination, diagnosis or management and counselling.

The in-person exam is held at the AMC's National Test Centre in Melbourne, and online sittings exist for eligible candidates. Results again arrive at 4 pm on the Friday three weeks later.

There is a second option after the MCQ: a workplace-based assessment, or WBA. Here you are assessed while you work in an accredited Australian hospital. The Medical Board notes that places are limited, so relatively few international graduates are assessed this way. Treat the clinical exam as your default plan.

How much does the AMC exam cost in 2026?

The AMC exam costs about AUD 6,562 in AMC fees alone if you take the in-person clinical round, and AUD 6,962 with the online version. These are the AMC's own fees and charges as read on 7 October 2026, in Australian dollars and free of GST.

Two pieces of recent news help your budget. The AMC has cut the clinical exam fee, from AUD 3,991 to AUD 3,000 in person and from AUD 4,391 to AUD 3,400 online. And from 1 October 2026 it no longer adds a card payment surcharge.

What the table leaves out: the English test, flights to Melbourne for the in-person exam, any retakes, preparation material, and the Medical Board's own registration fees later on. Convert AUD to rupees at the rate on the day you pay, because a few rupees per dollar adds up across AUD 6,500.

What English score do you need for Australia?

The AMC exam does not test your English. The Medical Board does, through Ahpra's English language skills standard. Ahpra's accepted tests page lists these minimum scores for tests taken on or after 23 April 2026:

Results are valid for two years before your registration application. You can use one sitting, or at most two sittings within 12 months, and you cannot mix results from different test providers.

Studying in English in Europe does not exempt you from this. Your degree may have been taught in English, but the board's rules care about the test. If you did your MBBS without IELTS at admission, as many students do (see our guide to MBBS in Europe without IELTS), you will still need one of these scores for Australia.

From the AMC exam to a job: what are the steps?

The AMC exam is the middle of the road, not the end. Here is the order that works for most European graduates:

1. In your first or second year, check your university, degree title and graduation year in the AMC eligibility checker and save the result.
2. In your final year, set up your MyIntealth and AMC accounts so primary source verification can start the moment you have your diploma.
3. After graduation, establish your AMC portfolio and request the CAT MCQ authorisation, then book a Pearson VUE date within its 12 month window.
4. Alongside the MCQ, sit IELTS, OET, PTE or TOEFL and hit the Ahpra minimum in every band.
5. After the MCQ result, book the clinical exam, or look for a hospital offering a workplace-based assessment.
6. With an Australian job offer, apply to the Medical Board for registration. On the Standard pathway this usually starts as limited or provisional registration.
7. Finally, complete 12 months of supervised practice, at least 47 weeks full time equivalent, before you move to general registration.

Most graduates take well over a year to get from graduation to step 7, and the job offer in step 6 is often the slowest part. Doctors who later want to specialise do so through Australian college training, which is a separate, longer process.

Is the AMC exam a good plan for an Indian student in Europe?

It can be, if you go in with clear eyes. The AMC exam is one of four big licensing routes open to a European graduate, and each one asks something different of you.

Here is how it compares with the other big licensing routes a European graduate weighs:

• Staying in Europe usually means learning the local language and getting licensed where you studied. Our guide to the medical license in Europe covers that, and doctor salaries in Europe show what it pays.
• The UK runs through PLAB and the GMC. See working in the UK after MBBS.
• The US runs through USMLE and the Match. See USMLE after MBBS in Europe.
• The Gulf often runs through the DHA exam for Dubai.

Australia's draw is English as the working language and a clear, published pathway. Its costs are high fees, a separate English test, and a supervised year before full registration.

And India stays a separate question. An Australian route does not replace India's rules for your European degree. If you may come home one day, read what the FMGE is and how medical registration in India after MBBS in Europe works, and keep that door open while you plan Australia. NEETsheet's guide to doctor salaries in India is a useful side-by-side when you compare where to build your career.

If you are still at the NEET stage, start further back. No foreign degree counts in India unless you cleared the NEET qualifying marks, so that comes first. And if you are already thinking about which field you want after the AMC exam, NEETsheet's overview of medical specializations is a good place to begin.

Where this leaves you

If Australia is on your list, the AMC exam is a fair and well documented route for a European graduate. Check your school's eligibility early, start the paperwork in your final year, build English and Australian clinical context alongside your studies, and save for fees that add up to more than AUD 6,500.

At futureMBBS we help students pick a European university with the career after it already in view. Get free counselling if you want that mapped out before you apply.

Sources

• Australian Medical Council, Standard pathway, read 7 October 2026: CAT MCQ plus clinical exam or WBA.
• Australian Medical Council, Check eligible medical school, medical degrees and graduation years, read 7 October 2026: WDoMS listing and ECFMG sponsor note.
• Australian Medical Council, Primary source verification and How to apply, read 7 October 2026: MyIntealth verification, accepted documents, AMC account and portfolio.
• Australian Medical Council, AMC CAT MCQ examination, read 7 October 2026: 150 questions, 3.5 hours, Pearson VUE, 12 month authorisation, result timing.
• Australian Medical Council, Clinical examination, read 7 October 2026: 16 stations, 14 scored, pass with 9 of 14, Melbourne National Test Centre, fee reduction.
• Australian Medical Council, Fees and charges, read 7 October 2026: fee schedule in AUD, card surcharge removed from 1 October 2026.
• Medical Board of Australia, Standard pathway and Competent Authority pathway, read 7 October 2026: registration stages, 12 months of supervised practice (47 weeks FTE), limited WBA places, list of competent authorities.
• Ahpra, Accepted English language tests, read 7 October 2026: minimum scores from 23 April 2026, two year validity, sitting rules.