Eligibility, Registration and Licensing
Am I eligible to work as a GP in Canada if I trained in the UK?
Yes. UK GPs with MRCGP and CCT are recognised across Canadian provinces, including Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. In Canada, GPs are generally called Family Physicians, and the profession sits under provincial regulation rather than a single national body.
How do I register as a GP in Canada from the UK?
You’ll start with source verification through the Medical Council of Canada (MCC), then follow one of three routes depending on your experience and the province you’re targeting: a Practice-Ready Assessment (PRA), the College of Family Physicians of Canada’s (CFPC) jurisdictional route, or, less commonly for experienced GPs, the CaRMS residency match.
Most UK GPs with completed postgraduate training and independent practice experience use PRA or the CFPC jurisdictional route rather than CaRMS, since CaRMS is designed primarily for doctors entering or repeating Canadian residency training. We’ll help you work out which route fits your background and your province of choice, since eligibility criteria differ province by province.
Do I need to sit any exams to work in Canada?
Most experienced UK GPs are exempt from the full MCCQE exam sequence when using the PRA or CFPC jurisdictional routes, though this depends on the specific province and pathway. Some provinces use the MCC’s national exam as a screening tool for certain PRA programmes, so whether you’ll need to sit anything depends on where you’re applying.
Can I work as a GP in Canada without doing a CaRMS match?
Yes, for most experienced UK GPs. CaRMS is Canada’s national residency matching service, and it’s the standard route for doctors who haven’t completed postgraduate training or who are willing to retrain in Canada. If you’ve already completed your GP training and practised independently in the UK, Practice-Ready Assessment (PRA) programmes or the CFPC jurisdictional route are built specifically for physicians like you, and neither requires a CaRMS match.
PRA programmes run independently in each province (British Columbia and Alberta are among the most established), typically involve a supervised clinical assessment of up to 12 weeks, and often carry a return-of-service commitment to a specific community afterwards. We’ll talk you through what that commitment actually looks like before you commit to a province.
How long does the whole process take, start to finish?
Typically around 6 to 9 months, though this depends heavily on which province and pathway you use, and how quickly your chosen PRA programme has an intake slot available.
How long does GP registration take in Canada compared with Australia?
Canada’s process is harder to give a single timeframe for, because it runs as separate provincial programmes rather than one national framework, unlike Australia’s single AHPRA and RACGP pathway. For most experienced UK GPs, overall timelines end up broadly similar between the two countries, but Canada’s timeline depends much more on which province’s PRA intake windows align with when you’re ready to apply, whereas Australia’s process is more predictable once your comparability outcome is known. If timing matters to you, this is worth a direct conversation rather than relying on a generic comparison, since the right province can genuinely change your timeline by several months.
When should I start the process if I want to move?
Start at least 9 months before your desired move date, to allow time for licensing, immigration and relocation planning. If you’re likely to need a specific province’s PRA intake window, starting earlier gives you more flexibility to align with it.
