International Applicants

INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES WHO ARE CANADIAN CITIZENS OR PERMANENT RESIDENTS

In order to practice medicine in Canada, you must be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant and you must be licensed by the College of Physicians & Surgeons of the province where you wish to practice. For an unrestricted license, you must have completed a residency training program leading to certification by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) or the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC).

Applications for residency training in Alberta must be made to the Alberta International Graduate Program (www.aimg.ca), for other provinces to the second iteration of the Canadian Resident Matching Service (www.carms.ca).

To respond to societal needs and to address the shortage of specialist physicians in Canada, the Royal College has developed routes to certification so that qualified specialist physicians, including IMGs, can attain full Royal College certification. For further information see: http://rcpsc.medical.org/residency/certification/img_e.php

INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS

Definitions:

Residents are enrolled in a primary specialty or subspecialty program for the full duration of the program.

Fellows are enrolled in a short-term specialized training program.

Electives at the University of Calgary are available for residents who are NOT currently enrolled in training programs accredited by the RCPSC or the CFPC. For further information click on the electives application procedure  

Eligibility:

There are no funded positions available at the University of Calgaryfor non-Canadian international medical graduates. A few positions are available for candidates who aresponsored by their government or another agency, such as a universityor hospital. These trainees must return to their home country upon completion of their training. Positions will be granted to externally sponsored candidates only after the Canadian Resident Match (CaRMS) has been completed.

Sponsorship includes an annual  tuition fee plus the trainee's salary at the same level as specified in the PARA agreement for Canadian residents.

The office of Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) has contracts witha number of international sponsoring agencies:

• Canadian Bureau for International Education (for Libyan applicants)
• The Ministry of Health, Bahrain
• The Ministry of Education, Brunei
• The Embassy of the State of Kuwait (Washington, DC)
• The Medical Specialty Board, Oman
• The Ministry of Higher Education, Saudi Arabia
• Aramco Services Company (Houston)
• The Embassy of the UAE in Canada
• The Embassy of the Republic of Yemen

Application Procedure

Our academic year runs from July 1 to June 30. Applications forresidency training must be submitted by the sponsors between January 1and September 1 of the previous year. Some programs have an application deadline of May 1st. Most programs select candidates in October/November to start on July 1st of the next academic year. The start date for fellowships is somewhat more flexible. Please note that processing of work permits and other required documents may take up to 6 months.

The application procedure is as follows:

• The candidate should check if the program is accepting international applications and if the program has a deadline. 
  See: List of Programs Accepting International Applications.
• Candidates must first apply to the Ministry of Health (or Ministry of Education) in their home country.
• The Ministry sends pre-screened applications to their Embassy in Canada or the US.
• The Embassy forwards eligible applications to the PGME office.
• Our office checks if the application is complete and forwards it to the program.
• The program decides whether or not to interview and/or accept the candidate.
• Only successful candidates will be notified.

The following documents are required and should be scanned into one pdf-file:

• A letter from the sponsor confirming funding
• A letter from the candidate specifying the program and the reasons for applying
• A complete CV listing previous training
• A copy of academic records and certificates (English translation only, no originals)
• NEW! A letter providing evidence of English language proficiency according to Canadian standards
  For further information refer to the following document: English Proficiency National Standards.pdf
• Three (no more) letters of recommendation from previous supervisors
• A copy of the candidate's MCCEE results (optional for subspecialty residents and fellows)
  For further information about the MCCEE see: http://www.mcc.ca

E-mail correspondence or inquiries should be sent to: imgapps@ucalgary.ca

Guidelines for electronic applications:  
- Guidelines for Sponsors 
- Guidelines for Program Administrators 

Note:  All correspondence should be addressed to our office. Please donot send your inquiry or application directly to the program or contactthe program about the status of your application.

If you have been accepted into a program, click  here for a list of temporary and permanent accommodations.