Licensing & Immigration

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia is the licensing authority for both family and specialist physicians in BC. Detailed licensing information can be found on the College's website.

Additional organizations involved in the credentialing of physicians:

• Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)
• College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC)

Specialist Physicians 

• We welcome IMGs that have successfully completed Post-Graduate/Internship/Residency training at a medical school in a jurisdiction recognized by the RCPSC 
• Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry: Residency Programs at UBC accept IMG residents in the first iteration of The Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS). All applicants must apply through the CaRMS website.
• Anesthesia: US-trained physicians who have successfully completed a four-year anesthesiology residency accredited by Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and have completed US licensing examinations are eligible to apply for the B.C. Clinical Anesthesiology Fellowship - Return of Service Program. The Province of British Columbia agrees to fund a designated number of UBC fellowship positions in anesthesiology in exchange for a commitment to provide anesthesiology services in a Ministry of Health/Health Authority identified community of need for two years. Applicants that match to a position must sign a Return of Service (ROS) contract with the Ministry of Health prior to starting the fellowship. For more details on the program, please see the info sheet or the UBC Anesthesiology Fellowship webpage

Family Physicians 

• IMGs who obtained certification in Family Medicine in a jurisdiction acceptable to the CFPC may be eligible for licensure in BC
• Family Physicians IMGs that completed training outside of the CFPC approved jurisdictions may apply to practice in BC through the Practice Ready Assessment British Columbia route (PRA-BC). Participants in this program must commit to a three-year Return of Service in a rural community identified by the Health Authority.

Physicians licensed in other Canadian jurisdictions may apply for a license to practice medicine in BC through the Canadian Free Trade Agreement.

Through the Re-Entry Program, physicians currently practicing in Canada have the ability to re-enter postgraduate medical training. The purpose of the program is to increase flexibility in the medical training system and provide opportunities for physicians to pursue areas of interest after a period of practice, while at the same time addressing the need of a variety of physician services in British Columbia. 
Currently Re-Entry is available in Dermatology which consists of three years of training and a two-year return of service. Please refer to the Re-entry Return of Service website for more detailed information about the program.