Is NEET required for MBBS in abroad?

The MCI made it compulsory to qualify NEET from 2018 session onwards for MBBS admission in abroad. It is astonishing to see that there are still thousands of students who are unaware of this fact. For this reason, the MCI and The Delhi High Court provided a one-time exemption to the students in 2018 from NEET as a basis of admission in abroad. This one-time exemption has created confusion for some candidates that NEET is no longer necessary for admission in abroad. However, the following is the reality…

On 11th December 2018, the MCI came out with a notification stating that:

‘Now, all concerned persons are hereby reminded/informed that as per provisions made in the “Screening Test Regulations, 2002” and also in “Eligibility Requirement for Taking Admission in an undergraduate medical course in a Foreign Medical Institution Regulation, 2002”, Indian Citizens/Overseas Citizen of India intending to take admission in primary medical education course (MBBS or equivalent) in any medical institution/university outside the country from the academic year 2019-2020, shall have to mandatorily qualify the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) and the result of the NEET for admission to MBBS or equivalent course shall deem to be treated as the eligibility certificate, provided that such persons fulfils the eligibility criteria for admission to the MBBS course prescribed in the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997.’

The notification clarifies two things:

1. Qualifying NEET is compulsory for MBBS admission abroad
2. NEET result will be treated as the eligibility certificate for the students

This means that Qualifying NEET is required for MBBS abroad from 2019 onwards.