MBBS & Medicine Abroad

MBBS in Bangladesh: The SAARC Quota, the Fee Rule and the Seats

Bangladesh runs foreign MBBS admission unlike anywhere else in this guide: one central government system. The Directorate General of Medical Education (DGME) publishes an annual circular that sets the foreign-student seats across all 37 government medical colleges, the fee rule, the eligibility bar and the deadlines — you apply into the system, not to a college's own admissions office. For the 2025-26 session that meant 184 MBBS seats: 112 for SAARC-country students, who pay the same rate as domestic students, and 72 for non-SAARC students, who pay the domestic rate plus a flat US$5,000 a year and whose seats the circular describes as a government scholarship program. The circular's headline figure of 224 counts MBBS and BDS together; the other 40 are dental seats.We don't yet list catalog programs in Bangladesh; the sections below come from the official rules and fee documents instead.

Quick facts

Degree: Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS)source
Duration: 5 years plus a mandatory one-year rotating internship (Dhaka Medical College example)source
Verified programs: 0
Entrance requirement: Bangladesh's Directorate General of Medical Education runs a foreign-student admission circular and application system each session.source
Language reality: English (Dhaka Medical College's stated medium of instruction).source

Tuition, sourced

There is no fee table on this page because Bangladesh does not price medicine per college for foreign applicants: the DGME circular sets one rule, the domestic rate for SAARC students and the domestic rate plus US$5,000 a year for everyone else.

Who can apply

There is no entrance exam for foreign applicants — eligibility is a grade-equivalence bar on your school results. DGME's circular converts O-Level and A-Level (or equivalent) science results to a GPA and requires an aggregate of 8.50 out of 10 for a government seat, with a grade point of at least 3.50 in A-Level Biology and nothing below 4.00 in either exam. It also sets recency rules: the O-Level cannot predate 2022, the A-Level must be from 2024 or 2025, and the A-Level must follow the O-Level within three years. Government-track applications for many countries route through your own foreign ministry on paper; the private track applies online through DGME's foreign-students portal. Several private colleges separately state a NEET requirement for Indian applicants — a college-level add-on, not a DGME rule — and India's own NEET-UG requirement applies to Indian citizens at either track regardless.

The SAARC concession is the single most important fact in this corridor: a student from India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, the Maldives or Afghanistan admitted on a government SAARC seat pays what a Bangladeshi student pays. That's set centrally, applies identically at every government college, and is why competition for those 125 seats is intense.

Scholarships, honestly

Our scholarship data doesn't currently list a named medicine scholarship for Bangladesh. That doesn't rule one out at a specific university — it means budget on the assumption of full, self-funded tuition unless you find and verify one yourself.

Government or bilateral scholarship route — real, but limited seats and a slow process.

Bangladesh's government seats are themselves the concession: SAARC-country students admitted through the official quota pay the domestic student rate, which works like a large built-in subsidy. It applies by nationality and seat allocation, not by application essay — there is no separate scholarship to chase.

Bangladesh scholarship guide

Coming home licensed

What a Bangladesh medical degree takes to turn into a practicing license back home, for three of the largest origin markets, each with its own regulator and exam chain.

Coming home to India▾

1
Does a Bangladesh medical degree qualify?
NMC's Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations FAQ describes a minimum 54-month course, a 12-month internship in the same foreign medical institution, and English as the medium of instruction among the requirements for a foreign medical qualification.
source
2
Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), also called the Screening Test
The Government of India identifies FMGE as the screening test for registration to practise in India after obtaining a primary medical qualification overseas. NMC's Screening Test Regulations require a screening test for an Indian citizen seeking provisional or permanent registration after a foreign primary medical qualification.
source
3
National Exit Test (NExT), or another test mandated by NMC for the applicable cohort
For graduates governed by the Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations, 2021, NMC lists clearance of NExT or another test mandated by NMC as a condition for permanent registration. This condition should not be read as proof that every foreign-graduate cohort must take both FMGE and NExT.
source
4
No separate named examination
NMC's registration guidance says that a foreign medical graduate who clears FMGE and fulfils the stated criteria may receive provisional registration from a State Medical Council for a 12-month internship or the balance period, as applicable.
source
5
No separate named examination
For graduates governed by FMGL Regulations 2021, permanent registration requires a supervised internship in India for at least 12 months. NMC's Screening Test Regulations also describe permanent registration after the required one-year internship for eligible candidates.
source
6
No separate named examination beyond the applicable licensing-test requirement
Permanent registration is the registration that permits independent practice of modern scientific medicine in India. A foreign medical graduate may not practise in India without permanent registration under FMGL Regulations 2021.
source

Coming home to Pakistan▾

1
Does a Bangladesh medical degree qualify?
PM&DC states that graduates of foreign institutions not recognised by PM&DC will not receive provisional registration; it identifies recognition by the relevant foreign regulator and ECFMG institutional accreditation as criteria for National Registration Examination eligibility.
source
2
MDCAT where applicable; no additional named examination for the certificate
Before accepting study at a foreign undergraduate medical or dental institution, the PM&DC policy requires the student to obtain a PM&DC Student Registration Certificate and verify that the institution is on PM&DC's list.
source
3
No separate named examination
A Pakistani foreign medical or dental graduate with an undergraduate qualification from a foreign university or institution recognised by PM&DC may be granted provisional registration to undertake a house job after the granting institution verifies the qualification.
source
4
National Registration Examination (NRE)
Passing NRE is mandatory for full registration for Pakistani foreign graduates. The official NRE medical syllabus states that eligible candidates must pass both its theory and Clinical Skills Examination components separately.
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5
No separate named examination
PM&DC requires a minimum one-year, assessed, hands-on clinical internship, foundation year, or house job in an approved hospital or institution for conversion of provisional registration to full registration.
source
6
No separate named examination beyond NRE
For Pakistani foreign graduates, full registration depends on satisfying the NRE requirement and the mandatory training requirement associated with provisional registration.
source

Coming home to Nigeria▾

1
Does a Bangladesh medical degree qualify?
MDCN states that foreign-trained Nigerian medical and dental graduates seeking registration, including graduates intending to sit the assessment examination, may apply for primary-source verification through DataFlow.
source
2
Primary-source verification (PSV)
MDCN says foreign-trained Nigerian medical and dental graduates seeking registration in Nigeria, including people sitting the MDCN assessment examination, may apply for primary-source verification of their credentials through DataFlow.
source
3
MDCN Assessment Examination (application route; individual applicability must be confirmed)
MDCN lists Assessment Examination as an online application service and provides its application route. The cited notice does not say that every foreign-trained graduate must sit or pass it, so the individual requirement must be confirmed with MDCN.
source
4
No separate named examination at this step
MDCN states that newly graduated medical and dental practitioners must complete 12 uninterrupted months of housemanship at an MDCN-accredited training centre to be eligible for full registration.
source
5
No separate named examination at this step
MDCN identifies completion of the accredited 12-month housemanship requirement as the condition for eligibility for full registration.
source
6
Annual practising licence
MDCN says registered practitioners must pay the prescribed annual practising fee and that practising without paying it is an offence under section 14 of the MDCN Act.
source

What to weigh

What the central system gives you is uniformity and paper you can verify: one circular, one eligibility bar, one fee rule, published with reference numbers and dates on DGME's own portal. What it doesn't give you is a per-college price tag — the circular states the +$5,000 rule for non-SAARC students without printing the base figure, which is why this page carries no fee table. Any site showing you a precise all-in government-college price has done arithmetic the government itself doesn't publish.

The private track is the opposite: colleges set their own packages, and only a minority publish them. Of ten prominent private colleges checked for this page, two — Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College and Enam Medical College — publish full itemised US-dollar fee structures on their own sites; most of the rest route you to an office or an agent. Worth knowing before you compare: for the same college, official printed packages and the figures circulating on consultancy sites can differ by 30-50%. If the college's own site doesn't print it, treat the number as a quote, not a fee.

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advises against all but essential travel to parts of Bangladesh. source

Frequently asked questions

How much does MBBS in Bangladesh cost for foreign students?

At government colleges, the published rule is: SAARC-country students pay the domestic-student rate, non-SAARC students pay the domestic rate plus US$5,000 per year — set centrally by DGME's circular for all 37 government colleges. The circular doesn't print the base domestic figure, so an exact all-in number isn't publishable honestly. At private colleges the college sets its own package; Holy Family Red Crescent and Enam Medical College both publish itemised USD structures on their own sites, and those pages are the reference points worth reading.

Is there an entrance exam for foreign students?

No — DGME admits foreign students on grade equivalence, not an admission test. Government seats require the equivalent of GPA 8.50/10 on O-Level and A-Level science results; the private track requires 7.0. Some private colleges add their own NEET condition for Indian applicants on top, and India's citizenship-based NEET-UG requirement applies to Indians in any case.

How do the SAARC seats work?

The circular allocates government seats by track — for 2025-26, 125 seats for SAARC nationals at the domestic fee rate and 99 for non-SAARC nationals at domestic-plus-$5,000. Allocation runs through the central system, not through individual colleges, and for the government track your application typically routes via your country's own foreign ministry channel. The concession follows your passport, not your negotiating skill.

Which is better for a foreign student: government or private?

They're different products. Government colleges are older, teach through a standardized BM&DC curriculum, and cost dramatically less — but the foreign quota is small and the eligibility bar higher. Private colleges have more seats and lower grade requirements, but you carry the full package price and the burden of verifying it, since most don't publish fees. If your grades clear 8.50/10 and your nationality is SAARC, the government track is the one every other option should be compared against.

Is MBBS from Bangladesh recognized in India?

Bangladesh is a long-established destination for Indian students, and its five-year MBBS plus internship structure resembles India's own — but recognition still runs through India's rules, not Bangladesh's reputation. An Indian citizen needs NEET-UG before enrolling, and returns home through the NMC's foreign-graduate chain: the 54-month/same-institution-internship conditions, then FMGE/NExT screening. The return-home section below walks it step by step.

Where do I apply, and when?

Through DGME. The private-college track applies online at DGME's foreign-students portal; the government track is paper-based through official channels, per the circular for your session. The 2025-26 circular, dated 10 November 2025, ran its government-track window from 11 November to 22 December 2025, with documents due at Bangladesh's foreign ministry by 8 January 2026, at DGME by 15 January, and admission between 22 February and 14 March 2026. That window has closed. Check dgme.gov.bd for the current session's notice rather than relying on any third-party date, this page included.

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How to verify this page

Confirm the university appears on your home country's medical regulator list (e.g. NMC, PMDC, MDCN) before applying.
Cross-check the tuition figure on the university's own official fee page — not a third-party agent site.
Confirm the teaching language matches what you can actually study in (English-medium vs local-language track).
Check the exact degree title awarded (MBBS vs MD vs Bachelor of Medicine) and whether it's recognized back home.
Ask about the internship and clinical-rotation structure — some programs require it happen abroad, not at home.
Understand your home country's return-home licensing rule (e.g. NEET, MDCAT, a screening exam) before you commit.