Australia PR After the AMC Exam: Visas for Indian and Pakistani IMGs

Passing the AMC exam does not give you a visa or permanent residence. For most Indian and Pakistani doctors, PR comes through a job: a hospital offer and Ahpra registration, an employer-sponsored Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa, and then permanent residence through the subclass 186 after two years with an approved sponsor. Doctors under 45 can also apply for the points-tested 189, 190 or 491 visas.

Does passing the AMC exam give you PR?

No. The AMC exam, starting with the AMC MCQ, tests whether your medical knowledge meets the Australian standard for registration. Immigration is a separate decision made by a separate body, and three bodies are involved, in this order:

The Medical Board advises applying for the visa only once registration has been granted. The hospital that hires you sponsors the visa, which is why the job comes before everything else. How AMC MCQ holders find that first post is covered in jobs after AMC Part 1 for Indian and Pakistani IMGs.

The usual route: job, 482 visa, then 186

visa

A few details decide how smoothly this goes:

• Your salary decides the stream. RMO salaries sit in the Core Skills stream. The Specialist Skills stream starts at AUD 146,717 a year and is for senior doctors.

• The employer pays its own costs. The nomination fee and the Skilling Australians Fund levy are the hospital's to pay, and it cannot pass them on to you. Who pays the visa charge itself depends on your contract.

• Your English test does double duty. The IELTS or OET result you use for Ahpra registration usually meets the visa's English requirement as well.

• Every month with an approved sponsor counts. Since 29 November 2025, time counts towards the two years only while your employer is an approved sponsor, so check before you change jobs.

• Your family can come. A partner and children can be on your 482, and your partner has full work rights in Australia.

• Some posts need a Health Workforce Certificate. For some medical occupations, the employer has to get one from the state's Rural Workforce Agency before nominating you. That step is the employer's, not yours.

The points-tested route: 189, 190 and 491

The points-tested visas don't need an employer. You lodge an expression of interest in SkillSelect and wait for an invitation.

• Skills assessment. For doctors, the assessing authority is the Medical Board of Australia, so registration comes first on this route too.

• Points. At least 65, from age, English, qualifications and skilled work. Superior English, such as IELTS 8 in every band, adds 20 points.

• Age. Under 45 when you are invited.

• The three visas. The 189 is independent. The 190 needs a state or territory to nominate you. The 491 is a five-year regional visa that leads to PR through the subclass 191 after three years of living and working in a regional area.

Not every medical occupation is on every list. Check yours, for example General Practitioner (253111) or Resident Medical Officer (253112), against Home Affairs' skilled occupation lists before you plan around a points visa. For doctors still overseas, the points route usually opens only after Australian work has added to the score, so it runs alongside the 482 rather than replacing it.

Is there an age limit for Australia PR for doctors?

Scheme

189, 190 and 491 Under 45 when invited

The 186 exemption is for medical practitioners who have spent at least four of the six years before applying working in regional Australia; check Home Affairs' current conditions before you rely on it. If you will be 45 or older by the time you could apply, take a regional post from the start: it keeps the 186 open, and regional hospitals are where many international graduates find their first post.

What PR costs, in rupees

Charge, main applicant, from 1 AUD PKR INR Usually paid by

July 2026

Each family member on the application adds a further charge, and health examinations and police certificates cost extra. Rates used: AUD 1 = PKR 195 and ₹66, mid-October 2026.

What to sort out while you prepare for the AMC exam

1Police certificates. Home Affairs asks for one from every country where you have lived for 12 months or more in the last 10 years, so a doctor who has worked in the Gulf needs that country's certificate as well.

2Good-standing certificates. Ahpra wants one from each regulator you have held registration with: PMDC, the NMC or a state medical council.

3English. An IELTS or OET result for Ahpra must be less than two years old when you apply, so book the test after your AMC MCQ result, not years before.

4Evidence of work. Keep contracts, payslips and reference letters from every job. They support your registration, your points and your 186.

5Regional jobs. Look at them from the start, for the reasons above.

If New Zealand or the UK is part of your plan, is the AMC exam valid in the UK and New Zealand? sets out where an AMC pass counts outside Australia.

First, the AMC MCQ

None of this starts until you pass the AMC MCQ, and practice is the one part of the route that costs nothing. Each AMC MCQ sitting is followed by 100 free recall questions on AMC Recalls, explained against Australian guidelines and written in the same one-best-answer style as AMC Part 1. The September 2026 set is the newest, and what the AMC exam costs in rupees covers the exam budget.