IMAT for Indian Students: NEET, NMC FMGL 2021 and the Internship Question

Part 1: the Italian route, step by step

As an Indian citizen living in India, you are a "non-EU citizen resident abroad". You are ranked only at the one university where you pre-enrol, against other non-EU applicants who chose it. The sequence for the 2026/27 intake was as follows.

Two eligibility points sit underneath these steps. The MUR circular requires a school-leaving qualification obtained after at least 12 years of schooling, which the Indian Class 12 pattern meets. And universities may ask for English at B2 level at enrolment: Parma does, with exemptions where English is an official language of the country of origin or where the student has had at least one school year taught in English.

The last row is new this year. A university can now validate pre-enrolments only up to its foreign-student places plus 20%; the circular does not say they are validated in order of arrival, so check your university's own rule. Only candidates whose pre-enrolment has been validated can apply for the study visa.

Catania's course page is a useful reminder that "taught in English" does not mean you can avoid Italian. Clinical training involves Italian patients, and Catania requires B2 Italian by the third year, before clinical internships. Other universities may set their own Italian requirement, so check each one, and start Italian early.

Where in India is the test held?

Tabella A of the decree lists 26 test countries — 25 abroad plus Italy — and India is one of them. It does not name a city. The ministry later published a correction notice to Tabella A (26 August 2026); the ministry's site blocks automated access, so we could not check whether India's row changed. Several prep and agency sites name New Delhi, and some add Chennai. We could not find either city in any official document, so we print both claims as reported. The venue address is published later through a ministry notice (the decree says test addresses come in a subsequent MUR notice), and your admission details on Universitaly are what count.

What does it cost to sit?

The decree does not state a fee amount. Article 5 says the fee is paid to the ministry through CINECA and that €65 of it goes, per hosted candidate, to each Italian university that hosts the test. Several sites report the fee as €130. We print that as reported and do not convert it; the amount shown on Universitaly at payment is the figure that counts.

Part 2: will the degree count in India?

For anyone who started a foreign medical course on or after 18 November 2021, the FMGL Regulations 2021 decide whether the degree leads to permanent registration in India. (Those who started earlier fall under the Screening Test Regulations 2002.) Regulation 4 lists the conditions. We set them out in full, then add NEET, which the NMC requires separately.

The internship question

NEET: still required

The NMC FAQ on the Screening Test Regulations states that Indian citizens and Overseas Citizens of India who want to obtain a primary medical qualification from an institution outside India, on or after May 2018, must qualify NEET-UG, and that the NEET result is treated as their eligibility certificate. IMAT does not replace NEET for this purpose. If you are planning to return to India, qualify NEET-UG before you rely on an Italian seat.

The Tirana course

Tor Vergata's Tirana course holds 320 of the 845 non-EU seats on IMAT Medicine courses. Tor Vergata's own note describes it as a joint degree between Tor Vergata and the Università Cattolica "Nostra Signora del Buon Consiglio", administered in Tirana by the latter. Schedule-I clause (iii) of FMGL 2021 says no part of the training or internship may be done "in any country other than country from where the primary medical qualification is obtained", and that it must all be in the same institution. Our reading is that a joint degree taught and administered in Albania raises questions under both parts of that clause. If you are considering it, get a written answer from the NMC first.

Is NEET required for IMAT?

Not for sitting IMAT or getting an Italian seat. But the NMC requires Indian citizens who take a foreign medical degree to have qualified NEET-UG if they want to practise in India.

Is an Italian MBBS valid in India?

Only if the graduate meets every condition of the NMC FMGL Regulations 2021. An English-taught six-year course in Italy meets the length and language conditions; whether a given programme contains the twelve-month internship "in addition to" the course, in the same institution, has to be verified for that programme — no official document we found settles it.

Where is the IMAT exam centre in India?

The decree lists India as a test country but names no city. New Delhi, and sometimes Chennai, are reported by agency sites. The venue comes from a later MUR notice and your Universitaly details.

How much is the IMAT fee?

The decree does not state it; €130 is widely reported. The decree does say €65 per hosted candidate goes to each Italian host university.

Can I apply to more than one Italian university from India?

No. As a non-EU applicant resident abroad you pre-enrol at one university and are ranked only there.

Do I need to learn Italian?

The course is in English, but clinical training involves Italian patients. Catania, for example, requires B2 Italian by the third year, before clinical internships.