This page helps overseas urologists find out about the practicalities of travelling to the UK to work. Planning may take some considerable time and is key to the successful outcome from a period in the UK. The British Medical Journal has published two supplementary issues, retrievable below, which were given over to many aspects of working in the UK from the overseas graduate's perspective. They are an extremely valuable resource and we would recommend them to you.
You will need to be very clear about the purpose of your visit to the UK, whether you intend to do clinical work, come as an observer or simply have a non-clinical attachment. The documentation, and registration you will require will be very different dependent upon your intended role and will, consequently, vary in the difficulty in gaining access to what you require in the UK. You must have a UK contact who can help you with all of the paperwork, together with the relevant work permits and temporary registration with the General Medical Council, if you intend to work clinically whilst here.
You will need to check with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) regarding your visa requirements for your trip and will need to be sure that you are financially viable for the duration of your visit.
Funding has always been a particular issue for colleagues coming from the developing world to the UK, due to the vast differences in the costs of living and subsistence. You would be best advised to go to the working abroad/funding/overseas urologists section of this website for further information about how, and what, monies may be available to you.
Any requests for funding directly from Urolink should be made using the funding request form, allowing at least a month before the money is required. Applications will be considered by the committee or the Chair and one other committee member will take action on applications received between meetings. Applications for other funding should be made to the fund-giving body directly.
 | BMJ Careers, 19th June 2004. Overseas doctors sink or swim? This special issue of BMJ Careers is available on their website and is packed full of information for doctors qualified outside the UK and who want to come to the UK to work. It outlines some of the pitfalls and difficulties you might encounter and gives loads of practical advice. Links to individual articles in this special edition can be found in the right hand column. |
 | BMJ Careers, 16th November 2002. Overseas doctors This special issue can be accessed from the BMJ Careers website and provides some different advice to the issue in June 2004. Some of this may be out of date. Readers should, therefore, check the relevance of some of the detail available from this link. |
