Destinations · Uzbekistan

The newest MBBS destination, and the one with the strongest official warning

Uzbekistan’s medical universities have taken in large numbers of Indian students in recent years, attracted by fees of USD 3,000 to 4,500 a year, direct flights and a simple visa. Its graduates had the best FMGE pass rate of the three MBBS countries we list in December 2025. In April 2026, however, India’s NMC warned that three of its largest universities were admitting far beyond capacity and teaching in Uzbek or Russian. Check everything carefully before you commit.

September Medicine route Last checked: November 2026

The facts, as of November 2026

Intakes: September
English: Universities admit foreign students on a contract basis after an interview, usually in English, and ask for Class 12 marks rather than IELTS. Contracts allow teaching in English or Russian, so get your English-medium group confirmed in writing. Check per university.
Tuition: USD 3,000 to 4,500 per yearEstimate as of November 2026, quoted in US dollars because universities set fees in dollars and collect them in Uzbek sums at the Central Bank rate on the day. Bukhara State Medical Institute’s official 2024/25 list shows USD 3,200 a year for General Medicine on its joint programmes, and Samarkand State Medical University’s contract applies a Ministry of Health tariff for foreign citizens. The hostel costs extra.
Living: USD 1,800 to 3,000 per yearEstimate as of November 2026. No official figure exists. Hostels are billed separately and food is cheap, but budget for medical insurance, the yearly visa and registration, and one trip home.
Work during study: Do not plan to earn money here. The student visa is for study, part-time jobs in English are very rare outside Tashkent, and a six-day medical timetable leaves no time (as of November 2026).
After you graduate: There is no post-study work route; Indian graduates return to sit the FMGE, then complete a 12-month supervised internship in India before registering (NMC, as of November 2026).

A-1 student visa

•The A-1 visa is issued for up to one year at a time on the request of your university, through the Embassy of Uzbekistan in New Delhi, after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms the invitation (Uzbek MFA, as of November 2026).
•The MFA’s general schedule lists USD 160 for a single-entry visa of up to a year and USD 250 for multiple entry. Confirm the student rate and the processing time with the embassy.
•You must register your address within three working days of arrival through the my.gov.uz system. The university hostel usually does this, but check that it has been done.
•Bring your NEET scorecard, apostilled Class 10 and 12 certificates, a medical certificate with HIV test, and a passport valid well beyond the visa.

Official visa page

Medicine: read this first

India’s NMC Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations 2021 require a course of at least 54 months taught in English, a 12-month internship at the same foreign university, registration with that country’s medical regulator, and then the FMGE (or NExT once it replaces it) followed by a 12-month supervised internship in India. As of November 2026 the FMGE is still the test, and in the December 2025 sitting 394 of 976 Uzbekistan-trained candidates passed (40.4 per cent), the best rate of the MBBS countries we list. On 1 April 2026 the NMC issued an advisory naming Tashkent State Medical University, Samarkand State Medical University and Bukhara State Medical Institute for admitting students beyond intake capacity and not teaching in English; the Indian Embassy in Tashkent and the Haryana Medical Council later said it is a caution, not a ban, and the NMC had already blacklisted Tashkent State’s Chirchik branch in July 2025.

Who it suits

✓NEET-qualified students on a tight budget who will insist on a direct contract and English-medium teaching in writing
✓Students who can study in a crowded, fast-growing system and still protect their clinical hours
✓Families who will read the NMC advisory before any agent’s brochure

Popular courses

General Medicine (MBBS)DentistryPharmacyPaediatricsNursing

Watch out for

!The NMC advisory of 1 April 2026 is the single most important document for this country. Read it, then ask the university how its intake and clinical placements comply.
!Some universities’ own contracts send your fee through a private company rather than the university. Insist on a contract and receipts in your own name.
!Thousands of Indian students at one university means crowded wards and fewer patients per student. Ask for the batch size in your year, in writing.
!Admissions were delayed for months in 2025 at Tashkent State Medical University; never pay a full year’s fee before the admission letter and visa invitation exist.
!English-medium groups exist alongside Russian and Uzbek ones. Sit in on a class online or speak to current Indian students before you commit.

What studying here is like

Uzbekistan is warm, inexpensive and close to India, and its medical universities in Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Andijan have grown quickly because of Indian demand. The best campuses have new buildings and committed teachers. The weakest have lecture halls with hundreds of Indian students, and wards where you watch rather than examine patients. Teaching runs in English, Russian or Uzbek groups, and the Uzbek used in the clinics is the daily challenge. Food is familiar and people are friendly, and the Indian community is now very large.

How the journey works

Tell us where you want to study, and we will start by reading the NMC advisory of 1 April 2026 with you. Shortlisting runs from January to June. We check each university’s intake size, its English-medium batches, its FMGE results, and whether its contract is with the university or with a private company. The documents are Class 10 and 12 marksheets, the NEET scorecard, your passport, a medical certificate with an HIV test, and apostilled copies. The wait from application to offer is short, after an interview in July or August. The university requests your A-1 visa confirmation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and you apply at the Uzbek Embassy in New Delhi. Classes start in September, and you must register your address within three working days of landing.

Money, honestly

Six years cost roughly USD 20,000 to 27,000 in tuition, plus the hostel and living costs of USD 2,000 to 3,500 a year. The low cost is the main reason families choose it. The figures above leave out the hostel itself, medical insurance, the yearly visa and registration costs, flights, FMGE coaching and the unpaid year of internship in India. Fees are set in dollars and paid in sums at the rate on the day, so a receipt in your own name for every payment is your only protection. There is no part-time work to rely on.

Our honest take

Choose Uzbekistan only if you have a NEET qualification, a direct contract, and a university that will confirm English-medium teaching, batch size and clinical placements in writing. Its graduates passed the FMGE at a higher rate than those from Russia or Kazakhstan in December 2025, which shows that well-prepared students can do well. Think twice if a seller of seats is rushing you, if the university is named in the NMC advisory and cannot explain its intake, or if you expect quiet wards and English-speaking patients. A low fee only helps if the degree is useful at the end.

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Sources

Figures are estimates, checked November 2026. Rules and fees change; the official pages above are always right when we disagree.

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