Eligibility and Application

An internationally sponsored resident or clinical fellow differs from an international medical graduate in that they are not a citizen of Canada, and their salary and tuition are funded by a sponsoring agency in their home country. There are many international trainees in a variety of training programs at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University. We currently have contractual agreements with the following sponsoring agencies:

  • Bahrain Defence Force Royal Medical Services - Bahrain
  • Bahrain Government Hospitals - Bahrain
  • Embassy of the State of Kuwait - Kuwait
  • Oman Medical Specialty Board - Oman
  • Istanbul Medical Centre - Palestine
  • Hamad Medical Corporation - Qatar
  • Sidra Medical and Research Centre - Qatar
  • Dr. Sulaiman AlHabib Medical Group - Saudi Arabia
  • Saudi Arabia Cultural Bureau - Saudi Arabia
  • Embassy of the United Arab Emirates - Cultural Division - UAE
  • The Republic of Yemen & the Hadhramaut Establishment for Human Development - Yemen

If you are an international Resident or Clinical Fellow from one of the above-mentioned sponsors, your sponsor must submit your application on your behalf. If a program is interested in your application, they will contact you directly to arrange for an interview. Please note that once approved, it can take approximately 6 months to fully process your application.

International Residents – No sponsor

If you are a Resident from a country not mentioned on the list above, but have a sponsoring agency that has agreed to fund your tuition and salary, please ask them to contact the Postgraduate Medical Education Office so that a contract can be signed. All Residents in Ontario must have appropriate funding before they can participate in training. If you are an international trainee we must have a contract in place before your application can be considered. Residency training cannot be funded by the trainee directly, nor from private sources such as family members. Residency training can only be undertaken if a contractual agreement is in place with a sponsoring agency, including a hospital, university, embassy, or clinic.

International Fellows – No sponsor

If you are a Fellow from a country not mentioned in the above list and are interested in a Fellowship at Western University, you will need to contact the program you are interested in directly to see if they have the capacity to accept new trainees,  visit the Program contact information webpage for contact information. If you are accepted, the program will notify the PGME Office and we will process your application and work permit documentation. Please note that once approved, it can take approximately 6 months to fully process your application.