Can I transfer to another university during MBBS in China?

Two rules apply, and they are separate. Under China's Ministry of Education Order No. 42, a higher education institution may receive an international student transferring from another school with the original enrolling school's consent. Under India's National Medical Commission (India) Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations 2021, an Indian student's entire course, training and internship must be done in the same foreign medical institution throughout.

China's rule on receiving a transferring student

The English wording of the Chinese documents below is this site's translation of the Chinese text.

Article 13 of the Administrative Measures for the Enrolment and Education of International Students by Schools (Order No. 42 of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security) states: a higher education institution may, with the consent of the original enrolling school, receive an international student admitted by or transferring from another school.

Article 14 of the same Order states that a higher education institution shall publish its fee items, fee standards and refund rules for withdrawal and transfer for international students; Article 14 names no amount.

For an English-taught medical degree, the receiving school must itself be on the Ministry's list. Paragraph 2 of the 2023–2024 notice (教外厅函〔2023〕10号) states that schools not on the 2023–2024 list may not enroll English-taught undergraduate clinical medicine international students. This site read the Ministry's policy index on 11 October 2026 and found no later edition listed; the reader should confirm the current year's status with the university and the Ministry.

For course length and internship details, see the site's course-and-internship page.

India's rule for Indian students

Under regulation 5 of the Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations 2021, those regulations do not apply to candidates who were already pursuing their education in a foreign institution before the regulations came into force on 18 November 2021 (per Q2 and Q4 of the National Medical Commission (India)'s FAQ); such candidates are governed by the earlier regulations. The points below apply to students to whom the 2021 regulations apply.

Schedule I, paragraph 2(iii) of the regulations states: the entire course, training and internship or clerkship shall be done outside India in the same foreign medical institution throughout the course of study, and no part of medical training and internship shall be done in India or in any country other than the country from where the primary medical qualification is obtained.

The Commission's FAQ Q11 asks whether foreign medical graduates are allowed to take transfer to an Indian medical college for internship and exams; the answer is No, citing Schedule I, paragraph 2(iii).

The National Medical Commission (India)'s 19 May 2025 advisory (Advisory U-14021/UGMEB-2025) lists, among key requirements for students going abroad, a minimum 54 months of education in a single institution, a 12-month internship to be completed at the same foreign university, and that clinical training must not be done in parts or across different countries. The advisory states these restate the Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations 2021.

Related questions

Does the Chinese university have to publish transfer refund rules?

Article 14 of Order No. 42 requires a school to publish refund rules for withdrawal and transfer; Article 14 names no amount and names no refund level.

I am an Indian student who began MBBS in China before 18 November 2021 — do the 2021 regulations apply to me?

Under regulation 5, the Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations 2021 do not apply to candidates already pursuing education in a foreign institution before 18 November 2021; they are governed by the earlier regulations (per FAQ Q4 of the National Medical Commission (India)).

Sources

• Administrative Measures for the Enrolment and Education of International Students by Schools, Order No. 42 — Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China
• Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Education on the 2023–2024 list of higher education institutions enrolling international students in English-taught undergraduate clinical medicine and their enrolment plan, 教外厅函〔2023〕10号 — Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China (General Office)
• National Medical Commission (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations, 2021 — National Medical Commission, India
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): FMGs covered by National Medical Commission (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations, 2021 — National Medical Commission, India (Undergraduate Medical Education Board)
• Advisory U-14021/UGMEB-2025 of 19 May 2025: Alert regarding unauthorised medical colleges and off-shore medical programs — National Medical Commission, India (Undergraduate Medical Education Board)
• Ministry of Education open-government index of policy documents on study abroad and study in China — Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China

Checked 11 October 2026.

This page is an unofficial summary, is not legal or professional-licensing advice, is not published by the bodies named, promises no admission, examination or registration outcome, and the official text and the regulator's own instructions prevail if they differ.