Almost every IMG underestimates this move, usually by the same two things: the visa surcharge for family members, and the gap between arriving and being paid.
All figures below are the published rates at the time of writing and should be checked against the official source before you budget on them.
Stage 1: Exams and registration
| Item | Cost | | --- | --- | | PLAB 1 | £283 | | PLAB 2 | £1,036 | | GMC registration with licence | £481 (£184 reduced rate if recently qualified) | | IELTS or OET | roughly £200 to £330 per attempt |
If you are taking the royal college route instead, MRCP written parts and PACES run considerably higher, and the totals change again. Compare the two in our PLAB vs MRCP guide.
Costs people forget at this stage: a UK visitor visa for PLAB 2, flights to Manchester, a week of accommodation, document translation and certification, and courier fees for originals.
Stage 2: The visa
The Health and Care Worker visa is the usual route for doctors with a job offer, and it is significantly cheaper than the standard Skilled Worker visa: the application fee is discounted and, critically, the immigration health surcharge does not apply to the main applicant or their dependants on this route.
That exemption is the single biggest saving available to you. On a standard Skilled Worker visa the health surcharge alone runs to over a thousand pounds per person per year, payable upfront for the whole visa length. For a doctor with a partner and two children on a three-year visa, that is the difference between a manageable move and an impossible one. Check that your certificate of sponsorship is issued under the Health and Care Worker route, not the general Skilled Worker route — trusts occasionally get this wrong, and it is far easier to correct before the application than after.
Also budget for: biometrics appointments, a tuberculosis test if your country requires one, priority processing if you need speed, and passport photographs to UK specification.
Stage 3: Getting here and landing
- Flights, one way, with excess baggage: £400 to £900 depending on origin and season.
- Temporary accommodation for two to four weeks: £600 to £1,500. Trust accommodation, where it exists, is cheaper and worth asking about at offer stage.
- Rental deposit and first month's rent: typically five weeks' rent as a deposit plus a month upfront, so £1,500 to £3,000 outside London and more inside it.
- Setting up a home from nothing: bedding, kitchen basics, a winter coat and boots. £400 to £800 realistically.
Stage 4: The pay gap nobody plans for
This is the line that causes the most distress. Most trusts pay monthly in arrears, and payroll cut-off dates mean a doctor starting mid-month may wait six or seven weeks for a first payment. That payment may also be taxed on an emergency code and corrected later.
Plan to survive three months without income. For most people that means £3,000 to £4,500 in accessible savings on top of everything above.
Stage 5: Ongoing professional costs
- GMC annual retention fee
- Medical indemnity, where your work is not fully covered by the trust
- Royal college membership and exam fees for your next step
- BMA membership if you choose to join
- Mandatory course refreshers such as life support
Many of these qualify for tax relief as professional expenses. Keep every receipt from month one.
A realistic total
For a single doctor taking the PLAB route, arriving to a job outside London, the all-in figure from first exam booking to first payslip typically lands between £8,000 and £12,000. With a partner and children, visa fees, flights and larger housing push that to £15,000 to £22,000.
Five ways to reduce it
- Take the Health and Care Worker route so the health surcharge exemption applies to your whole family.
- Ask whether the trust offers relocation support — many do, and few advertise it.
- Ask about hospital accommodation for the first month.
- Move your family after you, once your first payslips have landed and you have a tenancy.
- Book PLAB 2 and flights early; last-minute travel is the most avoidable overspend in the whole process.
Run your own numbers in the cost calculator, and see the timing in the timeline calculator.