International Recognition of Indian Professional Qualifications

Limited recognition of professional qualifications overseas is a persistent challenge faced by Indian professionals in fields like healthcare, engineering, Information Technology, accounting and education. To be able to practice in countries such as U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, Europe and Singapore – where Indian professionals migrate in large numbers every year – they may have to enrol and graduate in local courses, with limited weight given to their Indian qualifications. This costs them effort and money; the host country too is able to benefit from their skills only after they complete their local education – a situation that disadvantages both.

In recent years the Indian government and regulatory bodies for higher education have taken significant steps to ensure Indian degrees are given due weight internationally. These range from securing global recognition for Indian medical colleges, to signing Washington Accord for recognition of engineering courses, to bilateral and global agreements for recognition of accounting and other qualifications. A real game changer has been the National Education Policy 2020, which aims to harmonise India's higher education qualifications with international standards. These initiatives have helped a large number of Indians professionals transition into professional practice overseas with minimal process compliance – an arrangement that benefits both the professionals and their host countries.

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Global Migration from India

The primary driver for human migrations – to live better lives – has persisted from the first migrations millennia ago till today. Translated in today’s times “living better lives” can be summed up as seeking better professional prospects, superior standard and quality of life, higher or better education or moving away from conflict zones.

Driven by above factors, combined with increased ability to migrate, the world today is witnessing record levels of human migration, much of which involves long-term, transnational relocation. In 2024, 304 million people migrated internationally, nearly double the number in 1990 (154 million). Over the same period international migration by Indians grew at a much faster pace than global – the number of Indians leaving India nearly tripled (from 6.5 million to 18.5 million). The latter figure is about 6% of total global migration today. Each year since 2010 Indians have been the largest group of people emigrating from any country.

The factors that have fuelled global migrations for decades have also driven Indians to almost every country in the world – in very large numbers in Middle Eastern countries, United States and Canada, to a handful in countries like Monaco and Tonga. The table below lists 30 countries having the largest non-resident Indians’ (NRIs – Indian citizens living overseas) populations. It also contains numbers of persons of Indian origin (PIOs – Indian-origin people who are not Indian citizens) living in those countries.

Derived from the above table, the chart below represents the largest presence of NRIs by country or economic bloc as a percentage of their distribution across the world, along with the per capita GDP averaged over 10 years (2014-23) for those countries/blocs. India’s per capita GDP averaged over the same period was just under USD 2000.

A country’s per capita GDP is a barometer of its economic robustness. This metric, along with factors such as availability of employment opportunities, quality of life, and its education system are deciding factors for aspiring migrants when selecting the country to immigrate to. These factors have drawn 86% of India’s migrant population to the above seven countries/blocs. The size of the PIO community in some countries is an added factor that draws Indian immigrants.

Nepal stands as one exception to this trend. Its per capita GDP (USD 1116, averaged over the same period) is just over half of India’s. Yet, Nepal has the fourth largest percentage of Indian migrants, after GCC countries, USA and Canada. Migrant Indians there are primarily employed in blue collar jobs, with smaller percentages in services or running businesses. The reasons for large number of Indians there are its geographic closeness to India, common language of communication, and ease of migration and employment there for Indians.

Analysing well-educated Indians’ emigration to countries in the above chart shows a consistent pattern of people mostly from certain professions seeking employment there.

Gulf Cooperation Council countries

Of all Indian migrants across the world, 56% live or work in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain). Individually, these six countries are also among the twelve having the highest migrant Indian population.

Between 60 and 70% Indian migrants in GCC countries are blue-collar workers. The remaining constitute mainly doctors, nurses, engineers, Information Technology professionals, architects and accountants.

Among GCC countries, UAE has the largest number (40%) of migrant Indians. About 65% of these are blue-collar workers and 20%, white-collar non-professionals such as clerical staff, shop assistants and salespeople. The remaining 15% are professionals (from fields such as Information Technology, engineering, healthcare, accounting, finance, banking and education) and entrepreneurs.

North America

The United States has the third largest Indian migrant population (13% of total Indian migrants globally). Unlike in GCC countries, here the composition of Indian migrants is mainly well-qualified professionals. India has contributed the largest number (over 59,000) of migrant doctors (about 22% of migrant doctors’ workforce) from a country to United States. Indian nurses form the second largest group (32,000) of total migrant nurses.

Indian STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) professionals formed an even larger group, totalling 721,000 in 2019 – about 30% of total migrant STEM professionals.

The U.S. also has a large number of accounting professionals from India.

Canada has attracted well-qualified Indian professionals since decades. This happened at a much faster pace from 2013 to 2023, when Indians’ migration to Canada tripled. In recent years India has also been the top source country for temporary foreign workers in Canada. These have contributed to Canada today having the fourth largest population of NRIs.

The most popular professions for Indians migrating to Canada are in Information Technology, healthcare, engineering, accounting, education, hospitality, marketing and sales.

United Kingdom and European Union

In 2023, Indians were the largest group of people from a country migrating to UK. Over 50% of those migrants moved there to work. In UK’s National Health Service (NHS), the largest public health services provider, the largest migrant group of staff – doctors, nurses and other support staff – is Indian. Besides these, UK has a significant number of Information Technology and engineering professionals from India.

The inflow of Indians to the E.U. has grown over the last two decades making the bloc the fourth largest host of migrant Indians. Here too, Indians migrate to pursue socially and economically more significant professions. In recent years, an increasing number of healthcare professionals have migrated to various EU countries.

Germany, the largest E.U. economy has been facing an increasing shortage of skilled professionals and has decided to "Focus on India" for attracting healthcare, Information Technology and engineering professionals.

In the Netherlands, Indians have constituted the largest group of highly skilled migrants from one country. India is also the largest provider of doctors to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, many of which are E.U. countries.

In recent years India has signed migration and mobility agreements with European countries such as Germany, France, Italy and Austria, to ease movement of Indian students and skilled professionals. This is expected to further accelerate Indians’ emigration to the bloc.

Australia

Australia has the tenth largest number of Indian migrants. The Indian community also forms the second largest migrant community by country there (after United Kingdom). The most popular professions for migrating Indians in Australia are in Information Technology, engineering, finance, accounting, and healthcare.

Current recognition of Indian professional qualifications

Indians have been migrating overseas in very large – and growing – numbers to work in a variety of professions. They enrich their new countries’ workforces, and contribute to public services and economic growth there. These professionals are able to immigrate on the weight of higher education attained from Indian universities. Securing admission in reputed Indian institutions may well be among the most daunting challenges Indian students face.

Yet, several of India’s most valued degrees – such as those in medicine, pharmacy, architecture, accounting and select engineering disciplines – are not recognised for professional practice in many countries large numbers of Indians migrate to. To practice in those fields, Indian degree-holders need to obtain additional professional qualifications or certifications mandated in their new country of residence. This costs them time, effort and money, while also delaying those countries’ opportunity to leverage the migrants’ expertise.

The analysis below gives insights on what additional local qualifications Indian professionals require in several countries, and why.

Healthcare

India has 780 MBBS colleges. A few hundred of these also offer postgraduate medical courses. These have over 100,000 MBBS seats and nearly 40,000 postgraduate ones, ensuring a large number of doctors graduating every year. Many of these graduates/post-graduates, in addition to practicing doctors, leave India to study or work overseas. Historically, Indian degrees do not automatically qualify Indian doctors to practice in countries such as United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, European Union, GCC countries and Singapore.

India’s Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) is recognised in GCC countries. However, it is not the case in western countries. For USA, the academic path to becoming a dentist is a rigorous one for both American and foreign students. They need to pass the Integrated National Board Dental Examination (INBDE) – a prerequisite for admission to the advanced programmes, Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) or Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry (DMD). There is some recognition of foreign degrees at this stage, which allows India-educated dentists to complete DDS/DMD in a shorter period. On its successful completion, all graduates need to apply for a license to be able to practice.

In U.K. India-educated dentists need to pass the Overseas Registration Examination (ORE), after which they can apply for registration to practice. An Indian BDS is recognised for post-graduate studies though. In European countries, it is recognised for professional practice but one also needs to clear an assessment of one’s foreign qualification and secure a license. Like in U.K., in Europe India’s BDS is recognised as-is for further studies. In Australia and Canada too, dentists need to get their qualifications and knowledge levels assessed before being able to practice or enrol for post-graduation. Similarly, in Singapore there is an assessment process for degrees from India.

While Indian nursing degrees and diplomas from recognised institutions are considered valid overseas, additional certifications may be required based on (i) country and (ii) areas of practice. In United States, where the second largest number of migrant nurses are from India, nurses’ qualifications are evaluated. On meeting specified criteria, they need to pass a licensure exam to be registered as nurses. The approach is similar for GCC countries, United Kingdom, European Union, Australia and Canada.

Engineering and architecture

India has over a thousand engineering colleges, from which 1.5 million engineers graduate each year. Indian engineering colleges and institutes offer Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) and Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) graduation courses.

While most engineering degrees from India are recognised in United States, engineering graduates from some disciplines, including Civil, Chemical and Mechanical need to be licenced as Professional Engineers (PE) to practice there. PE licenses are meant for engineers whose work directly impacts public health and safety. So, this is a requirement for all engineers aspiring to work in these disciplines.

In United Kingdom Indian engineering degrees are recognised by universities for students wanting to study further. India-educated engineers can also work in U.K. However, registering with the Engineering Council provides valuable validation of professional expertise, irrespective of which country degrees are secured from.

In Germany, foreign engineering degrees from recognised universities are assessed according to German standards. Like in U.S. and U.K., disciplines involving public safety are regulated professions, requiring additional validation. Remaining EU countries too follow a similar approach.

Indian engineering degrees are recognised in GCC countries. However, engineers there require registration or license to be able to work. In some countries, this may be a requirement even for locally educated engineers.

In the U.S. foreign-qualified architects (other than from Canada) have varying paths for being able to practice there, based on whether or not they hold a license to practice in another country. For those not holding a license, the assessment process is more rigorous, though it may be lighter for signatories of the Canberra Accord, which India has not signed up to.

United Kingdom, European Union, Australia and Singapore too have rigorous assessment processes for B.Arch. degree holders from outside U.K. and EU. For GCC countries, however, the path for being able to work as an architect is less stringent, requiring attestation by Indian authorities and issuance of an equivalence certificate in the destination country.

Accounting

India’s most weighty accounting qualifications are Chartered Accountant (CA), Cost and Management Accountant (CMA) and Company Secretary (CS).

Indian CAs are in demand in various countries, such as GCC countries, U.S., U.K., among others. However, they also need to familiarise themselves with local accounting systems and regulations. In some countries they may also need additional local qualifications.

The CMA, offered by Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICMAI), is designed primarily for the Indian accounting system. There is a growing demand for them to work overseas as well, but many countries require India-qualified CMAs to complete local certifications as well.

Company Secretary, offered by Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), is a qualification for Indian companies. Company Secretaries from India are increasingly being employed overseas, although they may need to support their practice with additional/supplementary local certificates.

Efforts made by India to increase acceptance of Indian qualifications

A large and growing number of Indian graduates and post-graduates pursuing professional and academic opportunities overseas has made a compelling case for Indian authorities to ease their transition into their professional and academic journeys, especially in countries they immigrate to in large numbers. In recent years the Indian government, regulators and other professional bodies have put in efforts to enhance the global acceptability of Indian qualifications.

Healthcare

Healthcare professionals’ work directly impacts human lives and health. International recognition of Indian doctors’ degrees will benefit them as well as the countries they have immigrated to. In recent years the Indian government and regulators have taken steps towards securing global recognition of Indian medical degrees.

In September 2023 National Medical Commission (NMC), India’s regulatory body for medical education and profession was recognised by World Federation for Medical Education (WFME), the global body for assessing and accrediting medical education regulators. The recognition – having ten years validity – endorses India’s existing and future medical colleges (made operational over the recognition period) as being on par with global standards set by WFME. This integrates Indians medical education more tightly with global counterparts, allowing for collaborations of Indian medical colleges with WFME-accredited institutions across the world, enriching students’ exposure and learning. This recognition also enables Indian MBBS graduates’ post-graduation and professional practice overseas. This benefit extends over most countries Indians migrate to, including U.S., Canada, GCC countries and Australia. This accreditation puts Indian graduates on par with American ones, enabling the former to apply for United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) to practice as doctors. In other countries too, such as U.K., Indian medical graduates will just need to apply for the license to practice.

Dental Council of India (DCI) is the regulator of dental education and practice in India. It is in the process of being replaced by National Dental Commission, which envisions a “complete overhaul of dental education and profession landscape to bring it on par with international benchmarks” by introducing practices such as collaborations with industry and institutions, and cutting-edge technology in education. While defining and implementing initiatives to realise this vision will take time, once achieved, it will lead to increase in acceptability of Indian dentistry qualifications overseas.

Indian Nursing Council (INC), the regulator for nursing education and the profession in India is an internationally recognised body. INC has partnered with NSDC International to skill Indian nurses for improved overseas employment outcomes in countries such as U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, Singapore and GCC countries. The INC has also signed an agreement with its counterpart in Singapore to facility mobility of nurses between the two countries.

Engineering and architecture

Indian engineering institutes such as IITs are globally well-regarded. Besides those, India has a large number of government-run and privately owned engineering colleges. Engineering degrees awarded by Indian institutes and colleges are recognised outside India. To add further weight to Indian degrees and strengthen ties with the global network of engineering institutes, the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) – which evaluates and accredits technical education – signed the Washington Accord in 2014.

Becoming signatories to the accord enhances the recognition of all engineering programs (over 2000) accredited by the NBA among co-signatory regulators, thereby enabling smoother transitions for graduates pursuing further studies or professional practice internationally.

Council of Architecture (COA), the Indian regulator for architecture education and practice is empowered to sign agreements of reciprocity with other countries. However, no such agreement has been signed so far. This means that Indian B.Arch. graduates will not get credit for their degrees in order to study further or practice in other countries.

Accounting

Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, the body governing Chartered Accountancy practice in India has signed agreements of mutual recognition of qualifications with several countries, including U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Canada, enabling Indian CAs to work in those countries. It is also recognised in GCC countries. It is not recognised in United States, which has the Certified Public Accountant qualification aligned with its own accounting system.

In August 2021, ICMAI and its U.K. counterpart, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) according to which “Members of both the Institutes are allowed mutual advanced entry through exemptions from appearing in the majority of papers to acquire the qualification of the other professional body”. This will enable Indian CMAs to practice in U.K.

ICSI has a longstanding MoU with the Chartered Governance Institute (CGI) of U.K. which allows for reciprocal recognition of qualifications and memberships. It has similar agreements with CGI Australia and New Zealand.

Steps taken by India to improve the quality of Indian qualifications

India’s higher education ecosystem includes 1342 universities, and within those, 52,144 colleges. In the academic year 2021-22, there were over 43 million students enrolled for higher education. The size of India’s student population, and the pivotal role played by graduates and young professionals in shaping the nation’s socioeconomic development, underscore the importance of an education system that can serve as a powerful catalyst for achieving India’s developmental goals.

International best practice initiatives

The Indian government has pursued broad initiatives aimed at further evolving its higher education system to follow global best practices. In 2015 the government launched the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), which established a consistent ranking methodology for India’s HEIs using globally recognised parameters.

National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has the mandate to assess and accredit colleges and universities in India to ensure quality and consistency in higher education. In 2024 it  identified several key reforms, which include (i) ranking all higher education institutions, (ii) binary accreditation, (iii) technology-driven accreditation and (iv) maturing-based (levels 1 to 5) accreditations. The maturity-based accreditation is expected to incentivise institutions to strive for higher levels. Levels 1 to 4 are indicators of varying maturities of national excellence, whereas achieving level 5 will place an institution among the best in the world for multidisciplinary research and education.

In 2018 the Indian government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of France for mutual recognition of academic qualifications. Although this MoU explicitly excludes professional degrees in fields such as engineering, medicine and nursing, it includes all other bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. A similar agreement was been signed with government of U.K. in 2022. India and U.K. have also agreed to negotiate agreements for recognition of each other’s professional degrees to enable movement of professionals.

Several other agreements have been signed to establish and strengthen partnerships in higher education between the Indian government and countries such as Canada, Japan and U.A.E. These will continue to strengthen the integration of India’s higher education with that in other countries’.

National Education Policy 2020

India defined its first education policy in the early years after securing independence in 1947. Given low literacy rates then, early education policies focussed on access to education. Today, 80% Indians above 7 years are literate. The increase in literacy, decade on decade, placed the government well to reimagine the country’s education policy. In 2020, the government released the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), which aspires to leverage India’s rich ancient past in developing renowned centres of excellence, as well as collaborate with present day international institutions of education.

In higher education, NEP 2020 aims to adopt global best practices such as flexible learning, establishing large multidisciplinary universities, student/faculty exchanges with foreign universities, placing greater emphasis on research, innovation and stronger industry-academic interfaces. Various initiatives to achieve these will, in turn, enable one of the key objectives of the policy – internationalisation of India’s higher education. To accelerate achievement of this specific objective, guidelines too have been defined. Several initiatives that will lead to internationalisation of higher education are already operational or underway.

Broad initiatives like NEP 2020 and signing agreements with other governments, and qualification-specific ones are collectively expected to continue to raise the global standing of Indian HEIs and their degrees.

The status of Indian professional qualifications in Australia

The start of Indians’ migration to Australia goes back a couple of centuries, when both were British colonies. Indians trickled in over the 19th and 20th centuries, but from the 1980s larger numbers of skilled professionals started immigrating to Australia. Over the last quarter century Indians’ immigration to Australia has grown more rapidly than ever before. In recent years India has also surpassed the number of immigrants from China and United Kingdom, both traditionally the largest groups of immigrants by nationality.

Indian migrations to Australia consist primarily of students (for under-graduate and post-graduate studies) and skilled professionals.

Information Technology, healthcare, accounting, engineering (civil, mechanical, electrical) and education are among the most popular professions for Indians migrating to Australia. Post-graduate students from India go for Information Technology, healthcare, data science and business management degrees. Where applicable, the benefits of India’s broad efforts to secure greater international acceptability of its professional degrees extends to Indian postgraduate students and professionals migrating to Australia.

Indian MBBS graduate degrees are recognised in Australia, since Australian Medical Council (AMC), like NMC, is a signatory of WFME. However, in order to practice in Australia, migrants will need to follow the process for registration with Medical Board of Australia.

Internationally qualified dentists from universities approved by the Dental Board of Australia do not need further assessments to be able to practice there. So far, this list includes universities from U.K., Ireland, New Zealand and Canada only. So, Indian dentists will need to go through an initial assessment of their skills, followed by written and practical exams conducted by Australian Dental Council. On passing assessments, BDS graduates need to apply for generation registration. MDS graduates need to apply for specialist registration to be able to practice in Australia.

In nursing, qualifications and experience in comparable countries makes nurses eligible to apply for registration in Australia. India is not in the list of “comparable countries”. Hence, nurses from India need to have their qualifications validated. If the qualification falls short, they need to undertake bridging courses and pass an assessment. On successfully completing all of these steps, nurses can be registered to practice in Australia.

Indian Information Technology, cybersecurity and data science professionals are possibly the biggest community of Indian technology professionals in Australia. Their Indian qualifications are recognised for pursuing masters or PhD in Australian universities. However, for immigrants to be able to work in their respective disciplines in Australia, the countries they’ve earned their qualifications from need to be signatories to the Seoul Accord, which India is not. In this scenario, Indian graduates from computer-science and related fields need to pass a skills assessment conducted by Australian Computer Society.

Both India and Australia are signatories of the Washington Accord, which gives Indian engineering degrees automatic recognition. However, engineers aspiring to migrate to Australia on a skilled visa need to complete assessments on competency standards for professional assessments.

The teaching profession too requires Indian trained teachers (with B.Ed) to go through a skills assessment before they can register for teaching. Indian doctoral degrees (PhD), on the other hand, are well-regarded in Australia for teaching or research in Australian universities, except for those governed by professional boards such as for engineering, medicine and dentistry.

Significantly, India and Australia have started moving in the direction of easing mobility of students and professionals between the two countries. In 2023 India and Australia signed an agreement establishing a mechanism for mutual recognition of qualifications, which will enable movement of students and professionals between the two countries. Significantly, this is India’s most comprehensive education agreement with another country.

Conclusion

India, the most populous country in the world, also has a young population (median age under 30 years), implying a very large workforce that needs sustained employment. Historically, socialist economic policies followed for nearly half a century since independence resulted in slow economic growth, leading to growing unemployment over decades, and a very gradually increasing per capita GDP. Both conditions prevail even today – after more than thirty years of economic reforms.

These factors have driven a growing number of Indians across professions to seek employment overseas – a trend that will continue, in conformance with the emigration lifecycle, till India becomes a middle-income country. The biggest challenge Indians with professional degrees face relates to international recognition of their qualifications. To be able to practice in several countries, Indian professionals need to complete rigorous assessments or secure supplementary local qualifications, even though their qualifications may be highly valued in India.

To address this for the growing number of Indian professionals migrating overseas, steps have been taken – at regulator and government levels – that ensure overseas recognition of several Indian qualifications.

India’s education system was long in need of a rethink to make it fit for purpose for India’s social and economic aspirations, and its integration with international education systems. The ambitious NEP 2020 envisions all of this. While several initiatives have progresses to realise the NEP’s vision, the focus and momentum will need to be sustained in the coming decades for India’s new education system to emerge as one of international reckoning.


Vikram K. Malkani has worked as an Information Technology professional in India for over 30 years, nearly 20 of which were with one of Australia’s largest banks. He writes on India’s socioeconomic development based on in-depth data-driven analyses. His research and articles have been published in leading platforms in India and internationally.

Vikram K. Malkani

Vikram K. Malkani is a technology professional with over three decades of experience across a variety of roles in India’s information technology industry, with nearly two decades spent working for one of Australia’s largest banks. For several years, he has been passionate about gathering data from diverse sources and analysing it to gain insights into India's socioeconomic development. His articles and research, based on his analyses, have been published in India and internationally.

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