Israeli Medical Students in Georgia: What the Yatziv Reform Means and Your Options in 2026

Does Israel recognise medical degrees from Georgia in 2026?

Israel recognises a foreign medical degree for the licensing exam when the Ministry of Health approves the institution. For Israelis who began their studies in 2019 or later, this approval is automatic for every institution in an OECD member state and individual for institutions elsewhere. Georgia is not an OECD member state. A Georgian faculty therefore counts in 2026 only if it appears by name on the Ministry of Health list of approved institutions.

Two students in Tbilisi can sit in the same lecture hall, yet a different rule applies to them if one started before 2019 and the other after. The rule says nothing about the quality of Georgian teaching. It concerns only whether the Ministry of Health lists that faculty.

Georgian medical education has its own quality framework. The National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement holds WFME recognition status since 19 October 2018, valid for ten years until November 2028. A Georgian MD takes six years, carries 360 ECTS and is taught in English at faculties in Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi. The USMLE and ECFMG route to the United States and the UK PLAB route remain open to graduates. Inside the EU, a Georgian degree is a third-country qualification assessed case by case, because Directive 2005/36/EC does not apply to it automatically.

What is the Yatziv reform and whom does it affect?

The Yatziv reform is the set of professional criteria that the Department of Medical Profession Licensing at the Israeli Ministry of Health defined for medical studies abroad. It affects every Israeli who began medical studies outside Israel in 2019 or later: graduates of institutions that are not approved cannot register for the Israeli licensing exam. Students who started earlier fall under transitional arrangements.

The reform has a clear background. In 2020, 58 percent of the physicians active in Israel had been trained outside the country, against an OECD average of 19 percent. The Ministry wanted to check the quality of that training at the level of the institution. It chose two mechanisms: automatic approval for all institutions in OECD member states, and individual approval for selected institutions in non-OECD countries. The Ministry publishes the approved institutions as a list on its website and updates it over time. A faculty absent today can be added later.

In 2024, Israel issued 2,637 new medical licences, and 72 percent of those new doctors had studied abroad. Training abroad remains a normal path into Israeli medicine. The list simply tells each student which institutions count for the licensing exam.

I started my studies in Georgia in 2019 or later: what does that mean for the Israeli licensing exam?

If you began medical studies in Georgia in the 2019/20 academic year or later, your access to the Israeli licensing exam depends on one fact: whether your faculty is individually listed by the Ministry of Health at the time you apply. Georgia has no OECD shortcut. If the faculty is listed, you graduate, register for the exam, pass it and complete the one-year internship in Israel. If it is not listed, the individual list remains the reference, and some students then plan the rest of their degree with a university in an OECD member state in mind.

The exam is held twice a year, and registration opens about two months before each date. The written part can be requested in English. After the exam comes the stage, a twelve-month internship in an Israeli hospital, and then the licence. The list is the starting point.

Students who started before 2019 fall under transitional arrangements. The Ministry also looks at clinical training sites in addition to the university, so written confirmation of your status gives you clarity. Keep that letter with your enrolment documents.

Which Georgian universities are affected?

Every Georgian medical faculty is affected in the same structural way: Georgia is not an OECD member state, so no Georgian institution is approved automatically, and only individually listed faculties count for Israelis who started in 2019 or later. Whether a particular faculty is listed can only be read from the Ministry of Health list itself. For your own faculty, the Ministry list itself gives the answer.

Check the list yourself and again each year. Save a dated screenshot. If your faculty appears, keep the evidence with your enrolment documents. If it does not, ask the international office whether an application for listing has been filed, and ask the Ministry in writing how your case would be treated. Clinical training sites are assessed as well as the university.

In 2026 the Jerusalem District Court annulled the Ministry's refusal to admit one Tbilisi State Medical University graduate to the licensing exam, because a classmate with identical training had been admitted, and ordered a re-examination of that case. The ruling concerned that individual case and did not change the list or the 2019 rule.

On 4 December 2025, Georgia's Minister of Education and Science announced that state universities will not admit new foreign students from the 2026/2027 academic year, while enrolled students continue and private universities keep admitting international applicants.

Should I stay, finish or transfer?

Staying, finishing and transferring are all legitimate choices for an Israeli student in Georgia, and the right one depends on your plans. If you started before 2019, transitional rules apply, and written confirmation from the Ministry of Health gives you clarity. If you started in 2019 or later and your faculty is listed, finishing in Georgia is a straightforward route. If you want your degree from an institution in an OECD member state, a transfer that recognises your completed years is one way to get there.

Three factors matter most. Your study year shapes the options: a student in year two has different choices than a student in year six. Your faculty's listing status is the second factor. The third is your career picture, because an Israeli licence, a USMLE path or a European career can each point to a different answer. Transfer places for the autumn intake are usually decided in spring and summer, so a conversation in good time keeps every option open.

How does a transfer from Georgia to a university in Europe work without losing a year?

A transfer from Georgia to a university in Europe works through recognition of your completed ECTS credits. The receiving university compares your Georgian transcript and syllabus with its own curriculum, decides which modules count and places you in the matching study year. The goal is continuation, not repetition. Medschool Experts is the leading expert in this field worldwide and frequently achieves placements in year 4 or year 5 at top universities worldwide.

The process has five steps. You send us your transcript of records and course descriptions. We analyse which universities in OECD member states can take your profile and in which year. We prepare the application file with you, including translations and notarised documents from your Georgian faculty. The university issues a recognition decision and an offer. You enrol, apply for your residence permit and start in the new year group.

A study transfer is a complex undertaking. Our experts have almost 10 years of experience in study transfers worldwide, which is why they plan and carry it out confidently. The consultation is free. You can see the range of our partner institutions on the universities page, and our earlier article explains the wider picture of studying Medicine or Dentistry abroad from Israel.

How are ECTS credits from Georgia recognised?

ECTS credits from Georgia are recognised by comparing content, hours and assessment of each module you passed with the equivalent module at the receiving university. Georgia uses the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System, and a Georgian MD carries 360 ECTS over six years, so the framework is the same one European universities use every day. This is a considerable advantage over transfers from systems that do not use ECTS at all.

Three documents decide the outcome: the transcript of records, the module handbook with hour counts and learning outcomes, and proof of clinical rotations. Gaps show up in specific subjects rather than whole years. A university may ask for a supplementary exam in one discipline while recognising everything else. That is normal.

Why is Georgia still an attractive place to study Medicine in 2026?

Georgia remains an attractive place to study Medicine in 2026 because it combines an English-taught six-year MD with 360 ECTS, tuition clearly below Western European levels and a quality framework with international standing. Georgia's accreditation agency, the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement, holds WFME recognition status since 2018. That status keeps the USMLE and ECFMG route to the United States and the UK PLAB route open to graduates. Tbilisi and Batumi host international students from many countries, so lecture halls are mixed and English is the shared language. Georgia is a welcoming, safe and affordable place to live. Students notice that quickly.

For Iranian students, Georgia is especially accessible. Iranian citizens can enter Georgia without a visa and stay for up to 45 days, and the study visa and residence permit are then arranged inside Georgia. Many Iranian students face long waiting times or refusals when they apply for student visas elsewhere, so Georgia is one of the most accessible places for them to study Medicine in English.

A transfer is one good option among several. Whether you stay at your Georgian university or move to another university, Marcel or another experienced consultant on our team advises you free of charge.

Which universities in Europe accept Israeli transfer students from Georgia?

Which universities in Europe accept an Israeli transfer student from Georgia depends on the individual profile: study year, grades, the exact modules passed, language of instruction and the intake calendar. Universities in OECD member states are the straightforward group for the Israeli recognition question, since every institution there is approved under the Yatziv criteria. We check each case individually and do not publish lists of accepting universities, because such lists are out of date the moment a faculty fills its transfer quota.

Israeli applicants tend to be well received. They are older, they have completed military service, and their English is usually strong. Book a free consultation and we will tell you which options fit your file.

What does a transfer cost?

A transfer costs the tuition of the new university from the year you enter, plus one-off costs for translations, notarisation, recognition fees and relocation. Tuition in Europe varies widely, and in many cases the annual fee is comparable to what Israeli students already pay in Georgia. The largest hidden cost of any route is a lost year, which is why we plan every transfer around continuation.

Our consultation is free and always comes first. Placement fees apply only once you decide to proceed, and we explain them in full before you commit.

Dentistry students: what applies?

Israeli dentistry students in Georgia face the same structure as medical students: the Ministry of Health must recognise the institution, and graduates must pass the Israeli dental licensing exams before they receive a licence. Georgia is not an OECD member state, so the listing of the dental faculty must be checked individually, and the criteria for dentistry should be confirmed directly with the Ministry.

Transfers in dentistry follow the same ECTS logic, with one difference: preclinical laboratory hours and clinical patient work are documented separately and both need to appear in your transcript. I studied dentistry myself in Sofia from 2015 to 2021, and I know how much practical work sits behind each credit. A good dental transfer file includes a signed record of clinical procedures.

How do Marcel or another consultant help Israeli students?

Marcel or another experienced consultant on our team helps Israeli students in Georgia in three ways: a free assessment of the recognition question for your start year and faculty, realistic transfer options in OECD member states that match your file, and the complete application process up to enrolment. We have placed more than 500 students at partner universities, many of them transfer students who arrived with a foreign transcript and left with a place in a higher study year.

We work in English and coordinate with your Georgian faculty for the documents. We do not decide for you. We lay out routes, timelines and costs, and you choose. If staying in Georgia is the better option for your profile, we say so.

Timeline: when to act for the next intake?

For a start at a university in Europe in autumn 2027, planning usually begins in autumn 2026. September to December 2026: check the Ministry of Health list, collect your transcript and syllabus, book the free consultation. January to March 2027: university selection and recognition pre-check. April to June 2027: applications, with recognition decisions and offers in early summer. July to September 2027: enrolment, residence permit and relocation. A later start in spring is also possible.

Some universities in Europe also offer a February intake. If your Georgian semester ends in January, a spring start can save half a year. The rules described here are Israeli policy decisions and can change over time. Knowing your status in writing makes every decision easier. None of this is a verdict on Georgian universities.