An MBBS in Russia for Nigerian students leads to a licence in Nigeria only after you pass the MDCN Assessment Examination for foreign-trained graduates (₦250,000) and complete 12 months of housemanship. The Russian school must be in the World Directory of Medical Schools, and you need proof that you may practise in Russia. English-medium tuition costs about ₦6.3 million to ₦20.1 million a year as of November 2026.
Yes, a Russian medical degree can lead to a licence in Nigeria, but it is never automatic. Every graduate of a foreign medical school must pass the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) Assessment Examination for Foreign Trained Medical and Dental Graduates before being inducted and starting housemanship. There is no separate MDCN list of approved Russian universities. The MDCN test is that the school is "currently listed" in the World Directory of Medical Schools and that your degree passes its global verification.
Russian degrees are called "Specialist in General Medicine" (Лечебное дело, code 31.05.01), not MBBS. The English word MBBS is a marketing label used by agents and some universities. What matters for the MDCN is the real degree certificate, the WDOMS listing and your training record.
The MDCN assessment exam has a computer-based test and a clinical exam, and it runs twice a year. According to the MDCN notice for 2026, the June 2026 exam was held at University College Hospital, Ibadan (10 to 11 June), and the October exam at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano (28 to 29 October 2026). Successful candidates are inducted at the MDCN Auditorium in Abuja.
The fee is 250,000 NGN (≈ $185) for Nigerian candidates and 400,000 NGN (≈ $297) for non-Nigerians, as of the October 2026 notice. Fees are non-refundable. You apply and pay on portal.mdcn.gov.ng, and you must not apply before you hold your degree certificate. A statement of results is not accepted.
Plan for these from your first year in Russia, because some of them can only be collected while you are still there:
The last point is the one Nigerian students miss. In Russia the right to practise medicine comes from "primary accreditation of a specialist" (первичная аккредитация), an exam taken after graduation under Article 69 of Federal Law 323-FZ. Results are recorded in the federal register of medical workers, and a paper extract can be ordered for use abroad, as Sechenov University explains. Ask your university in writing, before you pay the first fee, whether its foreign graduates take this accreditation and which document they receive for the MDCN.
After induction you need 12 months of uninterrupted housemanship in an MDCN-accredited hospital before full registration, according to the MDCN housemanship page. Provisional registration gives you two years to finish it. In February 2026 the MDCN said about 4,000 house officers are placed each year through its central scheme in federal hospitals, and 129 hospitals in total are accredited for housemanship.
Some graduates are placed on a six-month remediation programme first. The 2026 programme ran at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital from 16 February to 14 August 2026 and cost 1,200,000 NGN (≈ $890) without accommodation or food. The MDCN said it would enrol students whose training was disrupted by the 2022 war in Ukraine or the 2023 conflict in Sudan, case by case.
The MDCN also warned in February 2026 that it will not recognise anyone trained through "clinical rotations" arranged by a foreign school in Nigeria or another country after two or three years of study, or through online medical study. A normal six-year course taught on campus in Russia is not affected, but avoid any offer to "finish the clinical years at home".
General Medicine in English costs about 374,000–1,200,000 RUB a year (≈ $4,640–$14,900) in tuition. Moscow is the most expensive. The fees below come from the universities' own websites; three are for 2026/27, two are the latest published (2024/25) and may have risen.
| University | Tuition per year | Fee year |
|---|---|---|
| Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University (Moscow) | 1,200,000 RUB (≈ $14,900) | 2026/27 |
| Saint Petersburg State University (SPbU), Faculty of Medicine | 588,600 RUB (≈ $7,300) | 2026/27 |
| Kazan State Medical University (Kazan) | 475,000 RUB (≈ $5,890) | 2024/25 |
| North-Western State Medical University named after I.I. Mechnikov (St Petersburg) | 440,000 RUB (≈ $5,460) | 2024/25 |
| Rostov State Medical University (Rostov-on-Don) | 373,900 RUB (≈ $4,640) | 2026/27 |
On top of tuition, plan for a hostel (Kazan State Medical University charged 13,920 RUB a year (≈ $173) in 2024/25), food and transport (15,000–18,000 RUB a month (≈ $186–$223) in a regional city), health insurance (about 3,800–8,000 RUB a year (≈ $47–$99)) and visa costs. From 26 July 2026 the state duty for a multiple-entry visa is 6,000 RUB (≈ $74). Six years in a regional city at 440,000 RUB (≈ $5,460) tuition plus living costs come to roughly 3,800,000 RUB (≈ $47,100). Ask the university for all six years of fees in writing, because fees usually rise.
Yes, through the Russian government scholarship, but medicine places for Nigerians are scarce. Nigeria fills its quota through the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) run by the Federal Scholarship Board (FSB). The 2025/2026 BEA advert listed Russia for undergraduates aged 17 to 20 with seven distinctions (A or B) in WAEC including English and Mathematics, and marked medicine as "very limited". Applicants also register on the official Russian portal education-in-russia.com.
The quota covers tuition and a one-year Russian language course, and the Russian Embassy in Nigeria says the Nigerian government pays scholars a monthly allowance. Nigeria had 246 quota places in 2023. Teaching on the quota is in Russian. For 2027/28 the Russian portal deadline for applicants outside the CIS is 15 January 2027. There is no fee to apply; anyone who charges you for a "guaranteed" scholarship is not official.
You need a study visa based on an invitation that your university orders from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, which usually takes 25 to 45 days. You then apply at the Consular Section of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Abuja. The embassy takes student visa appointments on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 9:00 to 12:00, and it says it does not work with any commercial company on appointments. Report anyone selling "embassy slots" to rusconsulabuja@mid.ru.
Expect to show a passport valid for at least 18 months, the visa.kdmid.ru form, photos, the original invitation and an HIV test certificate. For quota students the embassy also asks for a medical certificate (general health, HIV, tuberculosis with chest X-ray, hepatitis B and C) and a WAEC certificate, both legalised by Nigeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The first visa is single-entry for 90 days, and the university extends it after you arrive. Since 1 September 2026 foreign students must also pass a medical examination within 30 days of entry.
Expect cold, a language barrier and some racism, along with safe campuses in most cities. Winters are long and very cold, especially in northern cities. English is rarely spoken outside the university, and patients in clinical years speak Russian, so learn the language even on an English programme. Black students describe staring and unwanted comments more often than violence; read our guide on whether Russia is safe for international students before you choose a city.
Money is the practical problem. Cards issued in Nigeria do not work in Russia, because Visa and Mastercard stopped operating there in 2022 and most Russian banks are cut off from SWIFT. Universities tell new students to open a Russian card on the Mir system with a passport, its notarised Russian translation, the migration card and registration. Bring enough US dollars in cash for the first weeks, and ask the international office in writing how it accepts tuition from Nigeria. Never pay tuition to a personal account.
Univenter connects applicants directly with universities and checks your documents before they are submitted, which helps if you want to avoid a chain of middlemen.
Medicine in Russia was a cheaper option than other foreign destinations, and Nigerian alumni who became doctors abroad recommended it. She chose the Russian-medium track so that nothing was lost in translation. In her view many professors have limited English, so English-medium students depend heavily on self-study and get less hands-on clinical practice, because they cannot talk to patients.
— a fifth-year Nigerian medical student studying in Russian, interviewed by her cousin (video)
Tests start on the first day of classes. You are expected to read the topic before the seminar, not wait for the teacher to explain everything. And whatever language you study in, you need basic Russian for shopping, the market and getting around.
— a Nigerian medical graduate in Russia, in the same interview (video)
Her student visa was extended for only about two months after graduation, which left little time to choose between Russian residency, a master's degree or going home. Her advice is to research the licensing route (the MDCN exam, a one-year housemanship and then NYSC in Nigeria, or USMLE and PLAB abroad) in the second or third year, not in the stressful final year of state exams.
— a Nigerian medical graduate in Russia (video)
The cold surprised her even on sunny days. Men often gave up their bus seats to women, which she liked. Some local men called Black women "chocolate", which she found awkward, and people stared in public; she got used to staring back until they looked away.
— a Nigerian student living in Russia (video)
A note on the visa point: a study visa is tied to your studies, so the time left after graduation depends on how it was last extended. Ask the international office early in your final year.
It can be. You must graduate from a school listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools, pass the MDCN Assessment Examination for foreign-trained graduates and complete 12 months of housemanship before full registration.
250,000 NGN (≈ $185) for Nigerian candidates and 400,000 NGN (≈ $297) for non-Nigerians, as of the October 2026 notice, plus 50,000 NGN (≈ $37) for dental materials for dental candidates. Fees are non-refundable.
No. The MDCN accepts graduates of schools currently listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools and verifies each degree through EPIC or DataFlow. Every graduate still has to pass the assessment exam.
Yes, many universities teach General Medicine in English, usually at a higher fee than the Russian track. You still need Russian for daily life and for patients, and graduates of Russian-medium courses sit an extra English paper at the MDCN exam.
Six years for General Medicine, plus one preparatory year of Russian if you study in Russian or come on the government scholarship. After returning, add the MDCN exam and 12 months of housemanship.
Last updated: 1 November 2026. Fees and regulations change; check the official sources above before you apply.
MBBS in Kazakhstan costs about US$4,000 to US$6,700 a year in tuition at public medical universities, for example 3,000,000 KZT at Astana Medical University in 2026/27. Students admitted since 2023 study a 6-year programme with a 12-month internship, which fits the NMC rules on paper. Check the price list, the English requirement and your hostel before you pay.
MBBS in Kyrgyzstan fees at accredited universities start at about US$3,000 a year for tuition, and from US$3,500 at the Kyrgyz State Medical Academy, as of November 2026. Since 2026 only universities that passed state accreditation may enrol students. Before you apply, check accreditation, the 12-month internship the NMC requires, and the safety situation in Bishkek.
The NExT exam has not replaced FMGE yet: as of November 2026, no NExT has been held and the National Medical Commission has published no official start date. Foreign medical graduates still take FMGE, and their degree must meet the NMC FMGL Regulations 2021, which decide whether a course in Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan counts in India.
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