By Dr. Bilal Akil, MD — Emergency Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University · founder of mccQbank
Short answer: Canadians at Irish medical schools apply for Canadian visiting electives through the AFMC Student Portal, like other Canadians studying abroad (CSAs). All six Irish schools in the World Directory carried the Canada sponsor note when we checked on 13 October 2026. Five of them (RCSI, Trinity, UCD, UCC and Limerick) had active agreements with the University of Toronto, which you need for its lottery, and RCSI students also have a nominated route at Saskatchewan. Each host school still applies its own rules to Canadian electives from Irish medical schools. For admissions and the path back to residency, see our guide to the six Irish medical schools and the route home.
Your school at a glance
Program lengths and sponsor notes are from each school’s World Directory listing; agreement dates are from Toronto’s list of active agreements dated 12 May 2026.
| School | Programs listed | Canada note | Toronto agreement expires |
|---|---|---|---|
| RCSI | 5-year and 4-year MB BCh BAO | Yes | 15 September 2027 |
| Trinity College Dublin | 5-year MB BCh BAO | Yes | 1 October 2028 |
| University College Dublin | 6-year and 4-year MB BCh BAO | Yes | 25 April 2028 |
| University College Cork | 5-year and 4-year MB BCh BAO | Yes | 20 April 2029 |
| University of Galway | 5-year MB BCh BAO | Yes | Not on the list |
| University of Limerick | 4-year BM BS | Yes | 5 November 2029 |
Toronto’s list also includes RCSI’s Bahrain campus (9 March 2029) and its joint campus with UCD in Malaysia (5 March 2028). The Canada note matters beyond electives: UBC requires it for international electives, and the Medical Council of Canada treats a degree as acceptable only if the school’s World Directory listing has a Canada Sponsor Note (MCC).
Expiry dates matter. Toronto lists 2028 placements as January to July 2028, and agreements for them must be in place by 1 May 2027. RCSI’s Dublin agreement ends on 15 September 2027 and UCD’s on 25 April 2028, so a 2028 elective would need them renewed; Toronto asks schools seeking placements beyond the listed expiry date to use the form on its agreements page. If you are comparing Irish and UK schools, see our guide, Canadian Electives for Canadians at UK Medical Schools.
Five steps to Canadian electives from Irish medical schools
- Confirm your school’s Canada note on the World Directory (click the Sponsor Notes tab).
- Check Toronto’s agreement list for your school and its expiry date.
- If you are at RCSI, or hold a valid Saskatchewan health card, check Saskatchewan’s categories.
- Send the AFMC Homeschool Verification Form, and pay the $745 registration fee only once at least one school’s rules fit you.
- Prepare your documents, then apply inside each school’s window.
What “final year” means at an Irish school
For Canadian electives from Irish medical schools, four faculties (UBC, McMaster, Western and Dalhousie) want students in their final year of medical school. If your school offers tracks of different lengths (the World Directory lists 4-, 5- and 6-year programs at Irish schools), the final year is the last year of your own track, and your letter of good standing should show it. Ottawa takes clerkship students in the final or second-to-last year, Toronto the final or penultimate year, and NOSM the final two years. Dalhousie also wants five core rotations finished before the elective starts, and Western wants core clerkship done in the area you apply for.
| Your year | Faculties whose year rule fits |
|---|---|
| Final year | UBC, McMaster, Western, Dalhousie, Manitoba (final clerkship phase), Ottawa, Toronto, NOSM; Queen’s states no general year rule for international students |
| Second-to-last year | Ottawa (in clerkship), Toronto (penultimate year; for the 2027 lottery, now closed, that meant graduating in 2027 or 2028), NOSM (final two years); Saskatchewan asks only that you be in your clerkship year(s) |
Ask your school for a letter of good standing early. Dalhousie wants your program, its length and language, your current year and your expected graduation date (month and year); Western wants your student number, expected graduation year and confirmation that the program language is English.
Routes only some Irish-school students have
At Saskatchewan, Canadian electives from Irish medical schools are limited: it takes international students only in a few categories. One is Saskatchewan students studying abroad, who must provide a valid Saskatchewan health card. Another is RCSI: Saskatchewan has reciprocal agreements with RCSI’s Dublin and Bahrain campuses and with LMU Munich. RCSI vets its own applicants and sends Saskatchewan a list of nominated students, so RCSI students must contact their own electives office before applying on the portal (Saskatchewan profile). The profile notes that “The RCSI nomination process is complete for 2026”. Saskatchewan offers 2-week electives, up to 6 weeks in total, and charges international students $600 a week.
McGill’s profile also lists “Students pre-selected by Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland” as a category, but the same profile states, just above that list, “All international electives are currently suspended at McGill”, so that route was closed on 13 October 2026. Confirm with McGill before counting on it.
Faculties open to Irish-school CSAs
- Toronto: by lottery, if your school has an agreement that covers your dates. The 2027 lottery window ran from 18 May to 26 June 2026.
- Ottawa: CSA blocks from January to August; electives are offered in English-speaking settings only, and you must be fluent in English.
- Western and NOSM: CSAs only (citizens or permanent residents). Western takes them for May to August 2027 only.
- McMaster, Dalhousie, Queen’s, Manitoba and UBC: international routes open to students at qualifying schools, each with its own rules. UBC runs from November to June only.
Alberta takes visiting students only through official exchanges, and Ireland is not on its IFMSA country list. Calgary’s only international category is final-year students pre-selected by IFMSA, and Laval takes international students only under bilateral agreements that list no Irish school. Memorial is not accepting applications from students at international schools, and Montréal’s and Sherbrooke’s profiles list only students at Canadian universities.
When to go, and what it costs
If you want the widest choice of Canadian electives from Irish medical schools, aim for May or June: Ottawa, Toronto, McMaster, UBC and Western all take international or CSA electives in those months, while UBC stops after June, McMaster closes to CSAs from 21 June 2027 to 3 January 2028, and Western starts in May.
Budget for the portal’s one-time $745 international registration fee, listed on the AFMC Student Portal home page, plus each school’s fees. Ottawa charges international applicants $100 to apply and $844.89 on acceptance, on the fees-by-school page (effective 11 May 2025, subject to change), so a first Ottawa elective comes to $1,689.89 before flights and housing.
Paperwork from Ireland
- Police check: Western wants a current one from the country where you study. Ottawa wants a vulnerable sector screening equivalent from your country of residence; students at overseas schools email its office with their school and country for instructions. McMaster wants a check from each country where you lived for more than six months in a row in the past five years, which can mean both a Canadian and an Irish check. NOSM wants a check from Canada.
- Immunization form: most of the AFMC form must be completed by a health care professional whose scope includes immunization, and close family members may not complete any part of it, so book a clinician in Ireland early.
- Health coverage: Western accepts a valid provincial health card as proof of coverage and asks for private coverage if it has expired.
For the bigger picture, our guide to returning to Canada after medical school abroad covers Ireland alongside other regions, and our guide to writing the MCCQE before you graduate covers the exam you can sit while still in school.
If the MCCQE is part of your plan, practise in its format early. mccQbank has 2,600+ bilingual MCCQE questions in English and French. Try 30 free questions.
Frequently asked questions
Is the University of Galway on Toronto’s agreement list?
Not on the list dated 12 May 2026. Toronto lets a home school start an agreement through a form on its agreements page, a process it says can take up to four months, and agreements for 2028 placements must be in place by 1 May 2027.
Can RCSI students apply to Saskatchewan directly?
Not through the RCSI route: RCSI nominates its students and sends Saskatchewan the list, so start with RCSI’s electives office. The profile says “The RCSI nomination process is complete for 2026”. RCSI students who hold a valid Saskatchewan health card may also qualify as Saskatchewan students studying abroad.
Which year counts as “final year” at an Irish school?
The last year of your own program or track before you graduate. Ottawa (in clerkship), Toronto and NOSM also accept the year before.
