So you are a pharmacist registered in India looking to migrate to Australia…
The most common destination for Indian pharmacists is Western Australia. Foreign pharmacists account for over a quarter of registered pharmacists in Western Australia with most pharmacists originating from India, the United Kingdom and South Africa. The heat map shows the originating destination of pharmacists taking the APEC Exam.
Figure 1. Pharmacist migration heat map to Australia, courtesy of APECExam.com.
Reasons to migrate from India
- Australia is ranked in the top 10 highest-wage destinations for pharmacists. From our most recent survey of Indian pharmacists who have migrated to Australia the average salary for a Retail Pharmacist is $64,500 for male employees and $68,800 for female employees per year.
- Australia, in comparison to India, has a relatively low population level, low pollution and plenty of fresh air available along with some great natural landscapes and beautiful scenery are the things, which make people choose this country as their home.
Steps to migration
- Check if you are eligible – you will need a tertiary Pharmacy degree i.e. Bachelors degree and above. Indian pharmacy graduates typically need to undergo a process known as skills assessment.
- Skills Assessment: Submit your educational qualifications and other required documents to the APC for assessment. If your qualifications are deemed comparable to an Australian pharmacy degree, you can proceed to the next step.
- Get a visa to work – this is issued by the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection. Occasionally this process becomes easier if the government decides to list Pharmacists in their nominated program via Skillselect (as of 2019 this is not the case). Two visas are required:
- Criminal history check – you will need to go to the APHRA website where you will need to receive a certificate which you will need to submit to the APC.
- Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) – as you are from India your degree may not be recognised by the Council, as such you will need to be processed through their Stream A pathway (Stream B is reserved for UK, New Zealand etc), the steps you will need to complete include:
- Submit an application for the assessment.
- Pass the KAPS exam.
- Use this certification to apply to the Pharmacy Board of Australia.
- After this, you will need to take the APEC Exam.
- English Competency – this can either be OET (Occupational English Test) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System).
- Internship – once you pass the KAPS examination, you’ll need to complete an internship in an approved pharmacy setting in Australia. This internship typically lasts for 12 months.
- Register with the Pharmacy Board of Australia (PBA) for provisional registration to start your internship.
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