Here we will explain the rules that a new country must follow to become a member of IFMSA.

A medical students' organization representing a country that wishes to join IFMSA must first become a Candidate Member of IFMSA. (Member countries of IFMSA are called "National Member Organizations" or "NMOs".) They will then have from one to two-and-a-half year period to become established in IFMSA, at which point the other IFMSA NMOs will vote to make them a Full Member of IFMSA.

What is a medical student organization representing a country new to IFMSA required to do to become a Candidate Member of IFMSA?

It is very simple. First, the medical student organization must represent a country on the UN list of nations - http://www.un.org/members - and it must have a medical school, its membership must be open to all medical students in that country, it must represent only one country, and within that country must be at least one medical school. If the organization meets this qualifications, then the only requirements for membership are as follows:

1. The National President of this medical students organization must submit an official application form; this form must be signed and stamped by the National President. It must reach the IFMSA General Secretariat by 1 May if you wish to attain membership at the August Meeting; it must reach the IFMSA General Secretariat by 1st December if you wish to attain membership at the March Meeting. This application form can be obtained by clicking here.
2. Also, along with this document the National President must submit a brief description of the organisation's current structure, a list of addresses of the Officials in the organization, a copy of the organization's regulations and a motivation letter. All documents should be translated into English. Again, the deadlines for these documents are 1 May and 1 December, and they have to be sent to the IFMSA General Secretariat.

Those are the only requirements for an organization that wishes to become a Candidate member of IFMSA. Now, with that said: if at all possible, one representative of the country should attend the General Assembly meeting.

What does it mean to be a Candidate Member? Candidate members do not have voting or seconding rights at the plenary session, and they cannot have candidates for the positions of the IFMSA Officials. However, they can do everything else: they have proposing and speaking rights, they participate in IFMSA exchange programs and all other IFMSA activities. The difference between being a full member and a candidate member is very minor plus candidate members do not have to pay IFMSA fees.

After a minimum of one year or a maximum of two and a half years, a candidate member can petition to become a Full Member of IFMSA. This time, at the August General Assembly meeting a  country must make a motion to change the status of their NMO to Full Member - and that is all.  A motion should be submitted to the Chair by midnight prior to the plenary session where the admission of full members is considered. There is no application form that must be submitted by 1 May. The General Assembly then votes on whether the country's application is accepted.  When a country becomes a Full Member they gain voting and seconding rights, and they can have candidates for IFMSA Officials. From then on, they have to pay the IFMSA fees.

Everyone should be reminded that a candidate member only has two-and-a-half years maximum to become a full member, or they immediately lose their membership status.

As an example, if your organization obtains the Candidate Membership during the March General Assembly 2003, you will only be able to petition to become Full Members during the August General Assembly 2004.

But, if your organization joins during the August General Assembly 2003, you will be able to obtain Full Membership during the August General Assembly in 2004 and 2005.

Now, there is a third classification of membership that is not very important for you to know about now - Associate Members. Basically, this is for groups that cannot meet the requirements to become a full member of IFMSA, or for countries with multiple representation within IFMSA. But we do not wish to confuse you so will not explain this now, and if it becomes an issue we will explain this to you on a one-to-one basis.

Now I would like to make a very important suggestion. Remember, there is no rule that says that you have to wait until the last minute to submit your application. In fact, you should submit your application form as early as possible, so that there is no need for worry once the deadline becomes near.

Finally, if you would like an explanation of the IFMSA fees structure, click here.