80 programmes and training pathways found from official sources. Confirm current availability, licensing, and operating privileges directly with each institution.
This summary describes the profiles indexed here; it is not a count of vacancies.
Read the individual participation terms: a broad clinical pathway label does not establish hands-on access.
11 focus areas are represented. Compare the curriculum and supervision within your intended subspecialty.
Cerebrovascular comparison guide →Functional & epilepsy comparison guide →General & multi-subspecialty comparison guide →Global neurosurgery comparison guide →Ask the selected host in United Kingdom whether your qualifications fit this specific post, which patient-care activities are permitted, and who arranges registration and immigration documentation. Country coverage does not imply that every profile accepts international applicants.
International application checklist →Before committing, request the current cohort dates, supervisor, expected weekly activities and a breakdown of support and costs. Confirm whether the official source describes this programme, an institution-wide policy or an older intake.
Compare your shortlisted profiles →Check the post and your eligibility with the recruiting NHS trust.
The RCS England neurosurgery register lists approved senior clinical fellowship programmes. A place on the register is not a current job vacancy. RCS directs applicants to the recruiting NHS trust's jobs site for available posts.
RCS England neurosurgery register →RCS says international candidates for its UK senior clinical posts need training equivalent to ST6–8, GMC registration and eligibility to work in the UK. Check the individual job description and person specification before applying; other pathways in this directory may have different requirements.
RCS England application guidance →To practise medicine in the UK, a doctor needs the appropriate GMC registration and a licence to practise. An observership or a fellowship listing does not itself grant clinical privileges; confirm the proposed duties with the host.
GMC licence to practise guidance →Clinical · Research · Directory · Travelling fellowship pathways are represented. Country-level licensing, language and visa requirements are not inferred; confirm them with the host and the current national or regional regulator.
International applicant guide →Recorded information is not a guarantee of funding, eligibility or a currently open intake.
London · United Kingdom
Application status: Page lists 2027 observership blocks (July and September) with an application deadline of 16 April 2027.
Funding: Fee-paying: GBP 250 registration fee (once for consecutive weeks) plus GBP 50 per day; registration fee non-refundable.
Exposure: Observers learn from senior clinicians and watch neurosurgical procedures and techniques; no hands-on activities are allowed.
Eligibility: Must be qualified and registered in the home country; UK professional registration not required.
Still to confirm: Positions · Examinations · Language · Visa / work authorisation · Benefits · Insurance · Accommodation · Application documents · Programme director · Accreditation
Source: Official Queen Square Simulation Centre (UCLH) observership page. Reviewed 29 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
Royal College of Surgeons of England
London, England · United Kingdom
Funding: Basic salary and employer costs for 12 months (up to ST6-8 nodal point 5), up to £3,000 for consumables and up to £500 for presentation travel.
Exposure: Full-time clinical or surgical research project in a UK university or NHS trust, with interim and final reports.
Eligibility: be undertaking research in the UK
Still to confirm: Positions · Participation level · Examinations · Language · Visa / work authorisation · Fees · Insurance · Accommodation · Application documents · Programme director · Accreditation
Source: Royal College of Surgeons of England - One year research fellowship. Reviewed 20 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust
London · United Kingdom
Listed lead Dulanka Silva (observership programme director, per GOSH neurosurgery fellowship and observership page)
Funding: Fee-paying: £900 for the first week and £750 for each additional week; reduced fees may be available for applicants from eligible lower-middle-income economies.
Exposure: Observation of paediatric neurosurgical practice; no direct patient contact, clinical decision-making or access to patient records.
Eligibility: Designed for international healthcare professionals; Neurosurgery is among the listed specialties. Candidates must pass selection, give satisfactory references, undergo background checks and obtain a valid UK visa.
Still to confirm: Current status · Commencement · Deadline · Positions · Training level · Examinations · Accreditation
Source: Official GOSH International Observership page. Reviewed 17 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
Society of British Neurological Surgeons
UK neurosurgical departments · United Kingdom
Funding: About five bursaries a year of £2,000 each; additional bursaries may be awarded case by case, with a maximum of one bursary per year from any neurosurgical unit.
Exposure: Observation in a British neurosurgical department.
Eligibility: Open to trainee neurosurgeons from outside the UK; requires reference from head of department confirming good spoken English and a reference from a UK consultant neurosurgeon; visit lasts 4-6 weeks.
Still to confirm: Current status · Commencement · International eligibility · Medical registration · Examinations · Language · Fees · Insurance · Application documents · Programme director · Accreditation
Source: Official SBNS bursaries page. Reviewed 15 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
Glasgow · United Kingdom
Listed lead Roddy O'Kane
Funding: Salaried post with personal indemnity included (amount not stated on the ISPN listing).
Exposure: About 300 paediatric neurosurgical procedures a year, with faculty interests in spine, vascular, congenital anomalies, neuro-oncology, epilepsy surgery, craniofacial and skull-base surgery.
Eligibility: Completion of neurosurgical training, Disclosure Scotland criminal records check and occupational health clearance.
Still to confirm: Funding · Current status · Commencement · Deadline · International eligibility · Medical registration · Examinations · Visa / work authorisation · Benefits · Fees · Accommodation · Accreditation
Source: Official ISPN international fellowship listing. Reviewed 17 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
Manchester · United Kingdom
Application status: The lateral skull base advert at Salford Royal closed on 4 November 2026. The Foundation also describes a separate endoscopic track.
Funding: The lateral skull base advert that closed on 4 November 2026 listed £67,325–£77,348 a year plus rota enhancements for a full-time 12-month post.
Exposure: Neurosurgery posts in microscopic skull base surgery and in pituitary and endoscopic skull base surgery; service receives over 500 new skull base tumour referrals a year, including 200 vestibular schwannomas.
Eligibility: The Foundation describes both neurosurgery tracks as intended for post-CCT applicants from the UK and overseas.
Still to confirm: Current status · Commencement · Deadline · Language · Visa / work authorisation · Benefits · Fees · Insurance · Accommodation · Application documents · Programme director · Accreditation
Source: Skull Base Foundation, Fellowships page. Reviewed 12 Nov 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
Royal Manchester Children's Hospital
Manchester · United Kingdom
Listed lead Vivek Josan
Funding: Salaried post (amount not stated on the ISPN listing).
Exposure: About 400 paediatric neurosurgical procedures a year, with faculty interests in epilepsy, paediatric tumours, vascular disease, spinal dysraphism and complex hydrocephalus.
Eligibility: Completion of neurosurgical training.
Still to confirm: Funding · Current status · Commencement · Deadline · International eligibility · Medical registration · Examinations · Visa / work authorisation · Benefits · Fees · Insurance · Accommodation · Accreditation
Source: Official ISPN international fellowship listing. Reviewed 15 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Oxford · United Kingdom
Listed lead Shailendra Magdum (as listed by ISPN)
Funding: Listed as unfunded; indemnity is covered by the NHS.
Exposure: About 350 paediatric neurosurgical procedures a year, with faculty interests in craniofacial surgery, spasticity, Chiari malformation and spine.
Eligibility: MD or equivalent plus a higher surgical qualification such as FRCS, occupational health clearance and a police check.
Still to confirm: Current status · Deadline · Participation level · International eligibility · Medical registration · Examinations · Language · Visa / work authorisation · Benefits · Fees · Accommodation · Application route · Accreditation
Source: Official ISPN international fellowship listing. Reviewed 13 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust
Liverpool · United Kingdom
Listed lead Ajay Sinha (as listed by ISPN)
Funding: Salaried post with personal indemnity included; the amount is not published.
Exposure: About 650 paediatric neurosurgical procedures a year: hydrocephalus, neuro-oncology, neuroendoscopy, paediatric spine, spasticity, craniofacial, endoscopic skull-base and epilepsy surgery.
Eligibility: Finished or nearing completion of neurosurgical training; health check and criminal records check required.
Still to confirm: Funding · Current status · Deadline · Positions · Participation level · International eligibility · Medical registration · Examinations · Language · Visa / work authorisation · Benefits · Fees · Accommodation · Accreditation
Source: Official ISPN international fellowship listing. Reviewed 13 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
Society of British Neurological Surgeons
UK and Ireland neurosurgical centres · United Kingdom
Funding: Grants of up to £7,000, set by the SBNS global neurological surgery committee.
Exposure: A six-week observer placement in a UK or Ireland neurosurgical centre.
Eligibility: Applicants from low-income or lower-middle-income countries.
Still to confirm: Current status · Commencement · Positions · Medical registration · Examinations · Language · Visa / work authorisation · Benefits · Fees · Insurance · Accommodation · Application documents · Programme director · Accreditation
Source: Official SBNS bursaries page. Reviewed 15 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
Scottish National Spine Service, NHS Lothian
Edinburgh · United Kingdom
Application status: The service’s general visiting-fellowship page does not define one standard contract. A separate NHS Lothian recruitment pack describes a 12-month SNSS clinical fellow post starting December 2026, with a 31 January 2026 closing date. That closed recruitment round is a specific employed route, not confirmation that a new visiting placement is available.
Funding: For the separately advertised 12-month SNSS clinical fellow post (application deadline 31 January 2026), the NHS Lothian pack quoted GBP 45,504–60,199 per year pro rata and 40 hours with a rota commitment. This historical salary does not establish funding for an individually arranged visiting fellowship.
Exposure: Spinal surgery training within a national paediatric, adolescent and adult spinal service operating at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Edinburgh.
Eligibility: No formal criteria stated; the service trains surgeons from the United Kingdom, Europe and the rest of the World
Still to confirm: Current status · Deadline · Positions · Medical registration · Examinations · Language · Visa / work authorisation · Benefits · Fees · Insurance · Accommodation · Application documents · Programme director · Accreditation
Source: Official Scottish National Spine Service visiting surgeons page. Reviewed 17 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust (neurosciences and neurosurgery)
Liverpool · United Kingdom
Listed lead Director of Medical Education: Dr Rhys Davies.
Funding: The Trust publishes a £200 administration charge and no placement fee. Stipends or salary are unconfirmed.
Exposure: You will be allocated a named supervisor for the duration of your placement and have access to educational experiences as appropriate to your placement. In one published March–April 2025 example, a visiting doctor supervised by Andrew Brodbelt observed cranial, spinal, functional and endovascular procedures at The Walton Centre. The six-week visit was supported by SBNS and the Neurosurgical Society of Nepal.
Eligibility: The Trust describes a clinical attachment programme for doctors from the UK and overseas. Its postgraduate route accepts applications from doctors for observerships and clinical attachments.
Still to confirm: Duration · Funding · Current status · Commencement · Deadline · Positions · Medical registration · Examinations · Language · Visa / work authorisation · Benefits · Insurance · Accommodation · Application documents · Accreditation
Source: The Walton Centre - Medical education. Reviewed 22 Oct 2026. Status reflects the last review, not a live vacancy check. Completeness is not a quality rating.
