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Frequently Asked Questioins

Welcome to SAIU’s FAQ page. We have organized the questions in the following categories:

1) General

2) Admission

3) Finance

4) Immigration

5) Living

GENERAL (G)

  • South American International University or SAIU has campus in Paramaribo, Suriname, and in Willemstad, Curaçao. Suriname is an English and Dutch speaking country on the Northern coast of South America. Curacao is a Dutch island in the Southern Caribbean. Both Suriname and Curacao were colonies of the Netherlands and are now independent countries. Curacao is still part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. SAIU accepts students from all over the world. All courses are taught in English.

  • Yes. Both Dutch and English are widely spoken, as well as local languages. In Curacao, Spanish is also widely spoken. The program at SAIU is taught in English only.

  • SAIU has received its Charter from the Ministry of Health of the Government of Suriname. Our Charter allows us to teach MD and PG programs in medicine at our campus in Paramaribo, Suriname. The Government of Suriname has informed the WHO and ECFMG of the establishment of our School of Medicine.

    SAIU is listed on the World Directory of Medical Schools (WDOMS) as required by the ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates). This means that our students are eligible to be certified by the ECFMG and can do all board exams.

    The (MD) academic program taught at SAIU has already withstood the rigorous evaluation of the NVAO assessment, and the SAIU has provisional accreditation from the NVAO – which is accreditation from the Netherlands and Europe. In addition, our programs have been submitted to the NAVO, which is the accreditation by the Suriname government, for accreditation.

  • Curacao is a typical Caribbean tourism paradise. Lots of sunshine and beaches. The level of education of the local population is relatively high by Caribbean standards. The per capita level of income is relatively high.

    Suriname is a large country with tropical rain forests. For nature lovers this is a paradise. It is a cultural melting pot in that it has a diverse population consisting of people of Indian and Asian heritage as well as an indigenous and black population. The per capita income is lower than Curacao.

ADMISSION (A)

  • Pre-Medicine is currently offered on-line as well as on our Curacao campus.

    The Basic Sciences portion of the MD program is not available online. These courses must be followed at our Paramaribo, Suriname campus.

    The Clinical Medicine portion of the MD program must be followed at our home campus hospital, the St. Vincentius Hospital in Paramaribo, Suriname, or at another affiliated hospital of SAIU. SAIU has affiliated hospitals in Curacao, the Netherlands (Utrecht), and the United States.

    Other Bachelor and Master programs are given on-line; however, SAIU may require that part of the program is followed on one of our campuses. Please contact Academic Affairs for more details.

    Students at SAIU are prepared to graduate as international/foreign medical doctors, with a Medical Doctor (MD) degree. We follow the U.S. medical school curriculum.

  • A semester for Pre-med and Basic Science is 16 weeks (about 4 months).

    For Clinical Science, each trimester is 12 weeks (three months).

    There are three (3) starting terms per year:


    • January (Spring)
    • May (Summer)
    • September (Fall)

  • Not all courses are taught every semester. It is important to check the course schedule to make sure the courses you want to take are available. Further, some course require other courses as pre-requisites.

  • Prerequisite(s) are specific courses that must be taken prior to entering a specific degree program regardless of any type of degree; it’s a precondition or prequalification for the program. This is in the best interest of the student to avoid hurdles in the future when entering into residency programs.

    Furthermore, it will make sure that a student has covered all the requirements when applying for licensure. The licensing board will look at your whole medical education including Pre-Medical education.

  • The prerequisites required to enter SAIU’s medical program are:


    • Two semesters of Biology (or Zoology) *
    • Two semesters of General Chemistry *
    • Two semesters of Organic Chemistry *
    • Two semesters of Physics *
    • One semester each of Calculus, Computer Science, and Statistics
    • One semester of English

    (*) must include lab

    The courses listed above are undergraduate level only. If you completed similar courses through high/secondary school, they don’t count toward these prerequisites.

  • The major of your degree is not as important as having all undergraduate prerequisites and credit hours required. If not, you have to complete the missing subjects/prerequisites before entering the program through a local accredited program or our Pre-Med program.

  • In the U.S. system of education, the students who want to go into medicine starts with a Bachelor degree in Sciences. This Bachelor degree is awarded once a student has completed 120 credits. The Bachelor typically provides all the required (pre-requisite) courses. SAIU offers a Bachelor in Medical Studies that covers all the pre-requisites for entering the MD degree program.

    SAIU also has an accelerated pre-medical program that covers all the pre-requisite requirements for the MD program. The accelerated pre-med program is 96 credits. Students that complete this program receive a Diploma in Pre-medical Sciences. Provided that the student maintains a 2.8 GPA or above, the student is automatically admitted to the MD program.

  • The MD program at SAIU is based on the US system of education.

    The MD program at SAIU is a 4 year program that requires students to have completed a Bachelor of Science degree (2 years) or a certain minimum of pre-med courses (1 ½ year Pre-Med). So in total it takes a student that has a pre-university high school diploma (at least) 5 ½ to 6 years to obtain an MD degree.

    Other countries (Europe) may combine the Pre-Med and MD programs in one. This is why European programs are 5 ½ or 6 year programs. These countries may not use the Pre-Med & Medicine terms separately as in the U.S., but the Pre-Med courses are normally taught during the first year(s) of any medical program. So, out of a 5-6 year medical program in these countries the first year or two are equivalent to Pre-Med in the U.S.

    If you only graduated High/Secondary School, you need to start through Pre-Med to complete at least 96 undergraduate credit hours and all prerequisites for medicine.

    If you have only a few undergraduate course (college/university credits) completed after high/secondary school, some of those may transfer over if they’re from an accredited school and are part of the prerequisites needed. You enter Pre-Med only to complete the courses that are missing and make sure you earn at least 96 undergraduate credit hours if you don’t have a bachelor’s degree.

  • The full Pre-Med program at SAIU is 4 semesters (PM1 – PM4) and covers 96 undergraduate credit hours.

    The full Bachelor in Medical Studies (BSc.) at SAIU is 6 semesters (BS1-BS6) and covers 120 undergraduate credit hours. The BSc program covers the full Pre-Med program as well as additional college level courses.

  • A student with a high school diploma will have to cover 5 ½ years of study if he/she choses the accelerated Pre-Med/MD program. The student has may also chose the 6 year program which leads to a BSc and MD degree.

  • Pre-Med or BSc. : Pre-Medicine (PM1 – PM3) – 4 trimesters. The program can be followed on-line. Students are encouraged to complete at least one semester on campus. The student has may also chose the 6 year program which leads to a BSc and MD degree.

    Medicine : Basic science (MD1 – MD5) – 5 semesters. At the end of the Basic Sciences the student is strongly encouraged to take the USMLE review course. The student is expected to pass the USMLE step 1 before continuing with the Clinical Medicine portion of the program.

    Of the Basic Sciences the first four (4) MUST be completed at our campus in Paramaribo, Suriname. MD5 and the USMLE review course can be taken in Suriname or Curacao, depending on where the student is planning to follow the Clinical Medicine portion of the program.

    Clinical medicine (CM1 –CM6 – 6 trimesters (total of 72 weeks of clinical rotations) is followed at the home hospital in Paramaribo, Suriname, or in another affiliated hospital of the university.

  • You can enter the first semester of the medical program, in basic sciences (MD1), if you also have all prerequisites completed; however, no credit can be given for other courses unless you have completed these courses as part of an MD program of another recognized medical school (in which case you would be a transfer student).

    Credits from other health sciences programs cannot be recognized towards an MD degree because the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) establishes the criteria for transfer of credits: transfer of credits must be from a recognized (accredited) M.D. or D.O. program only.

  • The credits received in AP, A-level and IB program courses cannot be used towards an MD degree. However, SAIU does accept students with these credentials to obtain advanced standing in our Pre-Med or BSc programs. Students can obtain a maximum of 12 advanced standing credits by passing rigorous entrance exams to establish their competence in these subjects.

  • Transcripts are evaluated based on the GPA one receives. GPA stands for “Grade Point Average”. In the US and Canada the scale used to establish GPA is 0.0 to 4.0. On th and the U.S. 4.0 scale, a student is expected to maintain a 2.80 GPA at SAIU.

    Academic transcripts from schools outside the U.S. or Canada must be evaluated to obtain the U.S. equivalence and GPA and information on the school attended.

  • You are encouraged to follow the instructions on the admission page of our website. You must complete your application on-line (or send a hard copy by courier mail) and attach/include the following:


    • Passport type Photo
    • Official transcripts from each of your previous institution(s)
    • Two letters of recommendation – at least one by a professor
    • Personal statement. Your personal statement should express your interest in medicine and any relevant experience.

    Notes:

    Make sure that your letters of recommendation (at least one by a professor) are on the proper letterhead and that they are dated and signed.

    Make sure that your previous institutions send an official transcripts directly from the school(s) to SAIU.

  • If the student has completed a challenging High/Secondary School program with sciences, he/she can apply for the Pre-Med/MD program or complete a BSc Medical Studies followed by the MD program.

  • Students can apply to the MD program or Pre-Med program with a GPA below 2.80.

    Once a student is enrolled in Pre-med (or BSc) program at SAIU, they must maintain at minimum GPA of 2.80 in order to gain automatic admission to the MD program. Students with a lower GPA have to complete an application process and you should request strong official letters of recommendation from professors in particular to strengthen your application.

  • Once you have submitted your application along with all required documents, your the application and documents will be reviewed and we will notify you by email if you’re (provisionally) accepted within two weeks. The provisional acceptance will be in place until certain original documents (transcripts and letters of recommendation) have been received and added to your file. If you are not accepted, we will notify you with a letter explaining the reason.

  • Enrollment is when an applicant is accepted by a school, and the applicant accepts the offer of admission. At SAIU, it means signing an acceptance form and sending it to the Admissions Department, as well as submitting a (seat deposit) payment toward the first invoice of USD $500.00.

    The seat deposit allows the school to set the applicant as a student, reserve a seat in the classroom for the term accepted, allows the Student Housing Dept. to reserve a room if the student will be in school dorms, for the school to assist with immigration documents, and more.

    • FINANCE

    Tuition may change depending on the program. Please refer to the Tuition & Fees and Cost of Attendance (COA) schedules for more details.


  • There is a non-refundable US $50.00 application fee for applying on-line. Please visit our website for more details.

  • Fees may be paid online using credit/debit card, ACH, online check, money order, checks, or by wire transfer.

    You can make a payment using a credit/debit card or online check via your student portal, MYSAIU: log in, then go to Tuition & Fees tab, then click on Make a Payment, enter your payment details and the amount you will pay.

    You may fill out the Credit Card Authorization form (click here to download), fill it out, sign it by hand, and submit it to finance@SAIUmed.org

    You can make a wire transfer or visit any Chase branch in the U.S. and make a payment, then submit your receipt. Our bank information is at the bottom of the invoice.

    You can send a check via email to finance@SAIUmed.org – just take a clear picture of the whole check (front & back) on a neutral background (on blank piece of paper, for instance)

    Wire transfer information (All students):

    Name :South American International University Foundation

    Bank : RBC Royal Bank

    Bank Address : Rooi Katootje, Willemstad, Curacao

    Account : 800 0009 0001 18538

    Swift Code : RBTTCWCU

    Reference : Student name and or student ID#


    Wire transfer information (USA and Canadian students):

    Name :South American International University LLC

    Bank : JP Morgan Chase

    Bank Address : Chicago IL 60564, USA

    Account : …

    Routing : …

    Swift Code : CHASUS33

    Reference : Student name and or student ID#


    All fees associated with the transfer by both banks are paid by the sender. Once you send the wire transfer, please notify us with the details: name of sender, bank name, amount, date or send us a copy of the receipt to match with the transfer for faster identification and allow up to 7 business days for the payment via wire to be posted.

  • Cost estimate for the clinical medicine program depends on the location of the hospital where clinical rotations are being completed. There are two zones:

    Zone A: Suriname, Curacao, the Caribbean and South America - Amount: $ 6,900

    Zone B: USA, Canada and Europe - Amount: $ 9,900

    Zone C: India, South Africa, Asia - Amount: $ 7,900

    These amounts cover tuition only. Medical insurance is a separate fee that has to be settled directly with the University. Room and Board (housing) are separate and need to be settled as applicable.

    • IMMIGRATION (M)


  • Moving to another country for an extended period always requires one to take care of the necessary steps in order to settle. If you are staying in Curacao for longer than your tourist visa days, you have to apply for for the temporary student residence permit. This is a requirement for all nationalities.

  • SAIU offers the service of applying for the student permit on behalf of our students. The student is required to send all documents to our Curacao campus via courier. Once all required documents are sent and the visa processing fee is completed, we can start the application process.

  • Both Curacao and Suriname welcome foreign students. All students will need to process immigration to get a temporary student residence permit in order to stay in either Suriname or Curaçao for the length of their education at SAIU.

    The SAIU admissions department assists students with the residence permit application and process. Enrolled students from countries that require a visa to submit to immigration. SAIU coordinates the process. Please contact the admissions office for more details.

    Please contact the airlines in your area to find out the flights available, the route, and length of the flight. The following major airlines have flights from Curacao:

    From Europe: KLM, TUI, Corendon. Daily flights to Amsterdam.

    From North America: AA, Jetblue, Delta. Daily flights to Miami. Flights to New York, Toronto.

    From the Caribbean: Jetair. Suriname airlines. Many regional destinations.

    From South America: Azul,

    From Central America: COPA

    Similarly there are many flights to Paramaribo. There are regular flights from Curacao to Suriname.

  • From the university:


    • Immigration Form
    • Authorization letter from the school

    Immigration documents required by student:


    • Copy of the main page of your valid passport
    • Original birth certificate, issue date less than 1 year old, with apostille (*)
    • Original Police Clearance, issue date less than 3 months old (*)
    • Proof of sufficient funds (Bank statement in your name with at least $6600 available), or a sponsor has to provide the bank statement with sufficient funds.
    • Health clearance form (*)

    (*) the admissions department will assist with how to obtain these items

  • Student permits are usually approved for the duration of 1 year. US and Dutch citizens however, are granted a permit for 5 years.

  • It is recommended to send in all requirements at least 4 months before the start of the semester that you will be attending to avoid any delays or inconveniences.

  • A return ticket is always mandatory within the extended tourist visa days in case you don’t have an approved student permit yet.

  • SAIU charges a visa processing fee of US$ 350 to international students.

    • LIVING (L)


  • In Suriname we have housing for our first and second semester MD students on campus. In the second year (and further years) of the MD program we assist students to arrange nearby housing in the community. In Curacao there is sufficient housing available in the community. Students are assisted by the admissions department to locate suitable housing.

  • In the community, single occupancy is US$ 850 per month and double occupancy is US$ 650 per month. On campus housing is US$ 650/mo for single room and US$ 450/mo for double room. Internet is included, but utilities are not included.

  • On campus housing is paid with the tuition on a per semester basis. In case of living in the community payment is made to the Landlord. It is common for community housing to require a one month refundable deposit.

  • If a student applies for a double occupancy room, the housing department will automatically pair the students up by gender. If the student already knows who he/she would like to be paired up with, a request can be sent to the housing department to assign a specific roommate.

  • Withing the St. Vincentius Hospital grounds in Paramaribo, Suriname.

  • Utilities are not included.

  • It depends on the accommodation, but usually the answer is yes. In case of on campus housing bathrooms are shared.

  • Cooking is not allowed in on-campus dorm rooms, but there are limited possibilities in general areas. The university provides full meal plans while on campus.

  • In the common areas of on-campus housing there is a fridge and microwave.

  • There are central laundry services for on campus housing. In the community housing it depends on the accommodation.

  • The common areas of on campus housing are cleaned on a weekly basis. Students are responsible for the upkeep and cleaning of their own rooms.

  • For on-campus housing transport is not required. For housing in the surrounding community there is public transportation available.

  • Within a range of 1 to 2 miles there is ample availability of rooms.

  • Yes. There is a list available that can be requested from the administration.

  • Rooms are arranged once the following payments have been completed: $75 application fee and $500 seat deposit fee.

  • Students are allowed to stay in their on campus rooms over the break as long as they are planning on remaining in the same room for the next semester. For students staying in the surrounding community it depends on the rental agreement with the landlord.