Academic health professionals from member states of the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland

Description

Academic health professionals are:

• doctor of medicine (m/f) - Arzt und Ärztin
• dentist (m/f) - Zahnarzt und Zahnärztin
• pharmacist (m/f) - Apotheker und Apothekerin
• psychotherapist (m/f) - Psychotherapeutin und Psychpotherapeut

The procedure you need to apply ist granting of an approbation. Approbation is the unrestricted authorisation to practice a medical profession  for which an academic qualification is required.

With a professional qualification from abroad you have to apply for approbation to the competent authority within the german federal state you want to start to work.

Access to the profession without approbation:

• Authorisation to practise a profession
  Did you complete your professional qualification in the third country, then you are able to work for a limited period without approbation. For this, you are able to apply for  an authorisation  to practice a profession. It permits working under the supervision of a person with approbation. You may only be permitted to carry out activities in a specific area of work.
  If you have a professional qualification from an member state of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you are expected to apply for approbation. Your qualification rarely will provide you with authorisation to practice a profession. 
  You will have to meet the following requirements:
  • Equivalence of your pofessional qualification
  • Personal aptitude
  • Medical fitness
  • Knowledge of German language
• Partial access to the profession
  Did you complete your professional qualification in a member state of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland you may be able to work for an indefinite period and without approbation in the profession if you apply for a partial access to the profession, if you meet the following requirements for partial access:
  
  • With your professional qualification, you are able to work in the country of training in this profession.
  • Your professional qualification is only partially equivalent to the German professional qualification and your professional qualification must be equivalent to one specific activity in the German professional qualification.
  • Personal aptitude
  • Medical fitness
  • Knowledge of German language
• Freedom of profession (cross-border provision of services)
  Do you only wish to offer services in Germany occasionally and for short period? In this case you dot not generally require recognition. You must meet these requirements:
  • You must be resident of another member state of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland.
  • You must provide evidence of your professional qualification.
  • You must first inform or register your activity in writing with the competent authority (in this case this may be the professional Chamber).

Legal basis

• § 3 Bundesärzteordnung - doctor of medicine
• § 4 Bundes-Apothekerordnung - physicist
• § 84 Approbationsordnung für Zahnärzte - dentists
• § 2 Gesetz über die Ausübung der Zahnheilkunde - dentists
• §12 Gesetz über den Beruf der Psychotherapeutin und des Psychotherapeuten (Psychotherapeutengesetz - PsychThG) - psychotherapists

Documents for your application

• Application form from the competent authority
• If there is no application form, then apply without a standard application form
• Proof of identity (e.g. passport or personal identification)
• Marriage certificate (if your name has changed through marriage)
• Curriculum vitae
• Evidence of your professional qualification (e.g. certificates, certificate of entitlement)
• Evidence of your professional esperience in this profession (e.g. employment references)
• Are you not yet living in Germany? In this case, you must provide evidence that you would like to work in your profession in Germany. Evidence of this includes job applications, invitations to interviews, a personal declaration of your intentions.
• Information about an application für recognition already submitted. In this case state to which authority you applied.
• In most cases these documents are submitted later, The competent authority will inform  you as to when you should submit the documents:
  • Evidence of your personal aptitude: Certificate of good conduct from Germany and your country of origin (e.g. criminal record estract, certificate of good standing). The documents must be no more than three months old when the application is submitted.
  • Evidence of your medical fitness: doctor's certificate from Germany and from your country of origin. The documents must be no more than three months old  when the application is submittted.
  • Evidence of your knowledge of German: language certificate

the competent authority will inform you as to which document you must produce as originals or submit as copies. Some copies must bei officially certified. We recommend that you do not send originals by post.

You must submit your documents in German. Sworn or authorised translaters must prepare the translations.

Requirements

• Equivalence of your professional qualification
• Personal aptitude
• Medical fitness
• Knowledge of German
  • You require knowledge of German at level B2 of the Common European Reference Framework for languages
  • You are also required to complete the soecialiste language examination at level C1. In most federal states, the specialist language examination ist taken at the respective federal state chamber of your prefession.
  • You are nit required to provide a language certificate when applying. You can provide evidence of knowledge of German at a later point in time.

Costs

Costs of the means of evidence.

You are required to pay for the procedure. The competent authority will inform you of the exact costs.

Procedure

You can submit the application with the documents to the competent authority

You con also send the application by post to the competent authority. Do not send originals.

You may be able to send the application via email. Aks  your competent authority before you do.

you are sometimes able to apply online.

Later on in the recognition procedure, you may be required to submit originals, copies or certified copies of the documents if not already done.

The competent authority receives the application. After one month at the latest, it will confirm that the application has arrived. once the competent authority has received all the documents from you, it processes your application.

The competent authority carries out an equivalence assessment: It compares your professional qualification with the German professional qualification. As part of this, the competent authority takes into account your professional experience, other certificates and other qualifications.

The competent authority then checks other requirements. this includes, e.g. your personal aptitude, your medical fitness and your knowledge of German.

The procedure takes  a maximum of four months. In specific cases the competent authority may extend the procedure. At the end, the competent authority sends you a notice containing the result.

Please note: The so-called automatic recognition often applies to your profession. The procedure may be shorter or may cost less. You must also apply for automatic recognition to the competent authority. It may depend on whether or not your evicence of professional qualification ist listed in an application to the professional qualifications recognition directive.

Outcome: Recognition

Your pofessional qualificatin and the German professional qualification are equivalent. You receive the approbation. You receive a certificate for this. You also meet all further requirements. Your professional qualification is recognised.

Professionally you have the same rights as a person with the German professional qualification.

Outcome: No recognition because the professional qualification is not equivalent

There are substantial differences between your professional qualification and the German qualification. You are not able to compensate for these differences with your professional experience and other knowledge of the profession. Your professional qualification is therefore not equivalent to the German professional qualiication. Your professional qualification is not recogniced. You do not receive approbation.

In most cases you are able to complete a compensation measure. This allows you to compensate fpr the substantial differences. Substantial differences are listed in your notice.

Outcome: No recognition because you do not meet all the requirements.

Your professional qualification is equivalent. However, you do not meet all other requirements fpr the granting of approbation (licence to practice medicine). You may still need to provide evidence that you e.g. are personally apt or have knowledge of German. The competent authority will inform you o which evidence is missing.

Duration

One month at the latest following receipt of your application by the competent authority: The competent authority will notify you of receipt of the documents. They will inform you if documents are missing. The procedure begins when the documents are complete.

After four months at the latest you will receive notice containing the result. In specific cases the competent authority may extend the procedure.

Helpul informations

Language

German

Legal action

You are able to take legal action against the decision of the competent authority. Details on this procedure con be found in the legal redress advice (German: "Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung") at the end of your notice. We recommend that you speak to a counselling centre first before challenging the decision or taking legal action.

Competent authority

Landesamt für Arbeitsschutz, Verbraucherschutz und Gesundheit
Abteilung Gesundheit
Wünsdorfer Platz 3
15806 Zossen
Phone: +49 3318 683 821
Mail:
Website:https://www.lavg.brandenburg.de