Licence to practice medicine for foreign doctors

The license is a prerequisite for doctors to be able to work in Germany. Doctors who have studied in Germany receive their license immediately after completing their medical studies. For doctors from abroad, the licensing process usually takes around one to two years, as various bureaucratic steps must be completed. Here you will find the most important information about licensing for foreign doctors. For example, you will find out where you can apply for the license certificate or what requirements must be met.

Why foreign doctors need a license

In order for a doctor to be allowed to practice as a doctor in Germany, he or she must have a license to practice. The license is also a prerequisite for foreign doctors to be allowed to use the professional title "doctor" and to be able to practice. According to the statistics of the German Medical Association as of December 31, 2022, there were around 421,252 licensed doctors in Germany. Around 59,883 foreign doctors were working in Germany up to that point.

German license for foreign doctors
In order for foreign doctors to be able to practice in Germany, they must apply for a license from one of the relevant state or district governments. However, the application for a German license for foreign doctors is usually not directly recognized. The decisive factor here is the different study content between Germany and abroad. Accordingly, in order for the license to be recognized, the equivalence test for foreign doctors (also called  equivalency review) must be successfully completed. There are two groups of procedures for applying for a license:
1. Doctors who have studied medicine in the EU/EEA or Switzerland
2. Doctors who have studied medicine in a third country

1. Licensing for doctors from other EU countries

EU citizens automatically have a work and residence permit for Germany. Accordingly, doctors from the EU/EEA or Switzerland can apply for German licensure from the relevant state or district government without any problems. If the equivalence of the training content with the German standards is determined as part of the equivalence test and all necessary documents are available (e.g. German B2 language certificate for general language and C1 specialist language certificate for medicine), the applicant will be granted licensure. In contrast to foreign doctors from a third country, doctors from the EU, EEA or Switzerland usually only have to take a specialist language test.

2. Licensing for doctors outside the EU
In order for foreign doctors from a third country to apply for a license to practice in Germany, they must have studied medicine in their home country and be in possession of a work and residence permit. Foreign doctors must also be in possession of a language certificate (GER-B2) and a specialist language certificate (C1) (which you receive by taking the specialist language test) that confirms their knowledge of German. In addition to these formalities, other documents are required to apply for the license certificate, which can be found in detail on the homepage of the individual state or district governments. In contrast to doctors who have studied medicine in the EU, EEA or Switzerland, doctors from third countries usually have to take a knowledge test.

10 Steps to Licensing for Foreign Doctors

The path to German licensure for foreign doctors is a multi-stage process. Among other things, you must pass language tests and submit documents that meet certain requirements. For example, some documents must be notarized. With our 10 steps to licensure for foreign doctors, we give you an overview of the process:

1. In order to work as a doctor in Germany, you must prove that you have the necessary language skills. At the time of application, you will need a German B2 certificate from a recognized language school (according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages ​​- GER). You can find more information in this article.

2. Before you apply for a license as a foreign doctor, you must consider in which of the 16 federal states you want to apply. In your considerations, you should take into account where you have the best chance of obtaining a license quickly and where you want to live. Since the requirements can differ from federal state to federal state, you should definitely compare them. For example, in some federal states, a job offer must be presented.

3. Before you can apply for a German license as a doctor from abroad, you must have certain documents translated and certified. The documents must meet certain requirements.

4. The CV for the license application must be written in German. In exchange for a small fee, we will translate your CV from English to German and check whether your CV meets the requirements. If you wish, you can also get a modern design.

5. A medical certificate is required for the license to be issued. This medical certificate must show that the applicant is not unfit to practice the profession due to health reasons. The medical certificate can be issued by a family doctor, among others.

6. Most state offices require proof that you intend to work in the state in which you are applying for the license. The type of proof varies depending on the state. In some states, you only have to state that you intend to work in the state or prove that you have a permanent residence in the state. In many other states, you must show a job offer. If necessary, the job offer can also be presented right at the end (shortly before the license is granted).

7. As soon as you have the required documents together, you must send them to the responsible state office by post. Before you send the documents, however, you should check that your documents are complete and that you have correctly followed the instructions of the responsible state government. The instructions can be found on the homepage of the respective state government.

8. After you have submitted your documents to the responsible state office, your application for licensure will be checked by a clerk. It will be determined that you are still missing the C1 medical language certificate. Furthermore, the equivalence of your training content with the German qualification standards will be checked (equivalence test). If you have studied medicine as a doctor in a third country, fundamental differences in training are almost always identified. These deficits can be compensated for with relevant professional experience. If the licensing authority does not rate the equivalence as sufficient, you will be asked to take a knowledge test.

9. The specialist language test tests your knowledge of German in a medical context.

10. The knowledge test ensures that the applicant has the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to practice as a doctor in Germany. The knowledge test ensures that the applicant. Accordingly, all the knowledge gained from the German final exam is relevant for the exam.
If you have successfully completed all the steps and the state office has all the necessary documents from you, nothing stands in the way of your license being granted. Your German license certificate will then usually be sent to you by post. From now on, you can use the professional title of “doctor” and practice as a doctor in Germany.

Job Search for Licensed Foreign Doctors
With our doctor placement service, we help qualified doctors find an employer in Germany free of charge. While doctors who apply independently sometimes wait months for a response, with us you will receive feedback on the status of your application within a week. Through our unique contacts with decision-makers in hospitals, we increase your chances of getting a great job quickly.

Licensing for foreign doctors – an overview of the required documents

The requirements for the granting of German licensure to foreign doctors are regulated by the Medical Licensing Ordinance.

Applying for a license for foreign doctors
To apply for a license, doctors from abroad must contact the relevant district or state government. Doctors are free to choose in which state they apply for the license for foreign doctors. However, the processing time for the license for foreign doctors can vary from state to state. On the one hand, this depends on whether all documents are complete and in order when applying for the license. On the other hand, the granting of the license takes longer if many doctors in the state have applied for the license.

Professional license for foreign doctor

In addition to the license, doctors from a third country can apply for a professional license to work as a doctor in Germany. However, the professional license is only valid for two years. The professional license is available to doctors from a third country as soon as they have passed the specialist language test and fulfilled all other requirements.

Quelle: approbatio