Professional recognition as a physician
The precondition to work as a physician in Germany (assistant medical activity in training or specialist medical activity) is a valid approbation (or license to practice medicine).
Physicians with degrees from other countries need an approbation or at least a professional license to practice their profession, just like physicians trained in Germany (the professional license only authorizes the medical activity in an employment relationship for a certain period of time and a certain region).
In general, the requirements for training and access for professions in the healthcare sector are uniformly regulated in Germany, as they are regulated professions under federal law.
In order to be allowed to work as a doctor, you need to have professional qualifications acquired abroad be recognized in Germany.
You can get an overview of professional recognition in Germany with the help of the Recognition Finder - Home (anerkennung-in-deutschland.de)
The application for recognition can be made either in the respective place of residence or at the place of work. Each government agency (or federal state) in Germany has its own requirements, meaning there is no uniform regulation as to which documents are required.
You can find an overview by location and federal state here: Recognition Portal (anerkennung-in-deutschland.de)
In order to obtain an approbation/a professional license in Germany, foreign physicians must demonstrate sufficient German language skills. The language requirements for the granting of the approbation/professional license vary depending on the federal state. As a minimum requirement in all federal states, the general language level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) must be demonstrated. In addition, a special medical language examination must usually be passed, which is based on level C1 of the CEFR.
Certificates from the Goethe-Institute or Telc are generally accepted throughout Germany as confirmation of language level; in many German states, the Austrian ÖSD certificate is also recognized:
Details vary from one federal state to another.
To register for the specialist language examination, you must first apply for your license to practice medicine or your professional permit from the state or district government in charge. In the next step, the authority declares whether a professional language exam is necessary. If this is the case, the state or district government contacts the responsible medical association and sends in the required documents. You will then be contacted by the medical association. The latter will send you further information on the professional language exam.
In summary, you do not have to personally register for the professional language exam. This is automatically done through the application for the approbation.
The application for a professional license and the application for an approbation are interconnected.
The professional license is issued after the documents have been reviewed. This usually takes about 2-4 weeks. However, it is only valid in the federal state in which the application was submitted and has a limited validity of 2 years. With the professional license, exercise of the medical profession is only possible under the supervision of a licensed physician.
Do you have any further questions?
Andrea Rauchstädt Senior consultant