Foreign Doctors

Foreign Doctors

Would you like to work as a doctor in Saxony or receive your specialist training there? Here you can find important information on how to proceed.

I.   Language skills

A good knowledge of German is a prerequisite for working as a doctor in Saxony. The language skills must at least correspond to Level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference.

II. Doctors from non-EU countries (third countries)

For working as a doctor in the Federal Republic of Germany, doctors from non-EU countries need a licence or provisional licence to practise medicine and a residence permit that permits employment.

1. Residence permit

Citizens of countries outside the European Union may only be employed in Germany if their residence permit permits it; employers may only employ them if they have been granted such a residence permit (Art. 4.3. of the German Residence Act – AufenthG). According to Art. 18.2 of the AufenthG, a foreign doctor may be granted a residence permit for being employed only if the Federal Employment Agency has given its consent under Art. 39 of the AufenthG or if a decree stipulates that an employment is permitted without the consent of the Federal Employment Agency.

Job-seeking foreign doctors should contact the foreigners’ registration office for being granted a residence permit. In Saxony, those offices are operated by the districts (Landkreise) and independent cities (kreisfreie Städte). From foreign countries, you can contact the German diplomatic mission. They check the provisions of residence law in each case and request the competent employment office to decide on the access to the employment market if appropriate. Together with the decision on the residence permit, the access to the employment market will then be decided on.

In addition, Art. 27.2 of the German Employment Ordinance (Beschäftigungsverordnung) provides that the Federal Employment Agency may give its consent to an employment in the case of professionals who have a university degree or a comparable qualification if a public interest in their employment exists because of their expert knowledge. The required public interest must go beyond the operational matters of the employer. Therefore, the employment of doctors from third countries in Germany is possible, among other things, if their employment is necessary for ensuring health care in underserved regions.

Before giving their consent the local employment offices must check if the working conditions contained in a specific job offer are comparable to those of German employees (Art. 39.2 of the AufenthG). The employees are obliged to provide the employment offices with information on the working conditions provided (Art. 39.2, Sentence 3).

As a rule, the local employment offices make their consent conditional on the presentation of a licence or provisional licence to practise medicine. In exceptional cases, the assurance of a licence or provisional licence to practise medicine is also accepted by the local employment offices.

For freelance work, a residence permit may be granted due to public interest in accordance with Art. 21.5 of the AufenthG. Such a public interest can be assumed to exist if without the foreign doctor’s work, the health care of the public would be at risk.

2. Licence / provisional licence to practise medicine

Licence to practise medicine (Approbation) – entitles the holder to practise medicine for an unlimited period and without any professional restrictions

A licence to practise medicine can be granted to citizens of non-EU countries not only in particular special cases (for reasons related to the doctor’s person, e.g. marriage to a German) or in the interest of the health care of the public. However, a prerequisite is that the doctor’s level of training is equivalent to the training in the Federal Republic of Germany. A medical training in the former CIS countries is not considered equivalent so that the doctors concerned must pass an assessment test to be granted a licence to practise medicine.

Provisional licence to practise medicine (Berufserlaubnis) – entitles the holder to practise medicine temporarily

Unlike a licence to practise medicine, a provisional licence to practise medicine may contain restrictions, e.g. for an employment at a particular hospital. The medical training need not be equivalent to the medical training in the Federal Republic of Germany. A completed medical training is sufficient.

A specialist training, however, may only be started if the equivalence of the level of training has been proved by passing an assessment test.

Freelance work as a panel doctor is only permitted with a licence to practise medicine. In addition, the panel doctor must have been recognised as a specialist by the Saxon State Medical Association.

III. Doctors from EU countries

Principally, doctors from EU countries have the same access to the medical profession as German doctors. They only need a licence to practise medicine, but they do not need any residence or work permit.

That also applies to doctors from the member states of Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia.

IV. Service Providers

Doctors who practise medicine temporarily and occasionally in Germany as service providers within the meaning of Article 5 of EC Directive 2005/36/EC do not need any German licence to practise medicine for this purpose. However, they must inform the competent State Administration Office in writing before providing their services (Art. 7 of Directive 2005/36/EC). The temporary and occasional nature of the provision of services will be assessed in each individual case, especially on the basis of the duration, frequency, regular occurrence and continuity of the service.

V. Competent authorities

In the Free State of Saxony, the competent authorities for the granting of licences / provisional licences to practice medicine are the State Administration Offices (Landesdirektion Sachsen) whose territory the profession is to be pursued in.

VI. Documents necessary for applying for a licence / provisional licence to practice medicine

The documents to be submitted may vary in each individual case. Please ask your competent authority for the information and documents to be submitted.

  • Proof of a completed medical training – certified copy.
  • Curriculum vitae with photo – complete description of the course of study and the professional career – signed personally.
  • Birth certificate and marriage certificate, if appropriate – certified copy.
  • Proof of citizenship, passport if appropriate – certified copy.
  • Reference of the last employment in the medical profession – original or certified copy.
  • Certificate of good conduct – issued no more than three months before the application – to be applied for by the competent registry office – equivalent official document in the case of foreign applicants.
  • Clearance certificate of the supreme health authority of the home country, certifying that you are entitled to practice medicine and that no measures under professional or disciplinary law have been taken or initiated against you.
  • Proof of knowledge of spoken and written German – at least Level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference – confirmed by a certified language institute (e.g. Goethe Institute) – certified copy or original (will not be returned).
  • Declaration that no application for a German licence to practise medicine has been filed, nor will be filed, in another federal state. Otherwise, please describe the situation.
  • Certified German translations of all documents in foreign languages.
  • A medical certificate according to which no indications exist that for health-related reasons, the applicant is incapable of, or unsuitable for, practising medicine. The certificate may not have been issued more than three months before the filing of the application.
  • The confirmation of employment by the hospital or employer that the medical profession is to be pursued for.
  • A certificate of the competent authority of your home country, certifying that your diploma, and thus your medical training, corresponds to the minimum requirements of the relevant EU Directive and is therefore equivalent to a training completed in the EU (certificate of conformity).
  • A declaration – with date and signature – according to which no licence / provisional licence to practise medicine granted to you has been withdrawn or revoked by another authority and/or no proceedings for a revocation or withdrawal have been initiated, and that you have not been refused the granting of any licence / provisional licence to practice medicine.
  • A declaration to be made by you in writing according to which no criminal court proceedings, investigation proceedings of public prosecutors, or professional court proceedings against you are pending.