Have you decided to make Saxony your new home and work as a physician here? That is a good decision – the Free State of Saxony offers attractive career prospects and numerous forms of support. Below, you can find information on what is most important if you want to establish yourself as a physician in Saxony.
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To work in the Saxon health care system as a physician from an EU country, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland or Liechtenstein, you need a licence or provisional licence to practise medicine. To be granted such a licence, contact the State Head Office of Saxony. Your questions about residence law and the necessary documents will be answered by the International Placement Service (ZAV) of the Federal Employment Agency. Information on how to obtain recognition of your professional qualification can be found here. Furthermore, you must prove that your knowledge of German is sufficient for the comprehensive activities that the medical profession involves. If you are unable to provide such a proof, the office granting the licence to practice medicine at the State Head Office will require you to take a Medical German Examination, which will be held by the State Chamber of Physicians of Saxony. For being admitted to the examination, you will need at least language level B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).
If you are from a state that is not an EU member state, you will need a residence permit in addition. You can obtain it from the ZAV too. If you are still residing abroad at present, the German diplomatic mission will help you. It will examine the provisions of residence law for you and obtain a decision on your access to the labour market from the competent employment office if necessary. A prerequisite for this is that you already have a specific job offer.
Furthermore, the State Head Office of Saxony will check whether your education and professional experience correspond to the German standards and will decide whether an assessment test will be necessary for the granting of the licence to practice medicine.
Germany needs physicians: The medical profession is among the “shortage occupations” and therefore falls under the less strict requirements of the law on the EU Blue Card, which makes it easier for you to immigrate and obtain your residence permit. Also the subsequent immigration of family members can take place with privileges and without waiting periods.
Will you work as a physician in Germany only temporarily or occasionally? In that case, you fall under the category of “EU service provider”. For such work, you will not need a German licence to practice medicine, but you will have to register with the competent State Head Office in writing before commencing your work.
Help with necessary documents and residence permit is offered by the International Recruitment Service of the Federal Employment Agency. Contact: zav-ips-sachsenarbeitsagenturde)
For working as a physician (assistant) or receive a postgraduate training (specializing) you will need German language skills at B2-level, a medical language test at level C1 and a licence to practice medicine.
In the Free State of Saxony, the competent authority for the granting of licences / provisional licences to practice medicine is the State Administration Office (Landesdirektion Sachsen). Approbation-Process will only be started if you have a concrete job offer. Possibly you’ll have to pass a knowledge test (Kenntnisprüfung) to show an equal level of training.
Agencies and language schools offering German medical language courses.
