Bundesportal | Apply for recognition as a veterinarian with a professional qualification from the EU/EEA/Switzerland

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Publisher

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Last update or date of publication

January 25, 2023

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The government service telephone number 115 – your point of contact for questions related to the federal, state and local.

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The profession of veterinarian is regulated in Germany. This means that in order to work as a veterinarian in Germany without any restrictions, you need a license to practice. The license to practice is the state approval for the profession. This means that you are not allowed to work independently as a veterinarian without a license to practice.

You can also obtain a license to practice in Germany with a professional qualification from a country in the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland. In order to obtain a license to practice medicine, you must have your foreign professional qualification recognized.

A professional qualification from the EU, the EEA or Switzerland is usually automatically recognized when you apply for a licence to practise. However, there may also be deviations from this rule. This depends on the country in which you completed your training and when. If you began your professional training after your country of training joined the EU/EEA, your professional qualification will be recognized automatically. If automatic recognition is not possible, the competent authority will compare your professional qualification with the German professional qualification. It will carry out an equivalence check.

In addition to the equivalence of the professional qualification, you must also meet other requirements for the permit to be issued. Further requirements are, for example, sufficient German language skills and health suitability.

If your professional qualification does not originate from the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, other regulations apply. You can also apply for the procedure from abroad.

Proof of identity (identity card or passport)
Marriage certificate (if your name has changed due to marriage)
Resume
Proof of your professional qualification (for example, certificates, professional diploma)
Proof of the content and duration of your education (e.g. Diploma Supplement, Transcript of Records)
Evidence of your relevant professional experience as a veterinarian (e.g. references)
Declaration that you have not yet applied for licensure in Germany

You only need to submit the following document if your professional qualification was completed before a certain date (cut-off date). The responsible office will inform you:

Certificate of Conformity: Certification from your country of training that your training meets the minimum standards of the EU.
If there is no certificate of conformity: certificate that you have worked continuously and legally in the profession for at least 3 years in the 5 years preceding the date of application.

You usually hand in these documents later:

Proof of your personal suitability: criminal record extract or official certificate of good conduct. The proof must not be older than 3 months at the time of application.
Proof of your health suitability: Medical certificate. The certificate must not be older than 3 months at the time of application.

You must submit the documents in the form of copies. In certain cases, the competent body may require certified copies of the documents.
If your documents are not in German, you must submit German translations of your documents. The translations must be made by translators who are publicly appointed or authorized.

Label

Preconditions

You have a professional qualification as a veterinarian from the EU, the EEA or Switzerland.
You want to work as a veterinarian in Germany.
Personal suitability: You are reliable to work as a veterinarian and have no criminal record.
Health suitability: You are mentally and physically able to work as a veterinarian.
You have German language skills at the required level. This is usually language skills at level B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and medical language skills at level C1.

Hints

Freedom to provide services

You would like to offer services in Germany only sometimes and for a short time? Then you usually do not need the state permission. You must meet these requirements:

You must be established in another state of the EU, EEA or Switzerland.
You must prove your professional qualification.
You must notify the competent body of your activity in writing.

The competent body will inform you.

Equivalency notice

During the licensing procedure, you can also have the equivalence of your training checked. You can apply for a separate notification for the result of the examination.

Procedure for late repatriates

As a late repatriate, you can choose to go through the recognition procedure according to the laws mentioned here or according to the Federal Expellees Act. You can decide this yourself. The competent office will advise you which procedure suits you.

The costs generally depend on the effort required for processing.

Additional costs may arise (for example, for translations or certifications). These costs vary individually.

Basis for legal action

§ 2 Absatz 1, § 3, § 4 Bundes-Tierärzteordnung

§ 63 Verordnung zur Approbation von Tierärztinnen und Tierärzten (TAppV)

Legal Remedies

You can take legal action (e.g. file an objection) against the decision of the responsible office within a certain period. The decision will then be reviewed. Details on this can be found in the appeal instructions at the end of your decision. We recommend that you first talk to the responsible office before taking legal action against the decision. You can take legal action (for example, file an appeal) against the decision of the responsible office within a certain period of time. The decision will then be reviewed. Details on this can be found in the appeal instructions at the end of your decision. We recommend that you first talk to the responsible office before taking legal action against the decision.

Procedure

Application
You submit an application for licensure as a veterinarian to the competent body. The competent body then checks whether your training corresponds to the German training and whether all other requirements are met.

Automatic recognition
As a rule, the procedure of automatic recognition applies if you started your professional training after the EU/EEA accession of your country of training. This means that if you also meet all other requirements, your professional qualification will be recognized without an individual equivalence test.

Certificate of conformity
Professional training that you started before the EU/EEA accession of your training state or that does not correspond to the legal designations can also be automatically recognized. To do so, you must submit a certificate stating that your professional qualification meets the minimum EU standards ("certificate of conformity"). If your professional training does not meet the minimum standards, you must provide proof of your professional experience. You must have worked as a veterinarian in your country of origin for an uninterrupted period of 3 years in the 5 years preceding your application. This must be confirmed by the competent authority of your country of training.

Examination of equivalence
If the requirements for automatic recognition are not met, your training will be examined individually. The competent body will compare your professional qualification from abroad with the German professional qualification. The competent body checks whether your professional qualification is equivalent. The professional qualification is equivalent if there are no significant differences between your foreign professional qualification and the German professional qualification.

Possible results of the examination
If your professional qualification is equivalent, your foreign professional qualification will be recognized. The authority can confirm the result to you in writing. You still have to fulfill the other requirements and prove your language skills. Then you will be granted your license to practice as a veterinarian.

Are there any significant differences between your professional qualification and the German professional qualification? Perhaps you can compensate for the differences through your professional practice, other veterinary knowledge or skills. You have to prove the professional practice. Knowledge and skills must be certified by an authority of the state in which you acquired the knowledge or skills.

However, it may not be possible to compensate for the substantial differences with this knowledge. The competent authority will tell you the essential differences and why you cannot make up the essential differences through your work experience. The decision of the competent body will also state the level of your education and the level required in Germany.

Qualifying examination
If your professional qualification is not equivalent, you can take a compensatory measure. The aptitude test refers to the essential differences of your professional qualification. The competent body decides which examination sections you have to take on the basis of the equivalency examination.
If you pass the aptitude test and meet all other requirements, you will receive your license to practice as a veterinarian.

Processing time

3 months
The competent office will confirm that your application and documents have arrived after a maximum of one month. The competent body will inform you if any documents are missing. If the documents are complete, the procedure takes a maximum of 3 months.