Recognition of foreign professional qualifications - specialist at the location Recognition office for medical specialist qualifications

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Service description

Recognition of foreign professional qualifications - specialist

The profession of specialist is regulated in Germany. This means: You need a permit if you want to use the designation "Fachärztin" or "Facharzt" for your specialization in Berlin.

With the education as a specialist you have acquired a medical specialization to your qualification as a doctor abroad. To work as a doctor in Germany, you first need your license to practice medicine or a professional license. In order to be able to work as a specialist in Germany, you must also apply for recognition of your specialist training. This allows you to use the designation "Fachärztin" or "Facharzt" in your respective specialization.

Note: You may only use the designation for your specialization if there is a corresponding continuing education designation also in Germany.
The permission will be granted by the responsible medical association in Berlin after examination of your documents and requirements.

Procedure:
1. You submit your application and the required documents to the Berlin Medical Association.
If necessary, you will be asked to submit any missing documents.

2. The procedure of automatic recognition often applies. This means: your professional qualification is recognized without an individual equivalence check.

3. If you started your further training before the EU/EEA accession of your training state, you must prove that your professional qualification meets the minimum standards of the EU ("Certificate of conformity"). This will be certified by the competent authority of your training state. If your professional qualification does not meet the minimum standards, you must prove your professional experience. For this purpose, you must have worked in the profession in your country of origin for 3 years without interruption in the last 5 years before submitting the application.

3.1 If your professional qualification is not automatically recognised, your training will be reviewed individually. The competent authority will then check 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.
If your specialist qualification is recognised, you can work in the profession in Germany. You will receive a notification.

3.2 If significant differences are found, you will not be certified as having equivalent specialist Qualifications: you will receive a justification. You can take a qualifying examination to prove the missing knowledge.
  • If you successfully pass the aptitude test, you will receive recognition. You then be allowed to use the designation "Fachärztin" or "Facharzt" for your specialization.

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

You can also access this service online

Online processing

  • Do it online now
    You do not need to register for online processing and can submit the application directly online.

Prerequisites

Documents required

  • Application for recognition
    You submit the application online or in writing using the form by post.
  • Curriculum vitae
    Curriculum vitae in tabular form with details of further training courses completed and professional practice
  • Proof of identity
    Identity card or passport
  • License to practice medicine or professional permit
    Proof of German license to practice medicine/ approbation or professional license and proof of equivalent level of education and training
  • Proof of qualifications
    Further education certificates and certificates of professional practice
  • Declaration on previous professional recognition procedures
    Declaration of whether you have already submitted an application for recognition to another medical association
  • More documents
    You only need to submit the following documents if your professional qualification was completed before a certain date (deadline). The competent authority will inform you:
    • Certificate of Conformity
    or
    • Evidence that you have actually and lawfully practiced the profession for at least 3 consecutive years during the last 5 years before the certificate was issued
  • German translation
    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.

Forms

Fees

  • EUR 135,00 for automatic recognition according to policy 2005/36/EC.
  • If necessary, additional costs for translations, certifications and other official acts of the Berlin Medical Association will be incurred.

Legal basis

Average time to process request

Usually within 3 months after receipt of the complete documents; the deadline can be extended by one month.

More information

Notes on responsibility

The application for recognition of a foreign professional qualification as a specialist must be submitted to the Berlin Medical Association.

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