Leistungen A-Z

In order to be able to work as a veterinarian in Germany without restrictions, you need the license to practice medicine.

The license to practice medicine is the state approval for the profession. The license to practice medicine is necessary because the profession is regulated in Germany. This means that you are not allowed to work independently as a veterinarian without a license to practice medicine.

The license to practice medicine will be granted to you by the competent authority if your veterinary training is equivalent to the German training. Equivalence is checked in the recognition procedure. You must meet further requirements for the granting of the license to practice medicine.

Even with a professional qualification from a country of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, you can obtain the license to practice medicine in Germany.

A professional qualification from these countries is usually automatically recognised when you apply for a licence to practise medicine. However, there may also be deviations from this rule.

It depends on the country in which you completed your training and at what time. If you started your vocational training after your country of training joined the EU/EEA, your professional qualification will be automatically recognised. Then the recognition procedure is shortened.

If your professional qualification is not from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, it cannot be automatically recognised. Different rules apply.

You can also apply for the procedure from abroad.

• You have a professional qualification as a veterinarian from the EU, EEA or Switzerland.
• You are medically suitable for work as a veterinarian.
• You are reliable and worthy to work as a veterinarian and have no criminal record.
• You have the necessary knowledge of German for the job. These are general language skills at level B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

The competent authority will inform you which documents you need to submit. Important documents are often:

• Proof of identity (identity card or passport in officially certified copy)
• a copy of your proof of formal qualifications
• Proof of the contents of your training:
• List of subjects and training hours you have completed
• Proof of your relevant professional experience as a veterinarian
• Extract from the criminal record or certificate of good conduct from your country of origin as proof of your worthiness and reliability (This proof must not be more than 3 months old at the time of application.)
• Medical certificate of your medical fitness (This certificate must not be more than 3 months old at the time of application. The proof can be from an authority in your country of training.)
• Declaration that you have not yet applied for a license to practice medicine in Germany

The competent authority will inform you which documents you must submit in the original or as copies.

If your documents are not available in German, you must submit German translations of your documents. The translations must be made by translators who are publicly appointed or authorised.

The procedure costs money. The competent authority will inform you about the costs. The costs often depend on the effort required for processing.

In addition, additional costs may arise (e.g. for translations or certifications). These costs vary from person to person.

Application

You submit an application for a licence to practise veterinary medicine with the competent authority. The competent authority will check whether your training corresponds to the German training and whether all other requirements are met.

Automatic recognition

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

Certificate

Vocational training that you started before your country of training joined the EU/EEA (or that does not correspond to the legal titles) can also be automatically recognised. To do this, you must submit a certificate from the competent authority of your country of training that your professional qualification meets the minimum standards of the EU ("certificate of conformity"). If your professional qualification does not meet the minimum standards, you must prove your professional experience. You must have worked as a veterinarian in your country of origin for 3 consecutive years in the 5 years prior to the application. This must be confirmed by the competent authority in your country of origin. This confirmation is generally sufficient.

Equivalence assessment

If you cannot provide a certificate of conformity or do not have enough professional experience, your training must be checked individually. The competent authority compares your professional qualification from abroad with the German professional qualification as a veterinarian. The competent authority will 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.

Possible results of the test

If your professional qualification is equivalent, your foreign professional qualification will be recognised. The authority can confirm the result to you in writing. You still have to meet the other requirements and prove your language skills. Then you will be granted the license to practice veterinary medicine.

If the competent body identifies significant differences, you can compensate for the differences with your professional experience and other knowledge and skills as a veterinarian. You must prove your professional experience. Knowledge and skills must be certified by an authority in your country of origin.

However, it may be that this knowledge is not sufficient. You will then not be able to compensate for the essential differences. Your foreign professional qualification will then not be recognised.

The competent authority will tell you in writing the main differences and why you cannot compensate for the essential differences through your professional practice. The notification of the competent authority also states what level of your training has and what level is necessary in Germany. You are then not allowed to work as a veterinarian. However, the responsible office offers you to take an aptitude test.

Suitability test

If your professional qualification is not equivalent, you can take an aptitude test. During the aptitude test, you check the essential differences between your professional qualifications. If you pass the aptitude test, you will be granted the license to practice veterinary medicine. You must also meet the other requirements and prove your language skills.

Remedy

You can take legal action against the decision of the competent authority. The decision will then be reviewed. Details can be found in the information on the right of appeal at the end of your decision. We recommend that you first talk to the competent authority before taking legal action against the decision.

None.

Sometimes documents are still missing in the procedure. The competent authority will then inform you by when you must submit the documents. This may prolong the procedure.

• § 2 ff. Federal Veterinary Regulations
• § 63 et seq. Ordinance on the Approbation of Veterinarians
• § 10 Federal Expellees Act

• Proof of language proficiency
  Prerequisite for the license to practice medicine is general German language skills at level B2. You can also submit the required proof of language proficiency during the licensing procedure.
   
• Professional permit
  In exceptional cases, you can also apply for a temporary professional permit if you are particularly interested. This can be, for example, a temporary job at a veterinary university. With the professional license, you may in principle work as a veterinarian for 4 years without a license to practice medicine. You must prove language skills at level B2. With the professional permit, you are only allowed to work to a limited extent. The professional license is not a license to practice medicine.
   
• Freedom to provide services
  If you only want to work temporarily and occasionally independently as a service provider in Germany, you do not need a license to practice medicine. However, special conditions apply. You must report your work to the competent body before the first activity. After a certain period of time, you must report the activity again. The competent body will inform you in detail about the procedure.
   
• Equivalence Notice
  In the licensing procedure, the equivalence of your training is checked (recognition procedure). You can apply for a separate notification for the result of the examination. You must have a legitimate interest in the separate decision.
   
• Electronic application
  You can also submit your application electronically. Applications can be submitted directly to the competent authority. You can also submit the request to the Point of Single Contact. The Point of Single Contact will help you and forward the application to the competent body that carries out the recognition procedure.
   
• Procedure for ethnic German repatriates
  As a Spätaussiedler, you can go through the recognition procedure either according to the law mentioned here or according to the Federal Expellees Act. You can decide for yourself. Your competent body will advise you on this.

• Information on the recognition of foreign professional qualifications on "Recognition in Germany"
• Information on the recognition of foreign professional qualifications on the BQ-Portal
• Financial assistance in the recognition procedure
• Information on the Point of Single Contact
• Points of Single Contact in Germany
• Publicly appointed translators in Germany
• Information on German knowledge in academic health professions

Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training

Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture