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Approbation granting veterinarian from third countries

Service Description

In order to be able to work as a veterinarian in Germany without restriction, you need the Approbation.

The Approbation is the state admission to the profession. The Approbation is necessary because the profession is regulated in Germany. This means that you are not allowed to work independently as a veterinarian without an Approbation.

The Approbation will be granted to you by the competent authority if your veterinary education is equivalent to the German education. The equivalence is checked in the recognition procedure. You must fulfill further requirements for the granting of the Approbation.

You can also obtain an Approbation in Germany with a professional qualification from a so-called third country. Third countries are all countries that do not belong to the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland.

If your professional qualification originates from the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, other regulations apply.

You can also submit the application for the procedure from abroad.

Process flow

Application

You submit an application for licensure as a veterinarian to the competent body. The competent body checks whether your training corresponds to the German training and all other requirements are met. Approbation can only be granted if your training from a third country is equivalent to the German training.

Examination of equivalence

The competent body compares your professional qualification from abroad with your German professional qualification as a veterinarian. 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 the license to practice as a veterinarian.

If the competent authority finds significant differences, you can compensate the differences by your professional practice and other knowledge and skills as a veterinarian. You must provide evidence of professional practice. Knowledge and skills must be certified by the competent authority of your country of origin. This certification is generally sufficient.

However, it may be that this knowledge is not sufficient. In this case, you will not be able to compensate for the substantial differences. Your foreign professional qualification will then not be recognized.

The competent body will inform you in writing about the essential differences and why you cannot compensate for the essential differences through your professional practice. The decision of the competent body also states the level of your training and the level required in Germany. You are then not allowed to work as a veterinarian. However, the competent authority offers you the opportunity to take a knowledge test.

Knowledge examination

If your professional qualification is not equivalent and you cannot compensate for the differences, you can take a knowledge examination. The knowledge examination is based on the final examination as a veterinarian in Germany. If you pass the knowledge examination, you will be granted a license to practice as a veterinarian. You must also meet the other requirements for this and prove your language skills.

Legal remedy

You can take legal action against the decision of the competent body. The decision will then be reviewed. Details 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.

Who should I contact?

Thuringian State Office for Consumer Protection

Department 2

Mr. Dr. Jürgen Ziegenfuß

Tennstedter Street 8/9

99947 Bad Langensalza

Telephone: 0361/573815200/-201

E-mail: Abteilung2@tlv.thueringen.de

Requirements

  • You have a professional qualification as a veterinarian from a third country.
  • You are suitable in health for the work as a veterinarian.
  • You are reliable and worthy for the work as a veterinarian and have no criminal record.
  • You have the necessary knowledge of German for the job. This is general language skills at level B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Which documents are required?

The responsible office will provide information about what documents you need to submit. Important documents are often:

  • Proof of identity (identity card or passport in officially certified copy)
  • a copy of your training certificate
  • Evidence of the content of your education:
  • List of subjects you have studied and hours of training you have completed.
  • certificate that you are allowed to work as a veterinarian in your country of training
  • Evidence of your relevant professional experience as a veterinarian
  • Criminal record extract or certificate of good conduct from your country of origin as proof of your worthiness and reliability (This proof must not be older than 3 months at the time of application).
  • Medical certificate of your health suitability (This certificate must not be older than 3 months at the time of application. The certificate 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.
  • Registration certificate or declaration that you intend to work where you are submitting the application.

The competent office will inform you which documents you have to submit as originals or copies.

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.

What are the fees?

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

At least EUR 190.00 up to a maximum of EUR 350.00.

Additional costs may arise (e.g. for translations or certifications). These costs vary individually.

What deadlines do I have to pay attention to?

None.

Sometimes documents are still missing in the procedure. The responsible office will then inform you by when you must submit the documents. The procedure may be prolonged as a result.

Processing duration

The competent body 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 4 months.

Legal basis

What else should I know?

  • Proof of language skills
    A prerequisite for the Approbation is general German language skills at the B2 level. You can also submit the required proof of language proficiency during the Approbation procedure.
  • Professional license
    In exceptional cases, you can also apply for a temporary professional permit if there is a special interest. This could be, for example, a temporary position at a veterinary university. With the professional permit you are in principle allowed to work as a veterinarian for 4 years even without a license. You have to prove language skills on the level B2. With the professional permit you are only allowed to work in a limited way. The professional permit is not a license to practice medicine.
  • Equivalency notice
    In the Approbation procedure, the equivalence of your training is examined (recognition procedure). You can apply for a separate decision on the result of the examination. You must have a legitimate interest in the separate notification.
  • Electronic application
    You can also submit your application electronically.
  • Procedure for late repatriates
    As a late repatriate, you can go through the recognition procedure either according to the law mentioned here or according to the Federal Expellees Act. You can decide this yourself. Your competent office will advise you on this.

Comments

All veterinarians who practice their profession in Thuringia or, if they do not practice their profession, have their habitual residence there, belong to the State Veterinary Chamber of Thuringia (with the exception of veterinarians working in the supervisory authority and veterinarians who practice the profession only temporarily and occasionally within the framework of service traffic according to European law). Every member of the chamber has to register with the State Veterinary Chamber and the responsible veterinary and food supervisory office within one month after starting the professional activity (§ 2 para. 2 Thuringian Health Professions Act).

Author

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.

Technically approved by

Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training

Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture

Professionally released on

26.04.2018

Source: Zuständigkeitsfinder Thüringen (Linie6PLus)

No competent authority found

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