Doctor (physician): degree recognition in Germany
🔴 Without recognition you may not work in this profession.
This profession is regulated: access is decided not by an employer but by a competent authority — the one in your federal state. The yardstick is § 9 BQFG: your qualification counts as equivalent if there are no substantial differences from the German training.
The Approbation is not a formality but the licence to practise medicine. § 3 (1) BÄO sets the bar in numbers: medical study of at least 5,500 hours over at least six years, of which eight to twelve months are practical training. Those from the EU present a listed qualification and are largely through. Those from third countries face the equivalence assessment — and very often end up at the Kenntnisprüfung.
Who decides
State licensing authority (Approbation) of your Land
What to do
- Apply to the Approbation authority of the federal state where you intend to work — it is not a federal body, and changing state in practice means a new procedure.
- Apply for the Berufserlaubnis in parallel: it permits medical work under supervision before the Approbation arrives. Doing this only after the decision costs months of salary and practice.
- Where substantial differences exist under § 9 BQFG: the Kenntnisprüfung — an examination at the level of the German state exam, broad in scope.
- Treat language separately: § 3 (1) no. 5 BÄO requires the German needed to practise, and the states test this additionally in a professional-language examination.
Where people get stuck
The Kenntnisprüfung fails disproportionately often not on medicine but on professional language: taking a history, explaining risks, writing a discharge letter. Postponing the language course until after the exam reverses the order.
If you still need to immigrate
For a visa or the Blue Card a recognised or comparable higher-education degree is enough (§ 18 (3) no. 2 AufenthG) — in practice anabin H+ or a ZAB statement. For the Blue Card the ZAB issues the statement in two weeks instead of three months.
Frequently asked
Can I work as a doctor before the Approbation?
Yes — with the Berufserlaubnis. It is time-limited, tied to a post and to supervision, but it gets you into the hospital and onto a salary while the procedure runs. It is applied for separately and is not assessed automatically.
Does an Approbation from one federal state apply nationwide?
Once granted, it applies nationwide. But the procedure is run by the authority of the state where you intend to work, so file where the job is.
My studies were shorter than six years — is that the end?
No, but it becomes the point of examination: § 3 (1) no. 4 BÄO names six years and 5,500 hours as the German benchmark. Missing time or content counts as a substantial difference and is closed by the examination, not by a second degree.
📖 Legal basis: § 3 Bundesärzteordnung (BÄO)
📘 General guide: how recognition works →