Approbation Erteilung Tierarzt oder Tierärztin aus EU/EWR/Schweiz

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 country of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland.

A professional qualification from these countries is usually automatically recognized when you apply for Approbation. However, there may be deviations from this rule.

It depends on the state in which you completed your training and at what time. If you started your professional training after the EU/EEA accession of your training state, your professional qualification is automatically recognized. Then the recognition procedure is shortened.

If your professional qualification is not from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, it cannot be automatically recognized. Other regulations apply.

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

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:
• A list of the subjects you have studied and the hours of training you have completed
• Proof of your relevant professional experience as a veterinarian
• Criminal record excerpt 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.

The competent authority 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.

• You have a professional qualification as a veterinarian from the EU, the EEA or Switzerland.
• You are suitable in health for the 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. This is general language skills at level B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

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 90 EUR up to a maximum of EUR 240

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

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.

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 examination of equivalence.

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 from the competent authority of your training state stating 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 provide evidence 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 to you by the competent authority in your country of origin. This confirmation is generally sufficient.

Examination of equivalence

If you cannot present a certificate of conformity or do not have enough professional experience, your training must be checked individually. The competent body will compare 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 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 recognized.

The competent authority 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 body offers you to take an aptitude test.

Qualifying examination

If your professional qualification is not equivalent, you can take an aptitude test. The aptitude test examines the main differences between your professional qualifications. If you pass the qualifying 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.

Appeal

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.

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.

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.

• 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.
  
• Freedom to provide services
  If you only want to work temporarily and occasionally as a self-employed service provider in Germany, you do not need an Approbation. However, special requirements then apply. You must report your work to the responsible office before you start working. After a certain period of time, you must report the activity again. The competent office will inform you in detail about the procedure.
  
• 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. The application can be submitted directly to the responsible office. You can also submit the application to the Single Point of Contact. The Single Point of Contact will assist you and forward the application to the competent body that will carry out the recognition procedure.
  
• 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.

• Partial access to the profession

If the applicant cannot be granted an approbation or permission to temporarily practice the veterinary profession, the competent authority will examine whether the practice of certain veterinary activities can be approved under the conditions of § 15b of the Federal Veterinary Medical Regulations. In this case, the authority will contact the applicant.

You can appeal against the decision on your application or against a decision not made in due time in accordance with the Administrative Court Code (objection, if necessary action before the Administrative Court).

• To work as a veterinarian in Germany, you need a state license (Approbation).
• With an Approbation, one may work as a veterinarian without restriction.
• Even with a professional qualification from the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, one can obtain the license to practice in Germany.
• It is important where and when you acquired your professional qualification.

Thuringian State Office for Consumer Protection
Department 2
Mr. Dr. Jürgen Ziegenfuß

Tennstedter Street 8/9
99947 Bad Langensalza

Phone: 0361/573815200/-201
E-Mail: Abteilung2@tlv.thueringen.de