From Sunday, Germany has a new route to recognition for foreign health professionals: doctors, dentists and pharmacists with qualifications from a non-EU country such as Ukraine should be able to sit the knowledge test (Kenntnisprüfung) straight away. The law speeding up recognition procedures takes effect on 1 November 2026.
The Bundestag passed it on 26 March, and the Bundesrat has approved it (Federal Government, report of 8 May). Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) said after the Bundestag vote that recognition procedures “must no longer be the bottleneck” – her German word was “Flaschenhals”. The ministry expects savings of about €16 million a year for citizens and administration.
What changes in practice?
Until now the process usually began with a document-based comparison of training. For doctors, dentists and pharmacists from non-EU countries, the new rules are:
- the direct knowledge test becomes the default; the document check (Gleichwertigkeitsprüfung) is offered only on request;
- the Länder may test language skills before assessing the professional qualification;
- midwives from non-EU countries can choose between the test and an adaptation course;
- documents can be submitted electronically, and in exceptional cases a doctor’s licence can be granted without a time limit.
The professional standards stay the same, according to the Federal Government. What is cut is time in the procedure, not quality at the end of it.
Where it could still stall
Whether the reform is felt will be decided in the Länder, which run the procedures. Exam dates and waiting times are likely to differ by region – that is our assessment, not a promise from the authorities. The German Medical Association (Bundesärztekammer) also cautions: its president Klaus Reinhardt said that “it now depends on the concrete implementation in the medical licensing regulations”, adding that “the federal government and the Länder must work together for more effective, nationally uniform administrative procedures”. The association considers language tests before the knowledge test essential.
The EU level shows how much time is at stake. In September the Commission proposed harmonising recognition of non-EU qualifications across the bloc. By its own assessment, a procedure takes 14 months on average and costs about €1,500; the aim is four months (as reported by IamExpat). For now that is only a proposal: no decision has been taken, and when it would reach Germany is unclear.
What you can do now
The law covers doctors, dentists, pharmacists and midwives. For nurses and other professions nothing fundamental changes; the competent body can be found with the Recognition Finder on the federal portal anerkennung-in-deutschland.de, which also lists advice centres.
If the cost is a problem: the Anerkennungszuschuss reimburses procedure costs of up to €600, and qualification measures can be funded with up to €3,000. You need to live in Germany; the grant is for employed people below an income limit and for unemployed people who receive no other funding, for example from the Jobcenter, and you must apply for the grant before applying for recognition – online at antrag.anerkennungszuschuss.de. Recognition costs can also be claimed as work-related expenses in your tax return.
One point for anyone on a Ukrainian residence permit: recognition is separate from residence law, and the two have to be settled separately. Our view: for well-qualified Ukrainian doctors the direct route could save months – provided the language test goes well and enough exam places exist. With moderate confidence, we expect bottlenecks to show up first in exam dates.
Sources: Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Government, Deutsches Ärzteblatt, Recognition in Germany (BIBB), IamExpat
