Yes, medical license is mandatory for residency to make the degree of foreign graduates equivalent to German Medical Degree which German graduates gets right after their Graduation.

Non-EU Medical graduates should pass the permanent license exam called “Kenntnisprüfung” for recognition of their degrees and practicing in German.

Germany is composed of 16 independently governed states, where the laws differ from state to state. The temporary work permit is called "Berufserlaubnis" which allows to work in any Hospital inside the territory of the same state until Approbation. Duration of work permit is maximum 2 years.

As mentioned above, except some states, according to overall German legislation, to acquire medical license diploma recognition exam (Kenntnisprüfung ) is compulsory.

You must first get temporary work permit and work in one of clinics in Germany. It is necessary to be able to take the exam. After preparing your documents, you must apply to sit for the exam in a state where you work and reside.

Exam is usually taken on three major subjects in all states, students cannot choose subjects. Internal medicine and surgery subjects are a fixed part of the exam in all states and cannot be changed.

Exams are usually easy to pass. Taking into consideration that students are foreigners and speak German at B2 level, they will be given a chance. Although the exam asks questions on three different subjects, most of the questions are related to intended residency area. For example, if you want to choose ophtalmology as a residency area, you will be mainly asked from internal diseases subject, head and eye diseases and from general surgery subject about operations on mentioned organs.

If you fail to pass the exam, you will have two more chances. You would not be able get physician license in Germany any more if you fail in the third time.

The foreign doctor has to prove that he has the same knowledge that is required by local graduates from medical universities. The focus of the examination has been on the subjects of internal medicine and surgery. The questions should also take the following aspects into account: emergency medicine, clinical pharmacology / pharmacotherapy, imaging procedures, radiation protection, and legal questions relating to medical practice. In addition, the competent authority can determine a subject or a cross-sectional area as relevant for the exam in advance of the examination, in which it has identified significant differences between medical training in Germany and the training of the applicant.

The Kenntnissprüfung is an oral-practical test with patient presentation and takes between 60 and 90 minutes. It can be repeated a maximum of two times. The applicant must be offered an appointment for the knowledge test within six months of the decision. Unfortunately, this period is often exceeded.

The fees for the Kenntnissprüfung vary between the individual federal states. They range from € 350 in Schleswig-Holstein to € 1,100 in Hesse or Rhineland-Palatinate.

Since the fees can change at any time, it is strongly recommended that you inquire with the responsible authority about the current examination fees.

The competent body will first check your degree here: Is your degree in human medicine / dentistry / pharmacy equivalent to a corresponding German degree? The criteria are: Are there significant differences between the content of German and foreign training? Can differences be compensated by professional experience?

The technical and content comparison is based on the essential characteristics of German training. The comparison is based on the teaching events of the respective license and their content. It is also checked whether subjects and their contents may have been taught as components of other subjects. It is therefore necessary to submit a detailed study book. If this is not available in a translated form, the equivalence of your training cannot be determined.

In order to check the equivalence, an external expert or the expert opinion for health professions at the central office for foreign education is used.

If all other requirements are met, such as if you have sufficient knowledge of German, you will be granted a license to practice- Approbation.

In this case, the main differences will be notified. You can then take an exam- Kenntnissprüfung.

If your degree is not equivalent and you have a degree from one of the other member states of the European Union or from another state party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or Switzerland, you must take an aptitude test that is limited to the essential differences.

This also applies if you have proof of education that was issued in a third country and that another member state of the European Union or another signatory to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or Switzerland has recognized. If your degree is not equivalent and you have a degree from a so-called third country, you must take a knowledge test that relates to the entire content of the state final examination.

In these cases, the competent authority can first issue a temporary license.

(Approbation) and consists of an introductory day, a 4-week self-learning phase and a 10-week training phase.

Duration: 3 months / 200 units

Target group: International doctors with German language skills at B2 level who want to prepare optimally for their knowledge test.

Levels: C1 according to GER

Contents: The training begins with an introduction to learning with "Amboss", followed by a 4-week self-learning phase.

In the subsequent 10-week face-to-face training with doctors as lecturers, we teach specialist terminology, oral / written communication and case studies with practical exercises in the following areas:

• Internal Medicine
• Intensive care and emergency medicine
• Surgery
• Orthopedics examination
• Medical history and physical examination
• Imaging procedures
• Patient Presentation
• Clinical pharmacology/toxicology
• Radiology, nuclear medicine, radiation protection
• Medical law

Requirements: B2 certificate and medical degree.

• ID / Passport.
• Evidence of the recognition procedure (Defizitbescheid).