Ukrainian medical graduates without an internship year: Possible solutions

Ukrainische Ärzte in Deutschland - Українські лікарі в Німеччині - Ukrainian Doctors in Germany - الأطباء خريجو أوكرانيا في ألمانيا

• Introduction

No one knows exactly what the correct pathway is for medical graduates from Ukraine without an internship year. However, it seems that these graduates do not have any chance without the possible solutions mentioned below. We try to summarize in this article what we found and what might be the current situation.

Before being able to fully work as a medical doctor in Germany = get a permanent German medical license (🇩🇪 die Approbation), all medical doctors who want to work in Germany, regardless of where they studied medicine and regardless of what nationality they have:

MUST do an internship year (🇩🇪 das Praktische Jahr)

For more details, please read first the following article:

🇩🇪 For medical doctors: The internship year (🇩🇪 das Praktische Jahr – PJ) is a must to be able to work in Germany. 100% sure! No exceptions!

So if you read the above article, you now know that you should try your best to do your internship year either in:

Your home country
(if you are non-Ukrainian)
You can then come to Germany and apply for a German permanent medical license (🇩🇪 die Approbation). See the 10 steps for the application in this article. This applies above all to Jordanian and Palestinian doctors. There are also many doctors from other nationalities who did the same and their . internship year was recognized. BUT this seems to be recognized not in all states. North Rhine-Westphalia and
Lower Saxony (Nierdersachsen) seem to accept that.

Nonetheless, there are reports that the internship years of some doctors (like Syrians) are not recognized from their home countries. So, please continues reading.
In Ukraine, but:
There is nothing called an internship year in Ukraine 😨. Please continue reading this article.

💡 Non-Ukrainians doing an internship year in their home countries: Some say, this not be recognized. Nonetheless, I know at least 10 Jordanian and Palestinian doctors who did their internship year in their home countries, got it recognized, and even got the Gleichwertigkeit!

Facharzt JETZT!

So, if you finished medical school in Ukraine and you cannot finish an internship year, then you have the following solutions:

The solutions for not having done an internship year in Ukraine:

• If you do not want to come to Germany without an internship year:

(1) If you are non-Ukrainian: You have two options

Option 1Option 2
Do an internship year and get a permanent medical license in your home country. Then come here to Germany and normally apply for a German permanent medical license (🇩🇪 die Approbation). The steps are here: Link.
Again, some doctors from certain countries might not get this recognized. For sure, Jordanian and Palestinian doctors could do that. Still always the case?
See the next point, because this is similar to what Ukrainian nationals can do

(2) If you are Ukrainian: You have only one option

Get a specialist level in Ukraine. But as we understood from many comments in our Facebook group for graduates from Ukraine, this needs to be done in the Ukrainian language and needs at least 1.5 years.

When you apply in Germany:

– You will probably need only a German medical language exam (🇩🇪 die Fachsprachenprüfung) and then you will get the permanent medical license (🇩🇪 die Approbation) 🥳🥳🥳 In case your qualifications were not fully recognized, then you need a medical knowledge exam (🇩🇪 die Kenntnisprüfung).
– You will be most probably recognized as a specialist.

• If you still want to come to Germany without an internship year

– Solution 1: Apply to study medicine again in a German medical faculty

Ask for recognition of your medical studies. You will probably need to repeat 1 to 2 years of medical school. Of course, after that, you need to do an internship year in Germany and do all the required exams for medical students and graduates in Germany.

Article: “🇩🇪 Stages to become a medical doctor and specialist in Germany

Example: Real reply from a German authority regarding studying medicine again

– Solution 2: Apply for a medical license in Austria

They do not require an internship year, but there is a “not easy” exam in 12 medical subjects. If you fail 3 of these 12 subjects, you must repeat the exam, but first in one year. If you succeed, then you get an Austrian permanent medical license. After working in Austria for three years in full-time, you can “probably” get a German permanent medical license (🇩🇪 die Approbation) 🥳🥳🥳. But the working conditions in Austria are probably good, so why change the country again?

• Not possible: Doing an internship year in Germany

Some suggested in the past that Ukrainian graduates can apply to do an internship year in Germany. But it is not clear for how many months if it would be paid, and most importantly if you need to do an internship year exam at the end of it. It seems that this option is no longer logical. If you still want to try your luck and apply, you can use this form:

“🇺🇦 For medical graduates from Ukraine: Application form for an internship year (🇩🇪 Praktisches Jahr)

Is there hope for other solutions?

Some members write in our main Facebook group (>64 thousand members) and other Facebook groups that:

The 16 medical license authorities in Germany ( die Approbationsbehörden) will most likely make exceptions for graduates from Ukraine 😊

Unfortunately, there are 16 authorities and each one has its own rules. Even in the same authority, some employees might reject certain things, even though other employees in the same authority accepted them.

Example: How some employees might decide contrary things

What can I do until I find a solution?

(1) Internship year in your country

If you can do an internship year in your home country without exams, why not to do it?

(2) Learn German

Investing time in learning German to reach at least C1 level. This is essential for exams, job interviews, and later on to excel in your work as a doctor.

This article contains tips on how to improve your CV:

🇩🇪 Improving CV before and after coming to Germany

(3) Keep up-to-date

Follow up on the latest news for the medical license in groups for doctors. Unfortunately, Germany is full of exceptions, and when a legal gap or a lenient authority is discovered regarding the issue of equivalency for Ukrainian graduates, you can submit your papers there quickly. Because when the news spread about it, applications might be stopped, or what commonly happens, the waiting period increases due to the huge number of applicants.

Are there groups to communicate and exchange experiences for graduates from Ukraine?

You can follow all matters related to working as a doctor in Germany for graduates from Ukraine in this group for Ukrainian medical graduates on Facebook and Telegram.

Ukrainische Ärzte in Deutschland – Українські лікарі в Німеччині Germany


You can also join the our main group with more than 65 thousand members and publish your questions:

Ärzte in Deutschland – الأطباء العرب في ألمانيا – Doctors in Germany

• Is there a specific authority to contact?

There are 16 medical license authorities in Germany. Try to contact the one in your German state, and we hope that they will answer you quickly. Unfortunately, their answers might sometimes need weeks.

• Further readings

• Same article in Arabic: 🇺🇦 سنة الامتياز لخريجي أوكرانيا في ألمانيا: بدونها لا مزاولة طب! أكيد جداً. البدائل؟

Want to learn more? Questions?
Join JETZT (🇺🇸 now) all of our groups & ask what you like
(On mobile phone: The links are at the end of this page/ On PC: On the right side)

Write a comment