• 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.
If you have the slightest doubt about a certain point or do not understand any information, ask at any time in the main group of our community “Facharzt JETZT” on Facebook and Telegram (groups will appear as a folder). We remind you that this article is a guidance article to help you understand things and you should not rely solely on it. You should always return to the official websites. 😊
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:
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. You do not need to read this article any longer 🥳 | In the Ukraine, but: There is nothing called an internship year in Ukraine 😨. Please continue reading this article. |
If you studied in Ukraine, then you are probably familiar with the stages from beginning medical school until becoming a specialist. For those who do not know them, we explained the steps in the following article:
So, if you finished medical school in Ukraine and cannot do an internship year in your home country, then you have two options:
• 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:
• The solutions:
• If you do not want to come to Germany without an internship year:
(1) If you are non-Ukrainian: You have two options
| Option 1 | Option 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. | 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.
Example: Real reply from a German authority regarding studying medicine again
vielen Dank für Ihre E-Mail. Ich berate Sie gerne. Bitte beachten Sie, dass wir für die Vollständigkeit und Richtigkeit der Informationen keine Gewähr übernehmen.
__________________
Allgemeine Informationen
Sie haben der Ukraine Medizin studiert. Aber Sie haben das Studium nicht vollständig abgeschlossen. Sie haben keine Internatur/Ordinatur machen können und Sie haben die letzte Prüfung am Ende der Internatur nicht gemacht. JETZT möchten Sie in Deutschland gerne Ärztin werden. Leider ist eine Anerkennung nur für vollständige Studienabschlüsse möglich. Sie können deshalb keine Anerkennung in Deutschland bekommen.
_________
Anrechnung Studienleistungen
Es gibt eine Alternative für Sie: Sie können Ihr Medizinstudium in Deutschland fertig studieren. Dafür müssen Sie Ihre ukrainischen Studienleistungen anrechnen lassen. Das bedeutet: Eine deutsche Behörde prüft Ihr ukrainisches Studium und vergleicht es mit dem deutschen Medizinstudium. Wenn Ihre Kurse auch in Deutschland zum Studium gehören, können Sie angerechnet werden. Das bedeutet, Sie müssen diese Kurse nicht wiederholen. Sie müssen dann nur noch Kurse studieren, die neu für Sie sind. Die Behörde “Landesprüfungsamt für Medizin, Psychotherapie und Pharmazie” entscheidet, welche Kurse angerechnet werden. Wenn Sie Glück haben, bekommen Sie sehr viele Kurse angerechnet. Dann müssen Sie vielleicht nur noch 1 oder 2 Semester in Deutschland studieren. Es ist aber auch möglich, dass nur wenige Kurse angerechnet werden. Dann müssen Sie vielleicht noch ein paar Jahre in Deutschland studieren. Das entscheidet das Landesprüfungsamt. Wenn Sie in Deutschland das Medizinstudium beenden, sind Sie automatisch Ärztin und dürfen in Deutschland arbeiten. Sie müssen dann keine Anerkennung mehr beantragen. Wenn Sie in Deutschland weiter studieren möchten, müssen Sie einen Antrag auf Anerkennung der Studienleistungen stellen. Im Anhang finden Sie das Antragsformular, eine Liste mit notwendigen Dokumenten und weitere Informationen. Bitte schicken Sie keine Originale von Ihre Dokumenten und Übersetzungen. Bitte schicken Sie nur (amtlich beglaubigte) Kopien. Amtlich beglaubigte Kopien bekommen Sie im Rathaus oder Bürgerbüro.
– 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?
• Is there hope for other solutions?
Many members write in our main Facebook group (>40 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
An employee requests you do a translation for your university certificate in Germany. Another employee accepts the exact documents translated outside of Germany presented to him by your colleague, who studied with you in the same university and in the same batch 🥲
• 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:
(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:
You can also join the following group 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)
now) all of the following groups:
Doctors in Germany الأطباء العرب والأجانب في ألمانيا Ärztinnen & Ärzte in Deutschland: 
Doctors for Switzerland: 
Doctors in Austria: 
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