โข Introduction about where to apply for approbation
Step number six of the 10 steps for beginning a medical residency in Germany is to apply for a German permanent medical license (die Approbation).
In this article, we try to collect and summarize the advantages and disadvantages of applying for the German permanent medical license (Approbation) in each German state. You can find links to the websites of the 16 medical license authorities in each of the 16 German states here. In this article, we put direct links to the application forms for the Approbation and the required documents.
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 on 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. ๐
Where should I apply for the Approbation? ๐ญ๐ข
Hard question facing many foreign doctors wanting to come to Germany
The question: “Where should I apply for Approbation?” is a common question in all Facebook groups. We tried to make a summary of the differences between the German states. This is not an easy task because each state is different and writing about the topic depends only on what doctors post in the different groups on social networks about their experience.
Can you help us add information to the comparison tables in this article? Please write a short comment, JETZT (now) ๐
โข Abbreviations used in the table “Where to apply for Approbation”
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| State | Name of the German state in English (๐ฉ๐ช name in German) |
| General evaluation | 0: Very bad –> 10: Perfect. So, the higher the score, the better is it to apply for the Approbation there. |
| Proof | Is a proof of intention needed to apply for approbation? (In Bavaria, e. g. this is not needed) |
| B2 | Is a B2 certificate needed to apply? (In some states, like NRW, you can send your documents after the internship year without a language certificate and still can know that you will get Gleichwertigkeit or not) |
| BE | Berufserlaubnis (Temporary medical license) |
| FSP | Fachsprachenprรผfung (The Medical Language Exam) |
| KP | Kenntnisprรผfung (The Medical Knowledge Exam) |
| How hard is the exam or to get job with BE | ๐: easy ๐: normal ๐ข: hard ๐ญ: very hard |
| Processing time of documents (months) | How many months they need before they reply that you can do the FSP exam or that some documents are missing (Defizitbescheid ๐ฉ๐ช) |
| Time to FSP (months) | How many months do you need to wait until you can do your FSP exam |
โข Where to apply for approbation: Comparison tables
We need your help. Can you help us add more information to the table?
N.B. Because this table is large, you can see it best on a PC. But if you use a mobile phone, turn on the horizontal mode.
| State | Evaluation | Proof | B2 | Processing time | Time to FSP | FSP | KP | Job with BE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baden-Wรผrttemberg (BW) (๐ฉ๐ช same) | 1 | โ | many months | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ข, somehow, half salary often | ||
| 2 | Bavaria (๐ฉ๐ช Bayern) | 9 | โ | โ | ~1 | 1-2 | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ |
| 3 | Berlin (๐ฉ๐ช same) | 2 | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ญ | ||||
| 4 | Brandenburg (๐ฉ๐ช same) | 3 | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ||||
| 5 | Bremen (๐ฉ๐ช same) | 1 | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ข | ||||
| 6 | Hamburg (๐ฉ๐ช same) | 1 | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ญ | ||||
| 7 | Hesse (๐ฉ๐ช Hessen) | 1 | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ||||
| 8 | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (๐ฉ๐ช same) | 3 | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ||||
| 9 | Lower Saxony (๐ฉ๐ช Niedersachsen) | 9 | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ||||
| 10 | North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) (๐ฉ๐ช Nordrhein-Westfalen) | 7 | โ | โ | 3-4 | Dรผsseldorf: 4-5 Mรผnster: 2-3 | Dรผsseldorf: ๐ Mรผnster: ๐ญ | ๐ญ | ๐ |
| 11 | Rhineland-Palatinate (๐ฉ๐ช Rheinland-Pfalz) | 5 | โ | Some say: ๐ญ | ๐ | ๐ญ | |||
| 12 | Saarland (๐ฉ๐ช same) | 3 | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ญ | ||||
| 13 | Saxony (๐ฉ๐ช Sachsen) | 3 | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ||||
| 14 | Saxony-Anhalt (๐ฉ๐ช Sachsen-Anhalt) | 3 | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ||||
| 15 | Schleswig-Holstein (๐ฉ๐ช same) | 5 | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ||||
| 16 | Thuringia (๐ฉ๐ช Thรผringen) | 5 | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ |
โข Proof of intention to apply for Approbation
To apply for the Approbation, one needs a proof of intention:
๐ฉ๐ช Applying for the Approbation: The proof of intention
We list here which proof of intention accepts each state.
| State | Nothing needed | Hospitation | Anmeldung | Standortvermerk | Zusage | Others | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baden-Wรผrttemberg (BW) (๐ฉ๐ช same) | โ | “Strong” family connection | ||||
| 2 | Bavaria (๐ฉ๐ช Bayern) | โ ๐ | no need | no need | no need | no need | |
| 3 | Berlin (๐ฉ๐ช same) | โ
(or 5 refusals) | โ | โ | โ | ||
| 4 | Brandenburg (๐ฉ๐ช same) | โ | |||||
| 5 | Bremen (๐ฉ๐ช same) | โ | |||||
| 6 | Hamburg (๐ฉ๐ช same) | โ | |||||
| 7 | Hesse (๐ฉ๐ช Hessen) | โ | |||||
| 8 | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (๐ฉ๐ช same) | โ | โ | โ | โ | โ | |
| 9 | Lower Saxony (๐ฉ๐ช Niedersachsen) | โ | |||||
| 10 | North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) (๐ฉ๐ช Nordrhein-Westfalen) | โ | โ | โ | โ | ||
| 11 | Rhineland-Palatinate (๐ฉ๐ช Rheinland-Pfalz) | โ | โ | ||||
| 12 | Saarland (๐ฉ๐ช same) | โ | |||||
| 13 | Saxony (๐ฉ๐ช Sachsen) | โ | |||||
| 14 | Saxony-Anhalt (๐ฉ๐ช Sachsen-Anhalt) | โ | |||||
| 15 | Schleswig-Holstein (๐ฉ๐ช same) | โ | |||||
| 16 | Thuringia (๐ฉ๐ช Thรผringen) | โ ๐ | no need | no need | no need | no need |
โข Where to apply for Approbation: Advantages & disadvantages of each state
| State | Advantages ๐ | Disadvantages ๐ข | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baden-Wรผrttemberg (BW) (๐ฉ๐ช same) | โข Beautiful nature, warm weather โข 3rd populated state (>11 million) | โข Some say, a salary with BE lower than a normal salary โข Living costs are relatively high |
| 2 | Bavaria (๐ฉ๐ช Bayern) | โข Good weather, nature very beautiful, hiking paradise โข 2nd populated state (>13 million). Hence large number of hospitals. | โข High living costs โข Hard to find accommodation in large cities |
| 3 | Berlin (๐ฉ๐ช same) | โข Very hard to get accommodation and job | |
| 4 | Brandenburg (๐ฉ๐ช same) | โข Good alternative for those who want to live in or near Berlin | |
| 5 | Bremen (๐ฉ๐ช same) | โข Small state (around 0.5 million) | |
| 6 | Hamburg (๐ฉ๐ช same) | โข Hard to get accommodation and job | |
| 7 | Hesse (๐ฉ๐ช Hessen) | โข Center of Germany | |
| 8 | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (๐ฉ๐ช same) | โข Some coastal cities โข Weather not hot like in the south | |
| 9 | Lower Saxony (๐ฉ๐ช Niedersachsen) | โข Large state & many hospitals | โข Fourth populated state (>8 million) > Many hospitals, normal |
| 10 | North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) (๐ฉ๐ช Nordrhein-Westfalen) | โข Most populated state (>18 million) > largest number of hospitals โข Waiting times are short | โข Some wrote, if the doctor did “very bad” in the KP, then he will no longer be allowed to work with BE, but may re-take the KP โข The KP & FSP in Mรผnster are the hardest in Germany. In Dรผsseldorf there is a second test centrum for the FSP only & the exam there is normal. |
| 11 | Rhineland-Palatinate (๐ฉ๐ช Rheinland-Pfalz) | โข Many say it is hard to get a job there with BE | |
| 12 | Saarland (๐ฉ๐ช same) | โข Small state (1 million) and few hospitals | |
| 13 | Saxony (๐ฉ๐ช Sachsen) | โข Some areas are isolated in the most northern parts of Germany, but this could be an advantage if you want to live near Scandinavian countries | |
| 14 | Saxony-Anhalt (๐ฉ๐ช Sachsen-Anhalt) | โข Small state and few hospitals | |
| 15 | Schleswig-Holstein (๐ฉ๐ช same) | โข Some areas are isolated in the most northern parts of Germany, but this could be an advantage if you want to live near Scandinavian countries | |
| 16 | Thuringia (๐ฉ๐ช Thรผringen) |
โข Further readings about where to apply for approbation
โข A beautiful table from Wikipedia containing a comparison between all 16 German states: Link.
Want to learn more? Questions?
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Respected sir/ma’am,
I am MBBS doctor from India. I am currently doing B2 and I wanted to know about C1 FSP and KP courses and learning institutes in Hamburg, Germany. If you could suggest some , then would be a great help .
Thank you
Hi Akash, welcome to Facharzt JETZT ๐ Unfortunately, I have never lived in Hamburg, but in our main groups with more than 62 thousand members, probably, you can find an answer:
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Which state would be the best for me? I have my MBBS degree from Kyrgyzstan but permanent license and residency from home country Pakistan.
Bayern is good. But please read a lot. Ask so maany people as you can. You can ask in our main groups:
๐ฉ๐ช รrzte in Deutschland – ุงูุฃุทุจุงุก ุงูุนุฑุจ ูู ุฃูู ุงููุง – Doctors in Germany
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Hello, I have done my MBBS and MD ( anaesthesia) in India with 1+ year work experience after PG. I am considering between Lower Saxony and NRW states. Which would you suggest? also is it possible to register my post graduation after KP rather than joining for a residency course all over again?
Hi, work certificate is helpful: https://facharztJETZT.de/importance-of-work-certificates/
“also is it possible to register my post graduation after KP rather than joining for a residency course all over again?” I did not understand.
Hi there,
Nicely written article. I liked the comparison tables.
I am MBBS and MD General Medicine from India. I want to pursue Cardiology Training in Germany (likely Bavaria), could you tell me about the duration of cardiology training and if my internal medicine residency would be accepted as such without needing to repeat some or whole of it . Thank you very much.
Hallo Sir,
1. Durations of all medical specialties in Germany: https://facharztJETZT.de/durations/
2. Did not understand the second question.