Applying for a temporary professional permit as a vet
As a vet with a foreign degree, you can work temporarily in Germany. You must apply for a permit for this.
The permit is issued with the following restrictions:
- It can be revoked at any time.
- It does not apply to governmental work (such as inspection of animals for slaughter and meat, official veterinary duties).
- This only applies to salaried employment (for example as an assistant in a veterinary practice, as an employee in an institute).
- It depends on having a valid residency permit.
- It is limited to the respective employment relationship (in case of employment as a practice assistant, the permit only applies to work in the relevant surgery).
- It is limited to a maximum of four years and can only be extended in exceptional cases under certain circumstances.
Responsible department
Office 35 of the Stuttgart Regional Council
Details
Prerequisite
The temporary licence can be issued if you possess a degree in veterinary medicine.
Procedure
The application for a temporary professional licence must be submitted to the competent body in writing. Your application must be signed by hand or contain a qualified electronic signature. The necessary forms are available for downloading, or you can obtain them from the competent body.
The competent body will inform you within four weeks as to whether your application is complete or whether you must submit additional documents.
You will receive a written notice concerning the temporary professional licence.
Deadlines
The temporary permit is limited to a maximum of four years.
It can be extended. This applies if you were unable to conclude a period of training for the profession of specialist vet which was started immediately following the issuing of the licence for reasons which were not your fault. The extension is possible for a maximum of three years.
A temporary licence can only be issued beyond this time if:
- The veterinary care would not be assured in other cases.
- You are incontestably recognised as being entitled to asylum.
- You possess a permanent residence permit (in accordance with § 23 Paragraph 2 of the German Residence Act - Aufenthaltsgesetz).
- You are married to a German citizen (in accordance with Article 116 of the German Constitution - Grundgesetz) or are in a civil partnership. He or she must be ordinarily resident in Germany.
- You are married to a citizen of an EU/EEA state or a Swiss national who works in Germany on an employed or self-employed basis.
- You possess an assurance of naturalisation, however there are obstacles to citizenship which you cannot deal with yourself.
Required documents
The following documents must be submitted as an original or certified copy:
- Application for the issuing of a temporary permit to work in the veterinary profession in accordance with § 11 of the German Veterinary Act (BTO)
- Certified copy of the certificate concerning completion of the final examination for veterinary students (proof of capability or education which provides an entitlement to take up the respective profession)
- Copy of ID document / passport / proof of identity
- If applicable, certified proof of recognition as an asylum seeker or recognition of ethnicity
- CV: up to date, in summarised form with detailed information without gaps relating to vocational training and career path
- Proof of future employment as a vet (for example employment contract)
- Proof of freedom from criminal convictions (certificate of good conduct issued by the police with category "O", not more than one month old) or certificate of good conduct issued by the police or corresponding certification (certificate of good conduct) from the home country.
- health certificate issued by a doctor stating that you are not unsuitable to practise as a vet due to health reasons
Note: Documents written in foreign languages must be translated into German. The translation must be undertaken by an officially certified document translator or officially certified interpreter. Diplomas, certificates of the veterinary science degree and proof of employment must be submitted as certified translations.
Costs
for the issuing of a temporary professional licence: 125 euros
Processing time
after receipt of all requested documents: usually one month, at most three to four months
Miscellaneous
A transcription of the permit is possible if
- your licence is limited to a specific employment relationship and
- you wish to change your place of employment.
It can be extended at the same time. You must apply for the transcription or extension at the competent body in good time.
Detailed information
Further information and notes as well as the necessary forms can be downloaded from the "Veterinarian" topic of the regional councils.
Release note
The German original version of this text was drafted in close cooperation with the relevant departments. The Ministerium für Ernährung, Ländlichen Raum und Verbraucherschutz released it on 20.07.2021. Only the German text is legally binding. The Federal State does not assume any liability for the translated texts.
In cases of doubt or if you have any questions or problems, please contact the relevant authorities directly.