Recognition of a Romanian medical degree in Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg

You have your Romanian Doctor-Medic degree — or you are about to. And you are thinking about practising somewhere other than where you grew up. Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg are three natural destinations for a doctor trained in Romania: close by, well paid, with attractive health systems and a strong demand for doctors.

But each country has its own rules. Directive 2005/36/EC sets a common frame, and its application still varies. Switzerland, which is not in the EU, runs a different regime altogether.

Here is what you need to know, country by country, without shortcuts.

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Belgium: automatic recognition, quotas at the point of setting up

The principle: your degree is recognised

Belgium, an EU member state, applies Directive 2005/36/EC in full. The Romanian Doctor-Medic degree — listed in Annex V.1 — benefits from automatic recognition.

In practice that means the federal public health service (SPF Santé publique / FOD Volksgezondheid) is bound to recognise your degree as equivalent to the Belgian medical degree, without imposing an extra examination or an adaptation period.

Legal basis: the coordinated law of 10 May 2015 on the practice of the healthcare professions, which transposes Directive 2005/36/EC into Belgian law.

The three compulsory steps

Recognition on its own is not enough to practise. You go through three successive steps:

1. Professional accreditation (federal public health service). You lodge an application for recognition of your professional qualifications. Required: the original degree plus a sworn translation, detailed transcripts, identity document, criminal record extract.

2. Registration with the Order of Physicians. Once accredited, you must register with the Order (National Council — www.ordomedic.be). Registration is compulsory in order to practise lawfully.

3. The INAMI/RIZIV number. This is the key that lets you bill your work and have it reimbursed by Belgian social security. You obtain it from the national health and disability insurance institute.

Installation quotas: the real thing to watch

This is the Belgian specificity too many guides skip. Belgium applies quotas at the point of setting up in certain parts of the country. The Medical Supply Planning Commission sets an annual quota of INAMI numbers available by region and by specialty.

What that means for you: your degree can be perfectly recognised and you can still be refused an INAMI number if the quota is full in the area where you want to work. That is not a refusal of recognition — it is regulation of medical supply.

In practice, areas short of doctors (some rural municipalities in Wallonia, for instance) are far more accessible than saturated urban centres such as Brussels or Walloon Brabant.

Language requirements

⚠️ Some teaching hospitals require C1. And in Flanders, Dutch is checked strictly — without it, you do not practise.

Timelines

Allow 3 to 9 months for the whole procedure (accreditation + Order + INAMI number). The federal health service has four months to process an accreditation request from the filing of a complete application.

Special case: a degree obtained before 2007

If your training in Romania began before 1 January 2007 — the date Romania joined the EU — automatic recognition does not apply as of right. You can still rely on acquired rights if you can show effective and lawful practice for at least three consecutive years over the last five.

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Switzerland: recognition made easier, but not automatic

The legal frame: the bilateral agreements

Switzerland is not an EU member, but it signed the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP) with the European Union. That agreement brings Directive 2005/36/EC into Swiss law. The result: degrees awarded in an EU member state benefit from facilitated recognition — the Swiss term is “direct recognition”.

So your Romanian degree is recognised in Switzerland, but through a specific procedure rather than “automatically” as between EU member states.

MEBEKO: the deciding authority

MEBEKO (the Medical Professions Commission, attached to the Federal Office of Public Health in Bern) is the body responsible for recognising foreign medical degrees in Switzerland.

Documents for a MEBEKO file:

Application fee: around CHF 800 to 1,000.

Timelines: MEBEKO has been running significant backlogs since 2025. According to an H+ communiqué of August 2025, a simple acknowledgement of receipt can take up to three months, and full processing several months. Plan ahead.

After MEBEKO: MedReg and cantonal authorisation

Once recognition is granted, two further steps:

1. Registration in MedReg (the national register of medical professions, around CHF 120).
2. Cantonal authorisation to practise, issued by the canton where you intend to work. Each canton has its own procedure — check with the cantonal public health service.

Language requirement

Switzerland has three official languages for these purposes. You have to show B2 minimum in the language of the canton where you will practise:

• Geneva, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura, Fribourg: French
• Zurich, Bern, Basel, Lucerne: German
• Ticino: Italian

Special case: you are not an EU/EEA citizen

If you hold a Romanian degree but a non-EU nationality, direct recognition does not apply. You can attempt indirect recognition if you can show at least three years of clinical experience in an EU country over the last five. Without those three years, recognition is refused (Federal Administrative Court, judgment B-466/2023, upheld by the Federal Supreme Court on 2 September 2025).

Recommended strategy: work three years in Romania after graduating, then apply for indirect recognition. Your file will then be solid.

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Luxembourg: the most accessible of the three

The frame: automatic EU recognition

Luxembourg is an EU member: Directive 2005/36/EC applies in full. Your Romanian Doctor-Medic degree — Annex V.1 — is recognised automatically. It is the simplest of the three countries.

The procedure: Collège médical plus the Minister of Health

Authorisation to practise is issued by the Minister of Health, after a mandatory opinion from Luxembourg’s Collège médical.

Documents required:

• Application form (the model annexed to the grand-ducal regulation)
• Copy of the Doctor-Medic degree + translation where required
• Identity document (EU passport or ID card)
• Certificate of physical and mental health
• Criminal record extract or equivalent
• Evidence of language ability (French and/or German)

What the Collège médical does

The Collège médical does not merely check your paperwork. It calls you to an interview to verify:

• Your knowledge of Luxembourg’s health, social and ethical legislation
• Your language ability

The Collège’s opinion goes to the Minister, who takes the final decision. The procedure has to be completed within three months of a complete application.

Languages: a trilingual country

Luxembourg has three administrative languages: Luxembourgish, French and German. To practise medicine you need at least French or German (B2 minimum), and an undertaking to acquire the others. In practice French is more than enough in most institutions.

An attractive market, saturated in some specialties

Luxembourg offers attractive conditions: high pay, a multilingual patient base, modern facilities. But note: according to a 2025 Luxembourg Times piece, around 200 qualified doctors were looking for work in Luxembourg, with some specialties saturated in the centre of the country. Check demand in your specialty before you make plans.

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The three countries compared

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What Directive 2005/36/EC guarantees — and what it does not

In all three countries the directive (or the bilateral agreements, for Switzerland) guarantees recognition of your basic medical degree. It does not guarantee:

• A job. Recognition is a necessary condition, not a sufficient one. You still compete with local graduates.
• An INAMI number in Belgium if the quota is full.
• Automatic recognition of your specialty if it is not listed in Annex V.1.
• Language ability: proving that is on you.

Our advice: start the paperwork 6 to 12 months before the date you want to start practising. The procedures are long and surprises are common.

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FAQ: Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg

“Can I set up in Belgium straight after my Romanian degree?”

Yes, once you have federal accreditation, registration with the Order and an INAMI number. But check the INAMI quotas in your target area first.

“Does Switzerland recognise my Romanian degree unconditionally?”

With conditions. Recognition is “direct” if you are an EU citizen. But you still go through MEBEKO, prove your language level and obtain cantonal authorisation. It is not a rubber stamp.

“Is Luxembourg simpler than Belgium?”

On paper, yes: no quotas, shorter timelines. But the Luxembourg medical market is small and some specialties are saturated.

“Do I need Luxembourgish to practise in Luxembourg?”

No. French is enough. But knowing Luxembourgish helps with integration and with some patients.

“What if my Romanian degree predates 2007?”

In Belgium and Luxembourg you can invoke acquired rights if you can show three years of practice. In Switzerland indirect recognition is available on the same conditions. Take specialist legal advice if your case is complex.

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Going further

• Is a Romanian medical degree recognised back home?
• Your Romanian medical degree in the European Union: your rights
• Registering with the medical council after a Romanian degree
• Coming home to practise after medicine in Romania

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Last verified: July 2026 — Legal sources: Directive 2005/36/EC, Annex V.1; Belgian coordinated law of 10 May 2015; Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (Switzerland–EU); Luxembourg law of 29 April 1983 as amended; the official sites of the Belgian federal health service, MEBEKO-FOPH and Guichet.lu.

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