Work in Luxembourg as a foreign doctor, nurse or AHP (2026)
Luxembourg has one licensing ministry, small fees and a short list of conditions, but one rule changes everything for non-EU doctors: you need recognition in another EU country first.
Overview
Every regulated health professional in Luxembourg needs a licence to practise (autorisation d'exercer) from the Ministry of Health and Social Security (Ministère de la Santé et de la Sécurité sociale).
For doctors the licence costs €450 per licence and per title, and for nurses, midwives and the other regulated health professions €75 per licence and per profession. There is no Luxembourg licensing exam. Instead, the ministry checks your diploma, your good repute, your physical and mental health and your language skills.
The route depends on your profession. A doctor with a diploma from outside the EU cannot have it recognised directly in Luxembourg. Guichet.lu, the government portal, states that you must first obtain recognition of your qualifications in another EU member state, recognition that lets you practise there on an equal footing with holders of the EU-listed diplomas. Only then can you apply for a Luxembourg licence. Nurses, midwives and other health professionals with non-EU diplomas follow a different path: they apply to the Ministry of Research and Higher Education (MESR) for recognition of their professional qualifications, which can be direct or subject to compensation measures, and then apply for the licence.
This page is for professionals trained outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, including those working in the Gulf and UK graduates after Brexit. It covers both routes, the language rules, the documents the ministry asks for, the residence permits that apply to health workers and what is officially published about pay.
Two features catch people out. First, the licence and the MESR recognition both ask third-country nationals for a valid Luxembourg residence permit, so the order of steps needs planning with your employer. Second, the language rule is French or German at B2 unless one of them, or Luxembourgish, is your mother tongue. English does not satisfy the licensing requirement.
The health system
The Ministry of Health and Social Security issues licences to practise for doctors, dentists, pharmacists and the regulated health professions, keeps the professional register of doctors and the register of healthcare professions, and handles renewals and duplicates.
The Collège médical, the doctors' professional body, gives its opinion on doctors' licence applications, which takes between 3 weeks and 3 months once the file is complete. Doctors must also appear in the register it maintains, within one month of starting to practise.
The Ministry of Research and Higher Education (MESR) recognises professional qualifications for nurses, midwives and other health professions where the diploma is above secondary school level. The Ministry of Education, Children and Youth (MENEJ) does this for qualifications at or below secondary school graduation level.
The regulated health professions include nurses (with specialised titles for anaesthesia and intensive care, paediatrics, psychiatry and head nurse), midwives, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, dietitians, radiology, surgical and laboratory technicians, osteopaths, chiropodists, psychomotor therapists and nursing auxiliaries.
A licence lapses if you do not start practising in Luxembourg within 2 years of it being issued, or if you stop for more than 2 years. Health professionals who have not practised for at least 5 years must complete a reintegration training course before returning to work.
Doctors in Luxembourg practise as general practitioners or specialists. A basic medical diploma alone is not enough: you need either specific training in general medicine or a medical specialisation, as for the EU-listed diplomas.
Hospitals in Luxembourg
Regulators in Luxembourg
Also responsible here (no separate guide yet)
- Ministry of Research and Higher Education (Luxembourg)Recognition of professional qualifications for nurses, midwives and other health professions
- Collège médical (Luxembourg)Opinions on doctors' licence applications, certificates of good character, register of doctors
The route, step by step
1. Check which route applies to your profession
Doctors and dentists are licensed under the amended law of 29 April 1983 and need qualifications that meet EU standards. Nurses and the other health professions are licensed by the same ministry but go through recognition of professional qualifications first. Read the Guichet.lu page for your profession before you spend money on translations.2. Doctors: obtain recognition in another EU country first
With a non-EU medical diploma you must first be recognised in an EU member state in a way that lets you practise there on an equal footing with holders of the diplomas in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC, under the conditions of articles 24, 25 and 28 of the Luxembourg law of 28 October 2016. This can mean completing another EU country's own route for non-EU doctors before you apply here. Your application must include that recognition and your licence to practise in that country.3. Nurses and other professions: apply to the MESR for recognition
If your nursing or other health diploma is above secondary level, apply to the MESR online through MyGuichet.lu or by post, with a €75 fee per recognition and profession. Include your diplomas and transcripts, proof of experience, any EU recognition you hold, ID and, if you are not an EU, EEA or Swiss national, a copy of your Luxembourg residence permit. Documents not in German, French or English need a sworn translation.4. Complete any compensation measures
The MESR can grant direct recognition, require compensation measures, or refuse. Compensation measures, an aptitude test or an adaptation period or both, are set where it finds substantial differences between your training and the Luxembourg professional profile. The decision letter explains what you must do; recognition follows once you complete it.5. Prove your French or German
Unless your mother tongue is French, German or Luxembourgish, you need B2 in French or German. You can prove it with training certificates obtained in one of those languages or professional experience in a French or German-speaking country. Otherwise you need a B2 certificate from an approved centre; in Luxembourg that is the National Institute for Languages Luxembourg (INLL).6. Gather the licence documents
The ministry asks for a criminal record extract from your country of residence and a certificate of good physical and mental health from a licensed doctor, each no more than 3 months old, copies of your diplomas, your residence permit if you are a third-country national, and your language proof. Doctors also add a CV, their EU recognition and licence, and a certificate of good character from the Order of Physicians dated within 3 months. Translations into French, German or Luxembourgish must be by a sworn translator.7. Apply for the licence on MyGuichet.lu
Apply online, with or without a LuxTrust product or eID; authenticating lets you save a draft. The fee, €450 for doctors or €75 for other health professions, is paid by card at the end of the online procedure and is not refunded if the licence is refused or you withdraw. If you have already paid by bank transfer, send the application by post instead.8. Wait for the decision
For doctors, the ministry forwards the complete file to the Collège médical, which takes 3 weeks to 3 months to give its opinion. The decision is sent by post. A refused doctor can appeal to the administrative tribunal within one month; for the other health professions the appeal period is 3 months.9. Register and start within 2 years
Doctors must be entered in the ministry's professional register and the Collège médical's register within one month of starting to practise, and must hold civil liability insurance. Other health professionals appear in the register of healthcare professions and must keep their details up to date. Start practising within 2 years, or the licence lapses.
Language requirements
- English does not satisfy the licensing requirement. The Ministry of Health and Social Security requires the language skills needed to practise in Luxembourg, set at B2 in French or German.
- You are exempt from proving your level if your mother tongue is French, German or Luxembourgish.
- Otherwise you can show B2 by any means, for example training certificates obtained in French or German, or proof of professional experience in a French or German-speaking country.
- If you cannot, you must provide a B2 certificate from an approved examination centre. In Luxembourg the approved centre is the National Institute for Languages Luxembourg (INLL), with sites in Luxembourg City, Esch-sur-Alzette (Belval) and Mersch.
- For nurses and other health professions, Guichet.lu also says you must understand one of the three administrative languages of Luxembourg: German, French or Luxembourgish.
- Guichet.lu warns that your disciplinary, civil and criminal liability may be engaged if you make a mistake because of insufficient language skills.
Visas
Residence permit first
Guichet.lu states that a third-country national who wants to practise as a doctor or in a regulated health profession must hold a valid residence permit or international protection, and the MESR recognition file for nurses also asks for a copy of a Luxembourg residence permit. Plan the order of steps with your employer and the immigration directorate before you apply.
EU Blue Card (highly qualified worker)
The procedure has two steps: a long-stay visa (visa D) from a Luxembourg embassy or consulate (or a Belgian one where Luxembourg is not represented), then the residence permit. You need a work contract of at least 6 months with annual pay at or above the amount set by Grand-Ducal regulation, which Guichet.lu gives as €65,562 (the same page also cites €65,652), and you must meet the conditions for the regulated profession. The answer should come within 3 months at most.
Salaried worker permit
Your employer declares the vacancy to ADEM, the national employment agency. If no suitable candidate is proposed from the local labour market within 3 weeks, it can request a certificate allowing it to recruit the person of its choice. Your contract must pay at least the monthly social minimum wage in force.
Changing employer
The first salaried worker permit lasts up to 2 years, and you cannot change employer during the first 6 months except in cases of serious violation by the employer. After that, and for Blue Card holders, you notify the immigration directorate first; it has 30 days to object.
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens
You do not need a residence permit to work. Doctors with diplomas that conform to EU standards and appear in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC, and general care nurses and midwives with qualifications listed in Annex V, are exempt from the recognition procedure and apply directly for the licence.
Pay
We could not find an official government pay scale for hospital doctors or nurses in Luxembourg that we could confirm, so we do not quote one. Pay is set by employers. The government does publish the salary floors that apply to work permits, shown below. Check any offer against the collective agreement your employer applies.
| Role or band | Pay |
|---|---|
| EU Blue Card minimumAmount given by Guichet.lu as fixed by Grand-Ducal regulation; the same page also cites €65,652, so confirm before applying. | €65,562 gross a yearAmount given by Guichet.lu as fixed by Grand-Ducal regulation; the same page also cites €65,652, so confirm before applying. |
| Salaried worker permit minimumGuichet.lu requires at least the monthly social minimum wage; check the current amount with the ministry or your employer. | Social minimum wage in forceGuichet.lu requires at least the monthly social minimum wage; check the current amount with the ministry or your employer. |
| Hospital doctors and nurses | Set by employer and sector agreementNo national public pay scale confirmed from an official page. |
Key terms in Luxembourg
Questions
Not directly. Guichet.lu states that a doctor with a non-EU qualification must first obtain recognition in another EU member state that lets them practise there on an equal footing with EU-listed diplomas. With that recognition and licence, you can then apply in Luxembourg.
€450 per licence and per title for doctors, and €75 per licence and per profession for nurses and the other regulated health professions. For nurses, the MESR recognition costs a further €75. Fees are not refunded if the application is refused.
No national licensing exam is listed. For nurses and other professions, the MESR may require an aptitude test or adaptation period as compensation measures if it finds substantial differences in your training.
Not as a licensed health professional unless you also meet the language rule. You need B2 in French or German, unless French, German or Luxembourgish is your mother tongue.
Abroad, any B2 certificate that proves your level can be used; in Luxembourg, the approved centre is the INLL. You may not need a test at all if you trained in French or German or worked in a French or German-speaking country.
For doctors, the Collège médical takes 3 weeks to 3 months to give its opinion once the file is complete. Guichet.lu does not publish a processing time for nurses' licences or MESR recognition, and compensation measures add time.
Yes. Only general care nurses with qualifications listed in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC are exempt. Other nurses apply to the MESR for recognition of professional qualifications, then for the licence.
You can practise medicine without it. To use Dr, you must hold a doctoral degree recognised at level 8 of the Luxembourg qualifications framework and register it in the register of higher education qualifications.
The licence lapses if you do not start practising in Luxembourg within 2 years of it being issued. A lapsed licence can be renewed on request with fresh supporting documents.
Highly qualified workers use the EU Blue Card, with a salary threshold Guichet.lu gives as €65,562 a year. Others use the salaried worker permit after the employer completes the ADEM labour market procedure.
Sources
- 1Guichet.lu: General and specialist medical practitioners
- 2Guichet.lu: Regulated healthcare professions
- 3Guichet.lu: Recognition of foreign qualifications for a regulated profession (MESR)
- 4Guichet.lu: Professions with automatic recognition of diplomas (list 3)
- 5Guichet.lu: Titre de séjour carte bleue européenne
- 6Guichet.lu: Titre de séjour travailleur salarié
- 7Guichet.lu: Health sector
Keep exploring
Registering and working in Luxembourg