Work in Slovakia as a foreign doctor, nurse or AHP (2026)

• SUDVCentre for the Recognition of Diplomas (Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth)

  Recognition of non-EU qualifications for doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, midwives and other health professions

  How to register with the SUDV

1. 1

   1. Confirm your profession and its Slovak name

   Find your profession in the national database of regulated professions on the Centre's portal, because the application must name the Slovak regulated profession (for example lekár for a doctor or sestra for a nurse). If your profession is not in the database, it is not regulated. The Centre warns that paediatrics graduates must apply as lekár, not as paediatricians, or processing is delayed.
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   2. Apply for recognition of your formal qualification

   Apply to the Centre for the Recognition of Diplomas by post, in person or through slovensko.sk if you have an electronic ID. You need a copy of your identity document, a certified copy of your diploma, a certified copy of your transcript or diploma supplement, an official Slovak translation and the fee: €140 on paper or €90 online for health professions. An apostille or superlegalisation is not required at submission, but may be requested during the procedure.
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   3. Receive the decision on your formal qualification

   The Centre checks that your school is state-recognised and that your training meets the formal requirements of Government Regulation No. 296/2010. Its stated processing time for third-country health qualifications is 2 months from a complete application. A positive decision lets you register for the supplementary exam and start a temporary traineeship.
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   4. Consider the temporary professional traineeship

   With the recognition decision, you can work for a health care provider in an employment relationship under the supervision of a qualified colleague in your profession for up to 18 months, without interruption, at one provider, and only once. You give the employer a copy of your ID and decision, proof of medical fitness, a declaration of good character and a declaration that you know Slovak or English well enough for the work. The employer must notify the Ministry of Health.
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   5. Register for the supplementary exam

   Apply directly to the school or university that holds the exam for your profession, at least 30 days before the date, not to the Centre. Doctors and dentists sit it at the Faculty of Medicine of the Slovak Medical University in Bratislava, which charges €500. Nurses with a bachelor's degree, midwives and several allied professions sit it at the university's Faculty of Nursing and Health Professional Studies; nurses trained at higher vocational level sit it at the secondary health school in Trnava.
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   6. Pass the exam in Slovak

   The exam has a written part on professional knowledge and Slovak health law, and an oral part that, depending on the profession, can include a practical test in simulated conditions. Only candidates who pass the written part go on to the oral. For doctors it covers internal medicine, surgery, paediatrics, and gynaecology and obstetrics, and the faculty publishes question lists and reading lists.
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   7. Apply for recognition of your professional qualification

   Send the Centre your application with a certified copy of the supplementary exam report. Its processing time for this step is 1 month. The resulting decision recognises your professional qualification for the independent practice of your profession in Slovakia.
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   8. Register with your chamber and settle the language question

   Doctors register with the Slovak Medical Chamber (registration fee €13) and nurses and midwives with the Slovak Chamber of Nurses and Midwives (€13), within 15 days of starting work. Under section 34b of Act No. 578/2004, passing the supplementary exam counts as proof of Slovak; otherwise you need a Ministry of Health language decision. Doctors with a foreign specialisation then apply to the Ministry of Health to have it recognised.
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   9. Secure the job, permit and residence

   Your employer reports the vacancy to the labour office and applies for a confirmation that the vacancy can be filled; many doctor and nurse roles are on the regional shortage lists, which removes the labour market test. You then apply for temporary residence for employment, or for an EU Blue Card if you meet the salary and contract conditions.

• Slovakia does not use IELTS or OET for registration. The language that matters is Slovak, and the supplementary exam for third-country health professionals is held only in Slovak.
• Under section 31(4) of Act No. 578/2004, knowing the state language to the extent necessary for your profession is a condition of practising. The Ministry of Health verifies it under section 45(1)(ak) of Act No. 576/2004.
• Section 34b of Act No. 578/2004 lists what counts as proof: a school-leaving exam (maturita) or state language exam in Slovak or Czech, a passed supplementary exam under section 18a of Act No. 422/2015, a qualification gained in a programme taught in Slovak, status as a Slovak living abroad, or a Ministry of Health decision after it assesses your own evidence or tests you.
• The Ministry of Health's own verification has a written part (a test including dictation) and an oral part (reading a professional text aloud, retelling it and a discussion). You apply with a copy of your recognition decision. The Ministry does not publish a CEFR level or a fee for this test.
• For the temporary traineeship, you give the employer a declaration that you know Slovak or English well enough for the work. English is therefore enough to start supervised work, but not to pass the exam or practise independently.
• The Slovak Medical Chamber asks foreign doctors whose qualification was recognised to provide the Ministry of Health's language decision when registering, unless they passed a maturita or state language exam in Slovak or Czech. Check with the chamber how it applies the supplementary exam exemption to your case.

• Temporary residence for employment with a vacancy confirmation

  The Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family describes this as the most used route. Your employer reports the vacancy to the labour office at least 20 working days before applying for a confirmation that it can be filled; the office then decides within 15 working days. You have 180 days from the confirmation to apply for temporary residence, which is granted for the length of the job, up to 2 years, and can be renewed.

• Shortage occupations: no labour market test

  If the job is on the current list of occupations with a labour shortage in that region, and third-country nationals make up no more than 45% of the employer's staff, the labour office does not test the local market. The list for the third quarter of 2026 for the Bratislava region includes doctors without a specialisation, several specialist doctors, nurses without a specialisation and midwives. Lists are published per region every quarter.

• EU Blue Card

  For highly qualified jobs that need a higher education degree. The gross monthly salary must be at least 1.2 times the average monthly wage in the Slovak economy for the previous calendar year (a lower multiple applies to recent graduates), and the contract must last at least 6 months. For a regulated profession, the employer attaches your recognition decision. The labour office decides within 15 working days, you then have 90 days to apply, and the Blue Card is granted for up to 5 years.

• Where you apply

  Applications for temporary residence are handled by the foreign police (Border and Foreign Police) of the Ministry of the Interior, where you book an appointment through its online booking system, or at a Slovak embassy abroad. An administrative fee applies; check the current amount with the office where you apply.

• Reporting your stay

  The Ministry of Labour says every foreigner must report the start, place and expected length of their stay to the foreign police within three working days of entering Slovakia. If you stay in a hotel or other accommodation, the accommodation provider does this.

• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

  You do not need a work permit. If you hold a doctor, nurse, dentist, midwife or pharmacist qualification listed under the EU directive, recognition by the Centre takes up to 3 months and no supplementary exam is required. You still register with the chamber and must know Slovak to the necessary extent.

In Slovakia the minimum basic monthly pay of health workers employed full time by inpatient hospitals is set by Act No. 578/2004 as a multiple of the average monthly wage in the Slovak economy, as published by the Statistical Office for the year two years earlier (so 2026 pay uses the 2024 average). The amounts are updated every 1 January. Allowances, on-call pay and overtime are paid on top, and employers can pay more. To turn a multiple into euros, multiply it by the Statistical Office's average wage for the reference year.