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Switzerland

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

Switzerland separates three things: what your diploma is worth (MEBEKO or the Swiss Red Cross), whether you may practise (your canton) and whether you may live and work there (cantonal migration office and SEM).

MEBEKOSRKCantonal health authorities

Overview

Switzerland is not in the EU, but it applies EU-style recognition to diplomas from EU and EFTA states through its free movement agreement. If your diploma comes from anywhere else, a third state in Swiss terms, it is generally not recognised.

For doctors, dentists and pharmacists, the federal Medical Professions Commission (MEBEKO) at the Federal Office of Public Health says plainly that a diploma from outside the EU or EFTA cannot in principle be recognised in Switzerland. What it can do is register a non-recognisable diploma in the medical professions register (MedReg), or admit you to the Swiss federal examination so that you can earn a Swiss federal diploma.

Nurses, midwives and most other health professionals go to the Swiss Red Cross (Schweizerisches Rotes Kreuz, SRK), which recognises foreign qualifications in nursing and many other health professions. The SRK starts with a free, compulsory online PreCheck and then decides within four months of a complete file whether to recognise your qualification directly or to require compensatory measures such as an adaptation course, additional training or an aptitude test.

This page is for professionals trained outside the EU and EFTA, including India, the Philippines, Nigeria, Pakistan, Kenya, the Gulf and the UK. British diplomas were covered by a transition period that ended on 31 December 2024; MEBEKO says recognition of British diplomas after that depends on an agreement between Switzerland and the UK.

The second gate is immigration, and for third-state nationals it is narrow. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) states that only a limited number of highly qualified workers are admitted, within annual quotas set by the Federal Council, and only if the employer proves that no suitable person could be found in Switzerland or the EU and EFTA.

Finally, Switzerland is federal. Each canton decides who may practise on its territory and under what conditions, and some set stricter language requirements than the federal minimum. A MEBEKO registration or an SRK recognition is a precondition, not a licence.

The health system

MEBEKO, the Medical Professions Commission at the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH, BAG in German), handles diplomas and postgraduate titles for the university medical professions: human medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine and chiropractic. Its decisions lead to an entry in MedReg and a Global Location Number (GLN).

Under article 33a of the Medical Professions Act (MedBG), anyone practising a university medical profession in Switzerland must be entered in MedReg and have the language skills needed for the work. Since 1 January 2018 all practising university medical professionals must be registered.

The Swiss Red Cross recognises foreign qualifications in nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, nutrition, radiography, biomedical analysis, dental hygiene, paramedic and emergency medical technician work, operating room technology, osteopathy, optometry, orthoptics, podiatry and other professions. Recognised professionals may also need an entry in the national registers GesReg or NAREG.

The cantonal health authorities grant licences to practise on your own professional responsibility and decide on work in public service or under professional supervision. Federal law only requires them to make independent practice conditional on a federal or recognised diploma and, for doctors, pharmacists and chiropractors, a federal or recognised postgraduate title.

Specialist training for doctors is governed by the Swiss Institute for Medical Education (SIWF). With a registered, non-recognised diploma you can start specialist training, but MEBEKO says you can only complete it with a federal or recognised diploma.

For other tertiary health professions not covered by MEBEKO or the SRK, the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) runs the national contact point for diploma recognition at recognition.swiss.

Hospitals in Switzerland

Careers, pay and how to apply at hospitals that hire internationally trained staff.

Regulators in Switzerland

Also responsible here (no separate guide yet)

  • Cantonal health authoritiesLicences to practise and permission to work under supervision in each canton

The route, step by step

  1. 1. Find the right body for your profession

    Doctors, dentists, pharmacists, vets and chiropractors go to MEBEKO. Nurses, midwives and most allied health professions go to the SRK. If you are unsure, the federal recognition.swiss platform tells you which institution is responsible for your profession.

  2. 2. Doctors: check whether your diploma can be registered

    MEBEKO registers a non-recognisable third-state diploma if it entitles you to practise under professional supervision in the issuing country and is based on university training that meets the minimum hours and years of theoretical and practical teaching. Applications are in German, French or Italian on MEBEKO's forms, with officially certified copies, not originals. The fee is between CHF 800 and CHF 1,200.

  3. 3. Doctors: plan your path to the federal diploma

    A registered diploma lets cantons allow you to work under supervision, but not to practise independently or finish specialist training. MEBEKO lists three ways to a federal diploma in human medicine: a Swiss master's degree and the federal exam; direct admission to the full federal exam after 36 months of clinical work in Switzerland; or, after 60 months, admission to the theoretical multiple-choice part only. The exam registration deadline is 31 March of the exam year.

  4. 4. Nurses: complete the SRK PreCheck

    The PreCheck at precheck.ch is compulsory and free. Once all documents are in, the SRK gives a result within a maximum of four weeks, telling you whether the PreCheck is positive or negative and what to do next. A current certificate of good standing is not needed at this stage.

  5. 5. Nurses: apply for recognition

    With a positive PreCheck, the SRK sends you the application documents by post. You collect the required documents, including a certificate of current professional status or letter of good standing no more than three months old, pay the fee and post the signed application to the SRK in Wabern. The procedure only starts when the file is complete and the invoice is paid.

  6. 6. Nurses: complete any compensatory measures

    The SRK makes a first decision within four months. If it finds that your training differs from the Swiss profile, it requires compensatory measures, which can be an adaptation course, an additional training course or an aptitude test. These are run and invoiced by separate providers and lengthen the procedure.

  7. 7. Prove your language at B2

    The SRK accepts German, French or Italian certificates at B2, which can be issued abroad. For MedReg, MEBEKO requires at least B2 in the relevant national language, shown by a certificate no more than six years old, training in that language, or three years of work in the profession in that language within the last ten years. Cantons and employers check language, and some cantons demand more.

  8. 8. Find an employer willing to apply for a permit

    For a third-state national, the employer must show that it could not recruit a suitable person from Switzerland or the EU and EFTA, register the vacancy with the regional employment centre (RAV) and advertise it on EURES, and offer pay and conditions customary for the region and sector. It submits the application to the cantonal employment or migration office.

  9. 9. Cantonal and federal approval

    The canton takes a preliminary decision and sends approved applications to SEM for final approval, for which the employer pays a fee. If you need a visa, SEM issues an authorisation to the Swiss representation abroad and you collect the visa there.

  10. 10. Arrive, register and get cantonal permission to work

    You must register with the authority at your place of residence within 14 days of arriving, and you can only start work after you have registered. Before your first shift, make sure the canton has approved your work in the profession, under supervision or independently, as its rules require.

Language requirements

  • English does not count for practice in Switzerland. Health professionals must speak the language of the canton where they work: German, French or Italian.
  • Doctors, dentists and pharmacists: article 33a MedBG requires the language skills needed for the work. A language entry in MedReg needs at least B2, proved by an official CEFR certificate no more than six years old that shows results for writing, reading, speaking and listening and names the test centre; by a medical degree or postgraduate training completed in that language; or by three years of work in the profession in that language within the last ten years.
  • MEBEKO says a language entry is not compulsory, but employers and cantonal authorities must check language skills, and some cantons are stricter than others. A language entry costs between CHF 50 and CHF 100 and can be requested with your registration or later.
  • Nurses and other SRK professions: the SRK accepts language certificates at B2 in German, French or Italian, and the certificate can be issued abroad.
  • Documents for MEBEKO may be in German, French, Italian or English, or translated into one of these by an official translator, but the application forms themselves are only in German, French and Italian.

Visas

  • Who can be admitted from a third state

    SEM states that non-EU and non-EFTA nationals may only work in Switzerland if they are highly qualified: managers, specialists or other skilled professionals, essentially with a university or higher education degree and several years of professional experience. For longer stays, professional and social adaptability, language skills and age are also weighed.

  • Priority for local and EU workers

    The employer must prove that, despite genuine efforts, no suitable person could be recruited from those with priority: Swiss nationals, C and B permit holders, F and S permit holders with the right to work, and EU and EFTA nationals. Vacancies must be registered with the RAV and advertised on EURES, and where unemployment in the profession is at or above five percent the job notification obligation also applies.

  • Annual quotas

    Admissions of third-state nationals are limited by maximum numbers that the Federal Council sets each year in the Ordinance on Admission, Period of Stay and Employment (ASEO).

  • Procedure

    The employer files the application with the cantonal employment or migration office, which takes a preliminary decision. SEM then reviews it against national criteria and issues the decision, charging a fee to the employer. If you need a visa, SEM authorises the Swiss representation abroad to issue it.

  • On arrival

    Register with the authority where you live within 14 days of entering Switzerland. You may only begin work after registering. Without a C permit, income tax is deducted at source by your employer.

  • EU and EFTA citizens

    You have easier access under the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. A doctor with an EU or EFTA diploma who is an EU or EFTA national, or married to one, can have the diploma recognised directly by MEBEKO; the SRK charges CHF 550 for nursing and midwifery qualifications listed in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC.

Pay

Switzerland has no national pay scale for doctors or nurses. Cantonal hospitals and other employers set pay under cantonal rules or collective agreements, which vary by canton. SEM requires that a third-state worker's salary and conditions match what is customary in the region, profession and sector, and the authorities check this when they assess a permit. We could not confirm a representative official figure, so we do not quote one: ask the employer which pay scale or agreement applies and compare offers within the same canton.

Role or bandPay
Doctors in cantonal hospitalsSet by cantonal or hospital pay rulesNo national scale; varies by canton and hospital.
NursesSet by employer or collective agreementSEM checks that pay is customary for the region and sector.
Minimum for a third-state permitCustomary local pay and conditionsRequired by SEM for every permit application.

Key terms in Switzerland

The permits, numbers and bodies you will meet on the way, each explained in plain English.

Questions

Not as a formal recognition. MEBEKO says diplomas from outside the EU and EFTA generally cannot be recognised. You can apply to have the diploma registered as non-recognisable in MedReg if it meets the minimum training requirements, or work towards the Swiss federal diploma.

The canton can allow you to work in public service or under professional supervision, and you can start specialist training. You cannot practise on your own professional responsibility or complete a Swiss specialist title until you hold a federal or recognised diploma.

Either complete a master's degree in medicine at a Swiss university, or show at least 36 months of full-time clinical work in Switzerland for direct admission to the full exam, or at least 60 months for admission to the theoretical multiple-choice part only. Apply to MEBEKO at least 6 to 8 weeks before the 31 March deadline.

MEBEKO gives approximate fees: CHF 800 to 1,200 to register a diploma, CHF 800 to 1,000 for indirect recognition or a request to acquire the federal diploma, and CHF 50 to 100 for each language entry. Payment is by bank transfer in one instalment.

MEBEKO currently quotes up to 5 months from the acknowledgement of receipt, which is sent by email within about 3 to 4 weeks of your file arriving. In late September 2026 it was planning to process registrations received from February to June 2026 in the fourth quarter.

CHF 930 if no compensatory measures are needed, or CHF 1,000 if they are, invoiced in two parts. Registration in GesReg or NAREG may add CHF 130, and compensatory measures are charged separately by their providers.

For doctors it can be. MEBEKO offers indirect recognition of a third-state diploma already recognised by an EU or EFTA state, but only if you or your spouse are Swiss, EU or EFTA nationals, you have full practice rights there, and you have at least three years of clinical experience within the last five years.

MEBEKO says direct recognition of British diplomas was possible until 31 December 2024 if you or your spouse are British or Swiss, with a primary qualification and certificate of experience. After that it depends on an agreement between Switzerland and the UK; without British or Swiss nationality, the diploma may be registered as non-recognisable.

You need the language of the canton where you work, German, French or Italian. The federal minimum for a MedReg language entry and for the SRK is B2, but cantons and employers can expect more.

It is possible but limited. SEM admits only highly qualified third-state workers within annual quotas, and only after the employer shows that no suitable candidate from Switzerland or the EU and EFTA was available.

Sources

Keep exploring

Registering and working in Switzerland