CBGV (Commissie Buitenlandse Gediplomeerden Volksgezondheid)

When you apply to work in a regulated health profession in the Netherlands with a foreign diploma, the decision is made on behalf of the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport. The CBGV is the commission that prepares the expert advice behind that decision. The BIG-register describes it as assessing whether your education, qualifications and any work experience are at the appropriate level.

The commission has about 165 members and substitutes, organised in profession-specific subcommittees of up to eight members each. It handles applications for professions under the Dutch Healthcare Professionals Act (Wet BIG), including EU recognition under the general system and certificates of competence for qualifications from outside the EEA.

Anyone with a foreign diploma applying to practise a profession covered by the Wet BIG. The BIG-register lists the professions that must be registered before working in the Netherlands: pharmacists, doctors, physiotherapists, dental hygienists, healthcare psychologists, clinical technologists, psychotherapists, physician assistants, dentists, midwives, nurses and generalist remedial educators.

Before your file reaches the commission, you need proof of Dutch at the level for your profession (B2+ for doctors, dentists and pharmacists, B2 for professions such as physiotherapy and midwifery, B1 for nursing at secondary vocational level), plus English reading skills for most professions. Language certificates must be no more than two years old.

The BIG-register says the commission compares the course you attended with the current Dutch course, and checks whether it is equivalent in content and level. Where there are differences, it examines whether they have been compensated by another course, training or work experience.

For doctors, dentists and nurses with non-EEA qualifications, the commission also uses the results of the BI-test. You may be invited to a meeting to discuss the results.

1. You apply online for a certificate of competence with proof of Dutch and English, and your documents.
2. Your diploma is assessed, and doctors, dentists and nurses take the BI-test.
3. The CBGV assesses your file: normally within six weeks of application if no BI-test is needed, or within 12 weeks of the BI-test result.
4. You receive an intended decision and have two weeks to respond.
5. The definitive decision follows. If you disagree, you have six weeks to lodge a formal objection.

The application and the CBGV assessment are free. The BIG-register estimates the whole procedure at six months to one and a half years.

• Positive: you receive a certificate of competence and can apply for BIG registration, which costs €85.
• Additional requirements: an extra course, practical training or professional skills trial. The BIG-register says this can take between three months and two years.
• Negative: your qualification is not recognised and you cannot legally practise that profession in the Netherlands.

For a profession-by-profession walkthrough, see our BI-test and BIG registration guide.