Third-country qualification

Germany's recognition portal defines a third country (Drittstaat) as any country outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland. A third-country qualification is one obtained there, whatever your nationality. The distinction matters because Directive 2005/36/EC, which gives automatic recognition to doctors, nurses and other sectoral professions, is built around qualifications obtained in member states.

Two separate questions decide your route: where you trained and what passport you hold. The European Commission says the directive does not apply to third-country nationals, except those with equal treatment rights such as family members of EU citizens, long-term residents and EU Blue Card holders. Even then, a degree from outside the EU is still a third-country qualification.

• National rules first. Article 2(2) lets each member state recognise third-country qualifications under its own rules. For doctors, nurses and other sectoral professions, that first recognition must respect the EU minimum training conditions.
• The three-year rule. Under Article 3(3), once a member state has recognised your qualification and you have three years of professional experience there, certified by that state, the qualification counts as EU evidence of qualifications. You can then use the general system in other member states, though the host country may decide which compensation measure applies.

• Germany: an equivalence assessment in the Anerkennungsverfahren; doctors then sit the Kenntnisprüfung if gaps are found, while nurses choose a Kenntnisprüfung or an adaptation course.
• Spain: homologación by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
• Austria, Czechia and Poland: nostrification by a university, then licensing steps.
• Netherlands: the BIG foreign diploma procedure with a CBGV assessment; see our BI-test guide.
• Ireland: the regulators assess non-EU training, and NMBI can set compensation measures; see our NMBI guide.

In September 2026 the European Commission proposed a directive on the qualifications of third-country nationals. It says these procedures take 14 months on average and that common standards would bring them to 4 months. It also proposes automatic recognition, for seven professions with EU-wide training standards, of qualifications from accredited institutions outside the EU reviewed by European quality assurance bodies. These are proposals and do not yet apply. The Commission has also issued a Recommendation asking member states to simplify and speed up recognition for third-country nationals.

1. Decide which country you are aiming for, because each runs its own procedure, fees and language requirement, and recognition in one does not carry over until the three-year rule applies.
2. Gather your diploma, transcript with hours, proof of registration at home and evidence of experience, since experience can reduce the gaps an authority finds.
3. Start learning the language early, because language requirements apply in every country and can take many months to meet.
4. Expect verification by documents rather than through EU systems such as IMI, which links only EU and EEA authorities.