Landesspital Liechtenstein Careers, Salaries & Jobs

The Landesspital Liechtenstein in Vaduz provides the basic hospital care (medizinische Grundversorgung) for the population of Liechtenstein on behalf of the Government.

Its history goes back to 1892, when a small sick ward and maternity unit opened in the Vaduz Bürgerheim. Since 1 January 2000 it has been an independent foundation under public law, and the Government adopted its owner strategy on 20 November 2012.

The hospital says it works with around 200 staff, 35 beds, a day clinic and two operating theatres. Its services are the emergency department, internal medicine, surgery, orthopaedics and traumatology, nursing, therapy, anaesthesia, radiology and laboratory, supported by specialist hospital doctors and visiting consultants (Belegärzte). It is a certified training employer and offers around 70 training places a year.

Liechtenstein's residents do not rely on the Landesspital alone. The hospital describes a 10-year comprehensive cooperation with the Kantonsspital Graubünden among more than 30 long-standing partners. Liechtenstein's consolidated law also includes a 1977 agreement, in force since 1 January 1978, under which the Canton of St. Gallen admits patients resident in Liechtenstein to the Kantonsspital St. Gallen and the cantonal hospitals in Grabs and Walenstadt on the same tariff terms as St. Gallen residents.

For an internationally trained professional, this is a small, German-speaking employer in a country where both licensing and immigration favour EEA and Swiss nationals. Read the requirements carefully before you apply: a residence permit for employment is granted only if no suitable worker can be found on the permit-free labour market, which includes cross-border commuters.

Founded

1892

Run by

Stiftung Liechtensteinisches Landesspital, an independent foundation under public law

Leadership

• Dr. med. Jochen Steinbrenner, Spitaldirektor
• Dr. med. Tomas V. Karajan, EMBA, Ärztlicher Direktor, Chefarzt Innere Medizin
• Nicole Schumacher, Bereichsleiterin Pflege, Mitglied der Spitalleitung

Switchboard

+423 235 44 11

• Emergency department

  An emergency department staffed around the clock; a new modular emergency unit opened in November 2014.

• Internal medicine

  Care for diseases of the internal organs such as the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys.

• Surgery

  General surgery, including minimally invasive techniques, in the hospital's two operating theatres.

• Orthopaedics and traumatology

  Care for the musculoskeletal system, including accident surgery.

• Nursing

  General and specialised nursing care, and the hospital's training of nursing professionals.

• Anaesthesia and radiology

  Interdisciplinary services including anaesthesia, radiology with MRI since 2009, and laboratory services in cooperation with partners.

• The Landesspital does not publish an international recruitment programme, relocation help or visa sponsorship offer, and it names no recruitment agency. Its careers pages and open positions are in German.
• It describes itself as a small hospital with a family atmosphere, flexible working models and a first-name ('Du') culture, and invites applicants to address the contact person in each advert by first name.
• The legal framework makes direct hiring from outside the EEA and Switzerland difficult. Under the Foreigners Act, a residence permit for employment needs an application by a Liechtenstein employer, is limited to managers, specialists and other qualified workers, and is granted only if no suitable worker can be found among Liechtenstein nationals, existing permit holders and EEA or Swiss cross-border commuters. The Government may also cap the number of permits.
• For someone trained outside Europe, the more realistic path is often indirect: recognition and experience in an EEA state or Switzerland first. The Act on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications treats a third-country diploma as equivalent if its holder has practised for three years in the EEA state that recognised it and that state certifies the experience.

• Licence to practise. Doctors need a licence (Berufsausübungsbewilligung) from the Office of Public Health (Amt für Gesundheit) under the Doctors Act and are entered in the Ärzteliste. Other health professions are licensed under the Health Act for practice in their own professional responsibility. Both laws make Liechtenstein, EEA or treaty-equivalent nationality a condition, with Government exceptions in justified cases.

• Recognition. EEA qualifications are recognised under Directive 2005/36/EC and Swiss qualifications under the EFTA Convention. Third-country diplomas are covered only in specific cases, for example when already recognised by an EEA state with three years of certified experience there.

• German. The Doctors Act requires sufficient knowledge of German, and the Health Act requires the language skills each profession needs. No CEFR level is set; ask the Amt für Gesundheit which certificate it accepts.

• Residence permit for employment. The employer applies; the post must be at least 80% of full time for a residence permit, pay must match local and sector norms, and cross-border commuting must not be a reasonable alternative. Fees include CHF 200 for a new residence permit issued by the Migration and Passport Office (APA).

• EEA and Swiss nationals with EEA or Swiss qualifications follow the standard recognition route and then apply for the licence with proof of German, good standing, health and insurance.

1. 1

   Check your eligibility for a licence

   Read the Doctors Act or Health Act requirements and contact the Amt für Gesundheit if your nationality or qualification is from outside the EEA and Switzerland.
2. 2

   Prepare proof of German

   Ask the Amt für Gesundheit which German certificate and level it accepts for your profession.
3. 3

   Find an open position

   Open positions are listed at landesspital.li/karriere/offene-stellen, with a named contact for each advert.
4. 4

   Apply to the contact person

   Send your application as the advert asks. The hospital encourages applicants to write to the contact by first name.
5. 5

   Licence and permit

   With an offer, apply for your licence to the Amt für Gesundheit; if you need a residence permit, the hospital as employer must apply and show that no suitable permit-free worker was found.