Slovenian Ministry of Health: Recognition, Exams and Fees
The Ministry of Health decides whether a health qualification from outside the EU can be recognised in Slovenia, and on what conditions. Here is how its procedure works under the 2025 law.
Overview
Slovenia's Ministry of Health (Ministrstvo za zdravje) is the competent authority for recognising professional qualifications in the regulated health professions when they were gained in a third country, meaning outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland.
Its legal basis is the Act on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications in Healthcare (ZPPKZD), adopted on 23 May 2025, which the Medical Chamber of Slovenia says has applied since 19 June 2025. The ministry's Health Workforce Division (Sektor za kadre v zdravstvu) handles the applications.
The ZPPKZD replaced the earlier act that covered only doctors, specialists and dentists. It now applies to every regulated health profession, including nurses, midwives and pharmacists, and also to people who completed only formal education in an EU or EEA country or Switzerland without the traineeship or professional exam that Slovenia requires. Applications started before the new law took effect are completed under the old rules.
This page is for internationally trained doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives and other health professionals, including those working in the Gulf, who want to know exactly what the ministry asks for and what it can decide. The country page covers permits and pay, and the Medical Chamber and Zbornica - Zveza pages cover registration and licensing after recognition.
The ministry rarely recognises a third-country qualification outright. The law tells the expert to propose at least the professional exam even where your education and traineeship match the Slovenian ones, and in most cases the outcome is a decision on supplementary conditions (sklep o določitvi dopolnilnih pogojev) with a deadline of up to three years. Only when you have met those conditions does the ministry issue the recognition decision (odločba o priznanju poklicne kvalifikacije).
The ministry also issues two kinds of short-term permit that sit outside full recognition: a permit of up to three months to perform demonstration procedures at the invitation of a public provider, and a permit of up to 12 months for an invited specialist doctor where a public provider cannot otherwise ensure continuous care. Both can be renewed and neither requires proof of Slovenian.
Official website: gov.si
Who it registers
- Recognition of professional qualifications for all regulated health professions gained in a third country (doctors, dentists, graduate nurses, graduate midwives, pharmacists, nursing technicians and others listed in the order on health professions).
- Recognition of specialist qualifications (doctor specialist, dentist specialist, specialist in medical biochemistry and other specialist titles) gained in a third country.
- The professional exam (strokovni izpit) for graduate health workers other than doctors and dentists, and entry in the register of health workers for those who pass it at the ministry after 19 June 2024.
- Permits for demonstration procedures (up to three months) and for invited specialist doctors (up to 12 months).
- A record of recognition decisions, from which anyone can obtain data except names and dates and places of birth.
- Notifications for occasional or temporary services by EU, EEA and Swiss professionals (administrative fee €4.50, as listed by Zbornica - Zveza).
Eligibility
- A professional qualification gained in a third country for independent practice of a regulated health profession, or formal education for such a profession completed anywhere abroad.
- Proof of formal education and of the content and course of the programme.
- Your traineeship programme and proof of a professional exam, if you completed them abroad.
- A certificate of good standing from the foreign authority, no more than three months old, showing you are registered and not subject to a ban on practice; required if you hold a full qualification abroad.
- A CV describing your work experience, plus any employer statements, training records and other evidence of competence.
- A written job offer from a Slovenian health provider, if you have one (optional, but it shifts costs to the employer).
- For specialist recognition: proof of the content and length of the specialist programme, including the length of each rotation, and completed formal education, traineeship and professional exam that the ministry accepts.
- Not eligible under the ZPPKZD: people whose third-country qualification has been recognised in an EU or EEA country or Switzerland and who have three years of experience in that profession in the EU country that recognised it. EU recognition rules apply to them instead.
How to apply
1. Prepare certified copies and Slovenian translations
Every document must be a certified copy of the original with a translation into Slovenian by a sworn court interpreter where the original is in another language. The ministry's application form (Vloga za priznanje PK ZPPKZD) is published on its service page. Start with the good standing certificate last, because it must be no more than three months old when you apply.2. Pay the administrative fee and send the application
Pay the €22.60 administrative fee to the Ministry of Health's account (IBAN SI56 01100-1000315637, reference 11 27111-7111002-16, SWIFT BSLJSI2X) and send everything by registered post to Ministrstvo za zdravje, Štefanova ulica 5, 1000 Ljubljana. A health provider can apply for you with a signed authorisation.3. Level check and expert opinion
The ministry can ask the Ministry of Education for an opinion on the level of your programme. If its officials cannot assess the programme, traineeship or exam themselves, it appoints an expert, who must give an opinion within 20 days of receiving the complete application. The expert compares content and length and must consider your work experience and additional knowledge.4. What the expert can propose
If your education and traineeship match, the expert still proposes the professional exam, in full or in part. If your education matches but your traineeship does not, a full or partial traineeship and the exam. If your education does not match, up to five supplementary exams plus traineeship and exam. Professions that can practise in Slovenia without a traineeship or exam can only be asked to take supplementary exams. If comparability cannot be reached, the opinion is negative.5. Decision on supplementary conditions
The ministry issues a decision setting the conditions and a deadline of no more than three years to complete them. If you have a job offer, it can add up to six months of training with that employer, taken once and continuously, after any supplementary exams and before the traineeship and exam. Missing the deadline leads to refusal, so plan your Slovenian lessons around it.6. Complete supplementary exams, traineeship and the professional exam
Supplementary exams are taken at a Slovenian institution that runs the accredited programme. The traineeship is done with your prospective employer if it is authorised to train, or at providers assigned to you. Graduate nurses and other level 6 professionals take the professional exam at the ministry; doctors and dentists take it at the Medical Chamber; pharmacists at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Ljubljana. You must prove Slovenian when you register for the exam.7. Recognition decision
Send proof that you met every condition within the deadline. The ministry then issues the recognition decision. With it you apply to the competent chamber, or to the ministry where it keeps the register, for registration and a licence.8. Specialists: adaptation period and aptitude test
For a specialist title, the ministry can set an adaptation period of up to eight months, extendable by four months to 12, an aptitude test, or both, and names the mentor and providers. The aptitude test is oral, with theoretical and practical parts, before a three-member committee that scores each topic from 1 to 10, with 6 needed to pass. You can sit it up to three times, and the committee can propose one further adaptation period of up to four months.
Exams and assessments
Supplementary exams (dopolnilni izpiti)
Up to five exams in specific subject areas, taken at a Slovenian education institution that runs the accredited programme. The number of attempts follows that institution's rules, and it issues a certificate when you pass.
Professional exam for graduate health workers (at the ministry)
Covers professional content of your field, selected topics in emergency medical care, basics of quality and safety in healthcare, and basics of the legal framework of health care. Exams run once a month except August and December; applications are due by the 20th of the month before. The full exam costs €200 and each individual part €50. Candidates trained abroad must enclose the decision allowing them to sit the exam and proof of Slovenian.
Professional exam for doctors and dentists (at the Medical Chamber)
The ministry lists the fees for doctors and dentists with a ZPPKZD decision as €300 for doctors (€200 for emergency medicine and €50 for each further part) and €250 for dentists. The exam itself is held at the Medical Chamber of Slovenia, Dunajska cesta 162, Ljubljana.
Aptitude test for specialists (preizkus strokovne usposobljenosti)
Oral, with a theoretical part followed by a practical part, before a committee chaired by the specialty coordinator or a specialist in your field with two senior mentors. If you fail the theoretical part, the whole test counts as failed. The record is sent to you and the ministry within five days.
Language requirements
- The ministry does not accept English tests. You must know Slovenian at the level set by the Health Services Act and the Medical Services Act.
- Doctors, dentists, pharmacists, graduate nurses and graduate midwives in direct contact with patients: C1, with writing at B2 (CEFR). The ministry says B2 is accepted for pharmacists, graduate nurses and graduate midwives until 31 December 2027.
- Other health professions: at least B2. Nursing technicians and nursing assistants can sit the professional exam with B1 in every part until 31 December 2027.
- Proof: secondary school (at least) completed in Slovenian in Slovenia, a certificate from the professional Slovenian test for health workers, or a certificate from a public higher education institution that examines Slovenian as a second or foreign language, such as the Centre for Slovene as a Second and Foreign Language at the University of Ljubljana.
- You prove Slovenian when you register for the professional exam or aptitude test; if you do not take either, the competent body checks it when you apply for registration.
- The ministry handles claims by public health institutions for the cost of a recruit's Slovenian course and test, up to €300 per candidate.
Fees
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Recognition application (administrative fee)Paid to the Ministry of Health before you apply. | €22.60Paid to the Ministry of Health before you apply. |
| Expert opinion, supplementary exams and aptitude testPaid by the employer if you enclosed a job offer, otherwise by you. The law says they cannot be higher than for people trained in Slovenia. | Set by the ministerPaid by the employer if you enclosed a job offer, otherwise by you. The law says they cannot be higher than for people trained in Slovenia. |
| Professional exam, graduate health workers€50 per individual part. The first attempt is paid by the employer where you did your traineeship. | €200€50 per individual part. The first attempt is paid by the employer where you did your traineeship. |
| Professional exam, doctors€200 for emergency medicine and €50 for each further part. | €300€200 for emergency medicine and €50 for each further part. |
| Professional exam, dentistsTwo clinical parts at €75 each and €50 for each further part. | €250Two clinical parts at €75 each and €50 for each further part. |
| Slovenian course and testIf a public health institution offered you the job; it can reclaim up to €300. Otherwise you pay. | Paid by a public employerIf a public health institution offered you the job; it can reclaim up to €300. Otherwise you pay. |
| Training and adaptation periodYou are employed and paid as a trainee, sekundarij or specialty trainee. | Paid by the employerYou are employed and paid as a trainee, sekundarij or specialty trainee. |
| Temporary services notification (EU, EEA, Swiss)Administrative fee, as listed by Zbornica - Zveza. | €4.50Administrative fee, as listed by Zbornica - Zveza. |
Timeline
- Expert opinion: within 20 days of the complete application, by law.
- Supplementary conditions: the ministry sets a deadline of no more than three years.
- Employer training: up to six months; specialist adaptation period up to eight months, extendable to 12.
- Aptitude test: within three months of finishing an adaptation period; resits can be booked within three months of a failure.
- Registration or licence after recognition: within 30 days of a complete application, by law.
- The ministry does not publish an average overall processing time.
Questions
The Ministry of Health, under the ZPPKZD. The Medical Chamber's own guidance points third-country doctors to the ministry and then registers them and issues a licence after recognition.
By registered post to the Ministry of Health, Štefanova ulica 5, 1000 Ljubljana, with certified copies, sworn translations into Slovenian and proof of the €22.60 fee. The ministry's Health Workforce Division can be reached on 01 478 69 00.
Almost certainly. The law tells the expert to propose at least the professional exam, in full or in part, even where your education and traineeship match the Slovenian requirements.
The ministry refuses the application. The deadline in the decision cannot be longer than three years, so the time you need to reach the required Slovenian level is the main risk.
If you enclosed a job offer, the employer pays the expert, supplementary exams and aptitude test. If you do not join that employer within 12 months through your own fault, you must repay them. Without a job offer you pay these costs yourself.
Yes. The ZPPKZD covers all regulated health professions, including graduate nurses. The ministry assesses the programme and usually requires supplementary conditions and the professional exam, after which you register and get a licence from Zbornica - Zveza.
Yes, in supervised posts. The law says you are employed as a trainee or sekundarij during the traineeship and employer training, and as a specialty trainee during an adaptation period or aptitude test, always under a mentor.
A public provider that cannot ensure continuous care can ask the ministry to let an invited specialist doctor work for up to 12 months, renewable. The provider needs three specialist opinions, proof of insurance and proof that it cannot cover the service otherwise.
Sources
- 1Uradni list RS: Zakon o priznavanju poklicnih kvalifikacij v zdravstveni dejavnosti (ZPPKZD)
- 2GOV.SI: Priznanje poklicne kvalifikacije iz tujine
- 3GOV.SI: Strokovni izpit za zdravstvene delavce in sodelavce
- 4GOV.SI: Ministry of Health services
- 5Zdravniška zbornica Slovenije: Priznanje poklicne kvalifikacije
- 6Zbornica - Zveza: Tujci, kvalifikacije iz tujine
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