European diplomas (Directive 2005/36/EC)
Non-European diplomas
European diplomas (Directive 2005/36/EC) - establishment
- European practitioners who wish to establish themselves permanently in Belgium and practice their healthcare profession must first apply for recognition of their qualification from one of the Communities.
- For Dutch-speaking applications, please contact the Departement Zorg.
- For French-speaking applications, please contact the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.
- For German-speaking applications, please contact the German-speaking Community.
- After recognition by the Communities, a visa application is automatically initiated at the FPS Public Health. You will be contacted to provide the following documents:
- Certificate of good conduct and morals
- Certificate of good professional conduct
- Proof of sufficient knowledge of one of the 3 national languages of Belgium, on the basis of 1 of the following documents:
- a diploma of secondary education from a Dutch-, French- or German-speaking educational institution
- a diploma of higher or university education from a Dutch-, French- or German-speaking educational institution
- a language certificate (no older than 4 years) that explicitly states 1 of the 4 levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages listed below:
- C1, except for the skill “writing,” for health care professionals whose basic diploma is of master's level. For the skill “writing,” the aforementioned health care professionals shall have a certificate of the level B2;
- B2 for healthcare professionals whose basic diploma is of bachelor level;
- B1 for healthcare professionals whose basic diploma is of a level lower than bachelor level, other than those referred to below;
- A2 for nurse assistants ("aide-soignant") and ambulance operators for non-urgent patient transport.
- The visa can only be delivered upon receipt of these 3 documents and will be sent to you by mail.
European diplomas (Directive 2005/36/EC) - temporary and occasional provision of services
- European practitioners established in another European member state who wish to practice their profession in Belgium on a temporary or occasional basis must request authorization from the FPS Public Health.
- The application is made using this form and should be sent to visa@health.fgov.be.
- Proof of sufficient language knowledge is also necessary for these applications
Non-European diplomas - establishment (Article 145)
- You do not have the nationality of one of the countries of the EEA or Switzerland
- You first apply for an equivalence of your foreign diploma with one of the Communities
- For Dutch-language applications, please contact NARIC Flanders.
- For French-speaking applications, please contact the Equivalence Service of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.
- For German-language dossiers, please contact the German-speaking Community
- As a physical therapist, nurse assistants (aide-soignants) or practitioner of a paramedical profession, you must also be able to submit an recognition. You can apply for recognition at one of the Communities, at the following services:
- For Dutch-language applications, please contact the Departement Zorg.
- For French-speaking applications, please contact the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.
- For German-speaking applications, please contact the German-speaking Community.
- Then apply for your visa using this form
Limited clinical training in Belgium for physicians (Article 146)
- You are a foreign physician with a non-European diploma
- You are not normally authorized to practice in Belgium
- You may, under certain conditions, be authorized to practice certain activities as part of specialized training for up to 2 years
- You follow this procedure