Starting from 12th December 2020 new regulations are in force that allow physicians and dentists, among other medical professions, who obtained qualifications to practice in non-EU states, to practice in Poland under additional principles. Procedures on granting consent to practice in Poland in these professions are now simplified and significantly shortened.
A physician or dentist who obtained professional qualifications outside the EU and meets the following conditions:
- has a physician’s or dentist’s diploma confirming completion of at least 5-year studies,
- has full legal capacity (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be a statement hand-signed by the applicant),
- demonstrates an appropriate state of health (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be a relevant certificate from a physician authorized to conduct medical examinations of employees),
- demonstrates an impeccable ethical standing (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be a statement hand-signed by the applicant),
is able to apply for a consent from the Minister of Health to practice the profession of a physician or dentist in Poland and to apply to a regional medical authority for the conditional right to practice as a physician or dentist in connection with the announcement of state of the epidemic. Obtaining the consent of the Minister of Health will be the basis for visa application to perform work in the territory of the Republic of Poland.
A physician or dentist who has obtained the conditional right to practice in Poland will not be able to practice in Poland outside of a healthcare facility intended to provide health services to patients suffering from COVID-19 – unless they obtain additional consent from the Minister of Health. A physician will be obliged to work under the supervision of a tutor who is a physician with a 2nd degree specialization or has the title of specialist.
The conditional right to practice as a physician or dentist shall be valid for a period of 5 years from the date of issuance and shall expire in specified cases. It is not possible to extend this right for another period, nor to issue a new license to practice a profession on the same conditions after 5 years from the date of issuance. After this period, a physician or dentist will be able to practice in Poland having met the requirements specified in other regulations, i.e. only after the validation of the diploma or passing the Medical Verification Examination organized by the Medical Examinations Center in Łódź, completion or recognition of the postgraduate internship, passing the Final Medical Examination.
A physician or dentist who obtained professional qualifications outside the EU and meets the following conditions:
- has a physician’s or dentist’s diploma confirming completion of at least 5-year studies,
- has a diploma confirming obtaining the title of specialist,
- has full legal capacity (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be a statement hand-signed by the applicant),
- demonstrates an appropriate state of health (a document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be an appropriate certificate from a doctor authorized to conduct medical examinations of employees),
- demonstrates an impeccable ethical standing (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be a statement hand-signed by the applicant),
is able to apply for a consent from the Minister of Health to practice the profession of physician or dentist in Poland and to apply to regional medical authority for the conditional right to practice as a physician or dentist in connection with the announcement of state of the epidemic. Obtaining the consent of the Minister of Health will be the basis for visa application to perform work in the territory of the Republic of Poland.
A physician or dentist who has obtained the conditional right to practice in Poland for the first 3 months will practice the profession under supervision, they will not be able to practice in Poland outside a medical entity intended to provide health services to patients suffering from COVID-19 – unless they obtain an additional consent of the Minister of Health.
A conditional license to practice as a doctor or dentist shall be valid for a period of 5 years from the date of issuance and shall expire in specified cases. It will not be possible to extend this right for another period, nor to issue a new license to practice a profession on the same conditions after 5 years from the date of its issuance. After this period, a physician or dentist will be able to practice in Poland having met the requirements specified in other regulations, i.e. only after the validation of the diploma or passing the Medical Verification Examination organized by the Medical Examinations Center in Łódź, completion or recognition of the postgraduate internship, passing the Final Medical Examination.
In case a physician or dentist, who obtained professional qualifications outside the EU, additionally meets the following conditions:
- has submitted a declaration that their command of Polish language is sufficient to perform the scope of professional activities entrusted to them (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be a statement hand-signed by the applicant),
- has obtained a certificate from a healthcare entity in Poland containing a list of organizational units of the healthcare facility and the period of planned employment with an indication of the scope of professional activities consistent with the title of specialist in a specific field of medicine,
- has at least three years of professional experience as a specialist or dentist in a given field, obtained in the period of 5 years immediately preceding the obtaining of a certificate from a medical entity in Poland,
- has a diploma confirming the title of a specialist issued in a non-EU state,
- completed specialization training corresponding to the specialization training program in Poland (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be the specialization training program),
he or she is able to apply for a consent from the Minister of Health to practice the profession of a physician or dentist in Poland and for granting the right to practice as a physician or dentist for a specific scope of professional activities, period and place of employment in a medical entity from the regional medical authority. They will be obliged to work for a period of 1 year under the supervision of a tutor who is a physician with a 2nd degree specialization or has the title of specialist. Obtaining the consent of the Minister of Health will be the basis for visa application to perform work in the territory of the Republic of Poland.
The license to practice as a physician or dentist issued in this manner shall remain valid for a period not longer than 5 years from the date of its issuance and shall expire in specified cases. It will not be possible to extend this right for another period, nor to issue a new license to practice a profession on the same terms after 5 years from the date of its issuance. After this period, a physician or dentist will be able to practice in Poland only after the diploma is recognized or after passing the Medical Verification Examination organized by the Medical Examinations Center in Łódź, completing or recognizing the postgraduate internship, passing the Final Medical Examination.
When applying for permission to practice the profession of a physician or dentist, physician’s or dentist’s diploma and a diploma confirming obtaining the title of specialist or their duplicates should be properly authenticated and then legalized by the consul or affixed with an apostille by the relevant authority of the state in which these documents have been issued. The state that issued the documents is to decide on the applicable procedure. In the event of excessively difficult or impossible process of authenticating or legalizing of documents or obtaining an apostille, the Minister of Health will be able to release the applicant from this obligation.
The above-mentioned documents can be sent to the Ministry of Health (Department of Medical Personnel Development, Ministry of Health, ul. Miodowa 15, 00-952 Warsaw) or submitted directly to the Ministry of Health at the Registry Office, or to the consul, where the visa application will be submitted. One must ensure that the documents are complete, which will speed up the decision process. The list of required documents can be found on the website of the Ministry of Health. If a document needs to be authenticated and legalized by a consul or an apostille needs to be issued by a relevant authority, the state that issued the documents is to decide on the applicable procedure.