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    • Foreign Diploma

    (Nederlandstalige Versie)

    (Version française)

    Registration of doctors with foreign diplomas on the List of the Belgian Order of Physicians – article 2 CDM (Code of Medical Deontology)

    The procedure for obtaining the authorisation to practise medicine in Belgium varies according to the origin of the diploma and the nationality of the holder.

    For more information, check the following public websites:

    1. Procedure for doctors holding a diploma obtained in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland

    The following information concerns diplomas (basic medical training and specialist medical training) filling the conditions for application of European Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications (articles 24, 25 and annex 5 of Directive 2005/36/EC).

    1. 1. Permanent practice in Belgium (establishment)

    A doctor holding a diploma obtained in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland seeking the authorisation for permanent practice in Belgium is required to have the following documents in order to be registered on the List of the Belgian Order of Physicians.

    a. Recognition of professional qualifications: to be requested from one of the Communities (article 104 of the coordinated law of May 2015 related to the practice of healthcare professions).

    For any inquiry related to the submission or compilation of your file, the following authorities need to be contacted:

    Below are the links to their contact details.

    b. The visa constitutes the "authorisation to practise" (article 104 of the coordinated law of 10 May 2015 related to the practice of healthcare professions and article 10, paragraph 1, of the law of 22 April 2019 related to the quality of healthcare practice).

    It is mandatory to have a visa to practise medicine in Belgium as a doctor. It is issued by the FPS Public Health, Food chain safety and Environment (visa@health.belgium.be).

    Once the doctor has obtained recognition of his diploma by a Community, the FPS Public Health automatically sends him their visa (he does not need to submit an application).

    c. Registration on the List of the Belgian Order of Physicians (article 2, paragraph 2 of Royal Decree no. 79 of 10 November 1967 related to the Order of Physicians and article 21bis of the Royal Decree regulating the organization and functioning of the councils of the Order of Physicians).

    Registration is requested from the competent provincial council of the Order of Physicians in the place where the doctor intends to establish their medical domicile, i.e. the place where they will perform their main activities. Contact details for the provincial councils of the Order of Physicians can be found in the following link: https://www.ordomedic.be/fr/conseils-provinciaux/les-conseils-provinciaux/.

    The application for registration on the List of the Order must be submitted along with the following documents:

    • Recognition of the basic diploma by one of the Communities;
    • The visa issued by the FPS Public Health;
    • A statement indicating the country or countries in which the doctor has practised his profession and the place where he will perform his main activities;
    • An extract from the judicial record or, if no such, an equivalent document no older than three months and issued by the competent authority in the country of origin or provenance;
    • if the doctor has already practised medicine in the country of origin or provenance or in another country, a document no older than three months, issued by the competent authority in this country (National Order of Physicians or association with similar powers) certifying that they have not incurred any disciplinary sanctions or a document including a list of professional or administrative measures or sanctions taken against them, as well as criminal sanctions, relating to the practice of the profession. This original certificate from the disciplinary authority must cover the entire period from obtaining the basic diploma to the application for registration. If the doctor has practised in several foreign states, he must produce a certificate of good repute from the competent authority in each of these states for the period during which he practised there.

    Please note that any doctor with basic medical training seeking to start a specialisation in Belgium must be registered on the Order of Physicians.

    The registration procedure can be initiated directly with the provincial council or via https://ordomedic.be/fr/registre.


    d. Recognition of specialist training

    Simultaneously when applying for recognition of the basic diploma (see point 1.1. a.) or after obtaining the authorisation to practise and registration on the List of the Order of Physicians, the doctor applies for recognition of his specialist training from the Community which recognised his basic diploma.

    1.2. Temporary and occasional practice

    The temporary and occasional service arrangement may be requested for a single service, for example the practice of medicine in Belgium for the duration of a sporting competition.

    This arrangement can be made for doctors who are legally established in a member country (which is part of the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland) where they practise their profession, and who come to practise temporarily and occasionally on Belgian territory (article 107 of the aforementioned law of 10 May 2015 and Title II, freedom to provide services, of Directive 2005/36/ of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications).

    The procedures for the recipient of this arrangement must be undertaken with the FPS Public Health, Safety of the Food Chain and Environment. Details can be found at the following link: https://www.health.belgium.be/fr/formulaire-prestation-de-service-eu. Applications must be sent to visa@health.fgov.be.

    The temporary and occasional nature of the arrangement is assessed on a case-by-case basis by the Directorate-General for Healthcare, in particular according to the duration of the arrangement, its frequency, periodicity and continuity. The doctor concerned may apply for a renewal of his temporary visa before it expires or submit a new application at a later date to perform a temporary and occasional activity.

    Once this visa has been issued, the doctor is automatically registered on the List of the Order. To that end, the doctor is required to contact the provincial council of the place where they will be performing their main activities. Contact details for the provincial councils of the Order of Physicians can be found at the following link: https://www.ordomedic.be/fr/conseils-provinciaux/les-conseils-provinciaux/.

    2. Procedure for doctors holding a diploma obtained neither in the EEA nor in Switzerland

    A doctor who holds a diploma obtained neither in the European Economic Area (EEA) nor in Switzerland and seeking to practise medicine in Belgium is required to have the following documents in order to be registered on the List of the Order.

    a. The equivalence of the basic diploma must be requested from one of the Communities (article 104 of the coordinated law of May 2015 related to the practice of healthcare professions).

    For any inquiry related to the submission or compilation of your file, the following authorities need to be contacted:

    Below are the links to their contact details.

    b. CONCERNING ONLY doctors of nationalities other than EEA + Switzerland: the authorisation to practise (article 145 of the law of May 2015 related to the practice of healthcare professions)

    After obtaining a certificate of equivalence from one of the ministries of the different Communities, the doctor must submit an application for authorisation to practise the profession to the Minister of Public Health, who will seek advice from the Higher Council of Specialist Doctors and General Practitioners. If the minister's decision is positive, the doctor is issued the authorisation to practise medicine in Belgium by Royal Decree.

    The application form with the list of documents that need to be submitted is available on the website https://www.health.belgium.be/fr/e-services/visa-pour-un-diplome-etranger. The bundle can be sent to the FPS Public Health by e-mail to visa@health.fgov.be.

    c. The visa constitutes the “authorisation to practise”. It is mandatory to have a visa to practise medicine in Belgium as a doctor. It is issued by the FPS Public Health, Food chain safety and Environment (visa@health.belgium.be).

    It is issued after obtaining equivalence of the diploma by a Community when the doctor is a national of a country belonging to the European Economic Area.

    It is issued after obtaining equivalence of the diploma by a Community and the Royal Decree granting authorisation to practise the profession, when the doctor is not a national of a country belonging to the European Economic Area.

    The contact information of the competent services can be contacted at: visa@health.fgov.be.

    d. Registration on the List of the Belgian Order of Physicians (article 2, paragraph 2 of Royal Decree no. 79 of 10 November 1967 related to the Order of Physicians and article 21bis of the Royal Decree regulating the organization and functioning of the councils of the Order of Physicians).

    Registration is requested from the provincial council of the Order of Physicians in the place where the doctor intends to establish their medical domicile, i.e. the place where they will perform their main activities.

    The application for registration on the List of the Order must be submitted along with the following documents:

    - the Government Decree declaring the foreign basic diploma as equivalent;

    - if the doctor is not a national of a member state of the EEA + Switzerland: the Royal Decree authorising the practice of medicine (see point 2.b ) ;

    - the visa for the medical diploma recognised as equivalent, issued by the FPS Public Health;

    - a statement indicating the place where the doctor will perform his main activities;

    - a certificate of good conduct or, if no such, an equivalent document not older than three months and issued by the competent authority of the country of origin or provenance;

    - if the doctor has already practised medicine in the country of origin or provenance or in another country, a document no older than three months, issued by the competent authority in this country (National Order of Physicians or association with similar powers) certifying that they have not incurred any disciplinary sanctions or a document including a list of professional or administrative measures or sanctions taken against them, as well as criminal sanctions, relating to the practice of the profession. This original certificate from the disciplinary authority must cover the entire period from obtaining the basic diploma to the application for registration. If the doctor has practised in several foreign states, he must produce a certificate of good repute from the competent authority in each of these states for the period during which he practised there.

    Contact details of the Order of Physicians are available at the following link: https://www.ordomedic.be/fr/conseils-provinciaux/les-conseils-provinciaux/.

    e. Valuation of specialist training

    A doctor who has trained as a specialist in a country that is not part of the EEA and is not Switzerland must, after on the one hand obtaining the equivalence of his basic training and the authorisation to practise, and on the other hand being registered on the List of the Order, submit an application to the competent accreditation commission of one of the Communities for the valuation of his specialisation. The commission will decide whether or not to grant the accreditation, or whether the candidate must complete their training (and for how long) in order to obtain the accreditation.

    If the decision is positive, a Ministerial Decree will be issued entitling the doctor to use the title of specialist doctor in Belgium.

    Please note that doctors with basic medical training seeking to start a specialised training in Belgium are required to be registered on the List of the Order of Physicians.

    3. Training in Belgium of doctors from non-EU countries as part of medical and scientific cooperation with non-EU countries (article 146 of the coordinated law of May 2015 related to the practice of healthcare professions)

    Under the conditions that it defines, article 146 of the aforementioned coordinated law of 10 May 2015 authorises the King to grant special dispensations to doctors who are not authorised to practise the medical art in Belgium so that they can practise certain acts of healing in order to acquire limited clinical training in Belgium.

    Special dispensations for the practice of certain acts in the art of healing granted by Royal Decree are conditional and limited to those acts that are likely to enable the specific training in question to be acquired.

    The doctor who is granted such dispensations may not, under any circumstances, practise under their own responsibility. The training authorised by these dispensations takes place in or under the coordination and supervision of a university hospital or a university department designated by the King, under the direction and supervision of a training supervisor approved by the competent Minister of Public Health. The training supervisor in question must be affiliated as an autonomous academic collaborator to a faculty of medicine offering a complete study programme. Only one doctor may be trained on the basis of this article 146 with the training supervisor in this training department.

    Their activities may not be taken into consideration for the performance of services causing an intervention referred to in the law relating to compulsory health care insurance and allowances coordinated on 14 July 1994.

    The training periods are only valid in the context of the application of article 146 of the law of 10 May 2015 relating to the practice of healthcare professions and may under no circumstances be taken into consideration with a view to obtaining recognition of a training plan or accreditation as a specialist doctor, in accordance with the provisions of the Royal Decree of 21 April 1983 defining the procedures for the accreditation of specialist doctors and general practitioners.

    In order to follow limited clinical training in Belgium, an application must be made to the Minister of Public Health, who will seek advice from the Higher Council of Specialist Doctors and General Practitioners. If the decision is positive, the doctor will be granted special dispensations by Royal Decree to perform certain activities relating to the art of healing, subject to certain conditions.

    For further information and contact details for the relevant authorities, see the section Authorisation for a (temporary) internship/fellowship – foreign doctors on the website https://www.health.belgium.be/fr/e-services/visa-pour-un-diplome-etranger.

    The recipient of this training must register to the relevant provincial council of the Order of Physicians and forward to it:

    - the Royal Decree authorising the conditional and supervised practice of certain acts of healing essential to the acquisition of knowledge in a speciality, issued by the FPS Public Health

    - the temporary visa issued by the FPS Public Health

    - an extract from the criminal record, if no such an equivalent document, not more than three months old and issued by the competent authority in the country of origin or provenance.

    4. Registration on the List of several states

    As a general rule, simultaneous registration on the List of several states is permitted by the Belgian Order of Physicians provided that the conditions of practice are met.

    The doctor must inform the provincial council of the Belgian Order on whose List they are registered if they also are registered in another state, whether EAA + Switzerland or