Certain health professions, known as regulated health professions, require professionals to obtain a licence before they can practise their health profession in Luxembourg.

This licence is issued by the Ministry of Health.

In order to obtain the licence, applicants must fulfil the criteria for professional integrity and physical and mental health needed to carry out the profession.

Who is concerned

Professions concerned

Several regulated healthcare professions require a licence, including:

• nursing auxiliary / healthcare assistant;
• social hygiene assistant;
• social worker;
• surgical assistant;
• laboratory medical / technical assistant;
• radiology medical / technical assistant;
• dietician;
• occupational therapist;
• anaesthetist / resuscitation nurse;
• paediatric nurse;
• nursing orderly;
• psychiatric nurse;
• laboratory worker;
• masseur;
• masseur-physiotherapist;
• speech therapist;
• orthoptist;
• curative teacher;
• chiropodist;
• osteopath;
  
• psychomotricity reeducator.

Who is concerned

A professional healthcare practitioner who wishes to settle and practise in Luxembourg must be a national of:

• an EU Member State, or;
• a State of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway), or Switzerland, or;
• a third country, and:
  
  • have a valid residence permit, or;
  • have been granted international protection.

Prerequisites

Whatever the planned health profession, the professional must fulfil several conditions:

• hold a Luxembourg or foreign diploma giving access to the profession in question;
• have the necessary linguistic skills required to practise the profession.
  • French; or
  • German;
• understand one of the 3 administrative languages of Luxembourg (German, French or Luxembourgish).

The professionnal's language proficiency in one of these 3 languages may be tested at the request of the Minister of Health.

Preliminary steps

If the diploma was not obtained in Luxembourg, the professional must request the recognition of their diploma.

For some professions, the application for recognition is to be submitted to either the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth (MENEJ), or to the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR), depending on the level of the diploma obtained by the professional. If the studies are on the level of a baccalaureate (or equivalent) or lower, the application should be sent to the MENEJ. If the studies are on a higher academic level (baccalaureate +), the request is to be made to the MESR.  

Costs

Any person who wishes to settle in Luxembourg as a professional in one of the regulated professions presented here must pay a fee in order to obtain an authorisation to practise.

The amount of the fee is EUR 75.

The fee must be paid by direct deposit or wire transfer to the bank account of the Registration Duties, Estates and VAT Authority (Administration de l’enregistrement, des domaines et de la TVA), along with a statement of the applicant's identity and the purpose of the payment.

How to proceed

Application for authorisation to practise

To practise their profession in Luxembourg, the professional must send the application for authorisation to practise the profession, completed and signed, to the Department for Healthcare Professions of the Ministry of Health, enclosing the following documents:

• a copy of a valid ID document or passport, and, for third-country nationals:
  • a copy of a valid residence permit; or
  • a document attesting that they have been granted international protection;
• an extract from their criminal record issued by their country of residence within 6 months prior to the application (original document – photocopies will not be accepted). If the professional has been living in the country in question for less than one year, they must attach a criminal record of the country or countries in which they practised their profession;
• a certificate of good mental and physical health issued by a licensed doctor (within 6 months prior to the application);
• a copy of the Luxembourgish or foreign diploma obtained;
• if applicable, the official order confirming recognition of their diploma;
• a curriculum vitae;
• proof of payment of the EUR 75 tax;
• if the person's mother tongue is not French, German or Luxembourgish, proof of their language skills.

As a reminder, the health professionals' contact details are listed in the register of healthcare professions.

To this end, health professionals are required to update their contact information in the register if their situation changes (address of the medical practice, email address, phone number, etc.).

Professional reinsertion internship

If the healthcare professional has not exercised their profession for at least 5 years, they must take part in a reinsertion internship before starting their activity again.

They must inform the Minister of Health of their intention to take such a course, specifying:

• the number of years of inactivity;
• the workplace and department they wish to reintegrate;
• whether or not they have participated in continuing education in the field.

The minister will provide the professional with:

• a list of accredited training sites with available places;
• the number of hours of practical training they must receive;
• a list of continuing education courses;
• the number of lesson hours the professional will have to attend.

An internship agreement must then be signed between the intern, the internship supervisor, the representative of the training centre, and the Ministry of Health.

The internship supervisor must have at least 5 years of professional experience in the same profession as the professional who is following the reinsertion training course.

Possibilities of appeal in the event of refusal

The applicant may appeal the decision by filing the appeal with the administrative tribunal within 3 months of being notified of the decision.

Lapse or invalidity of the licence to practise

The licence to practise shall lapse if:

• the holder does not follow the required courses and trainings. If the purpose of these courses is to familiarise the professional with a new technique, the suspension of the licence to practise shall apply only to that new technique;
• the licensed health professional:
  • does not start practising the profession in Luxembourg within 2 years of the issue of the licence;
  • has ceased their professional activity in Luxembourg for more than 2 years.

Sanctions

The professional is liable to imprisonment from 8 days to 3 months, as well as a fine of EUR 251 to EUR 5,000:

• in the event of unauthorised practice of the profession; or
• if the licence was obtained based on fraudulent declarations.

Prior declaration in case of travel by the professional to Luxembourg

Filing an application

The health professional who travels to Luxembourg for the first time to provide services must make a prior declaration to the Ministry of Health. This declaration includes information relating to insurance cover or other means of personal or collective protection concerning professional liability.

The service provider can provide this declaration by any means.

Supporting documents

Health professionals who provide the service for the first time or in the event of a material change in the situation, must attach the following documents to their declaration:

• a copy of their ID card or passport;
• a certificate attesting that they:
  • are legally established in a Member State of the European Union (EU) to carry out the activities concerned in said Member State;
  • are not under the risk of being banned, even temporarily, from practising their profession, when the certificate is issued;
• proof of professional qualifications;
• in the event of the exercise of their profession in one or more EU Member States for at least one year during the 10 years preceding the provision of the service, when the profession is not regulated in the Member State of establishment: proof by any means of these activities;
• a certificate confirming the absence of temporary or permanent prohibitions to practise the profession or criminal convictions;
• a declaration concerning the knowledge of the language necessary for the exercise of the profession in Luxembourg;
• a certificate concerning the nature and duration of the activity issued by the competent authority or body of the Member State in which the service provider is established. 

 Renewal

The declaration is to be renewed once a year if the professional intends to provide services on a temporary or occasional basis in Luxembourg during the year concerned.

Forms / Online services

Who to contact