Exercising the profession of veterinary surgeon requires a licence issued by the Ministry of Health (Ministère de la Santé).

To obtain such a licence, candidates must satisfy the profession's qualification, ethics, good-repute, and physical and mental health requirements.

Who is concerned

Veterinary surgeons who wish to practise in Luxembourg must be nationals 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.

Persons who have been temporarily or permanently disqualified from practising in the country in which they last exercised their profession are not permitted to practise in Luxembourg either. The same applies if disqualification proceedings are pending.

Prerequisites

Veterinary surgeons must:

• satisfy the morality, good-repute and physical and mental health requirements applicable to veterinary surgeons;
• possess the language skills that are necessary for them to practise in Luxembourg.

Preliminary steps

Recognition of foreign qualifications

Recognition of foreign diplomas is not required if the diploma:

• was obtained in an EU Member State;
• conforms to EU standards;
• corresponds to one of the diplomas listed (see Annex V, point 5.4.2 of European Directive 2005/36/EC).

If the diploma was obtained in a third country, the holder of the diploma must first apply for recognition of the diploma in another EU Member State. Such recognition must entitle the holder to practise in the Member State in question:

• on an equal footing with the holders of a diploma specified in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC; and
• in accordance with the conditions and criteria stipulated in Article 38 of the Law of 28 October 2016 on the recognition of professional qualifications, as amended (loi modifiée du 28 octobre 2016 relative à la reconnaissance des qualifications professionnelles).

Required language skills

The practitioner must possess the language skills that are necessary for them to exercise their profession in Luxembourg.

If the practitioner's mother tongue is not French, German or Luxembourgish, proof of their language skills must be provided in order to be authorised to practise.

The minimum level of language proficiency required in French or German is Level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The level can be proven by any means such as:

• a copy of the training certificates obtained in one of these 2 languages;
• proof of professional experience in a French- or German-speaking country.

Practitioners who cannot provide such proof as listed above must provide a level B2 language proficiency certificate issued by an approved examination centre.

In Luxembourg, the approved examination centre is the National Institute for Languages Luxembourg (Institut national des langues Luxembourg - INLL).

Costs

Applications for the licence to practise carry a fee of EUR 450.

When applications are made online through MyGuichet.lu, the fee must be paid online.

For applications submitted by post, the fee must be paid to the following bank account:

Note: fees will not be reimbursed if the Ministry of Health refuses to grant the licence to practise, or if the applicant withdraws their application.

How to proceed

Applying for the licence to practise

Applicants can apply for the licence to practise online through MyGuichet.lu.

The application procedure can be accessed:

• with authentication, using a LuxTrust product or an electronic ID (eID) card; or
• without authentication.

The procedure with authentication has several advantages compared to the procedure without authentication. For instance, with authentication, the data that the user enters can be saved temporarily so that it is available to the user at a later stage.

Once the application has been submitted, all subsequent messages and notifications concerning changes in the processing status of the application will be sent to the applicant by email.

Applications may also be submitted by post by sending the relevant form and required supporting documents (see below) to the following address:

Ministère de la Santé
1, rue Charles Darwin
L-1433 LUXEMBOURG

The 'licence to practise' application form can be downloaded from the 'Forms / Online services' section (see below).

Supporting documents

Applicants must include the following supporting documents with their application:

• if the applicant is a national of an EU Member State or of a European Economic Area (EEA) state: a copy of a valid identity document; or
  
• if the applicant is not a national of an EU or EEA state:
  
  • 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 less than 3 months prior to the application date;
• a certificate of good mental and physical health issued by an approved doctor (dated less than 3 months prior to the application);
• a copy of the diploma in veterinary medicine;
• a certificate of good character issued by the Order of Veterinary Surgeons (dated less than 3 months prior to the application);
• a curriculum vitae;
• proof of payment of the EUR 450 fee;
• if the applicant's mother tongue is not French, German or Luxembourgish, proof of their language skills.

Translations of documents

All documents that are not drawn up in French, German or Luxembourgish must be accompanied by their French, German or Luxembourgish translation produced by a sworn/certified translator.

Processing the application

When the application is complete, the Ministry of Health will forward it to the Medical Board (Collège médical) for assessment.

The Medical Board can take between 3 weeks and 3 months to issue their assessment.

After the application for the licence to practise (or the application for renewal) has been examined, the decision is sent to the applicant by post.

Lapsing of the licence

The licence to practise will lapse if the practitioner:

• does not start practising their profession in Luxembourg within 2 years of the issuance of the licence;
• has ceased their activity in Luxembourg for more than 2 years and transferred their domicile outside of Luxembourg.

Lapsed licences to practice can be renewed upon request.

Applying to renew the licence to practise

The licence renewal application procedure is the same as the initial licence application procedure.

Renewal applications can be filed online through MyGuichet.lu, or by post using the relevant forms (see the 'Forms / Online services' section).

The licence renewal application must be accompanied by the following supporting documents, along with their translations where applicable (see above):

• if the applicant is a national of a European Economic Area (EEA) state: a copy of a valid identity document; or
• if the applicant is not a national of an EEA state:
  
  • 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 less than 3 months prior to the application date;
• a certificate of good mental and physical health issued by a licensed doctor (less than 3 months prior to the application);
• a certificate of good character issued by the Order of Veterinary Surgeons (dated less than 3 months prior to the application);
• an up-to-date curriculum vitae.

Possibilities of appeal in the event of refusal

If the application is refused, the applicant may appeal the decision. The appeal must be filed with the administrative tribunal within one month of being notified of the decision.

Obligations

Register of medical practitioners

As a reminder, the contact details of all medical practitioners are listed in 2 registers:

• the professional register maintained by the Ministry of Health;
• the register maintained by the Board of Veterinary Surgeons (Collège vétérinaire).

The veterinary surgeon practitioner must have their information added to the registers within one month of starting their practice.

Additionally, veterinary surgeons are required to update their information in these registers if their situation changes (address of their practice, email address, phone number, etc.).

Information

As soon as they start their practice, veterinary surgeons practitioners should apprise themselves of the public-health and social legislation applicable in Luxembourg, as well as the applicable code of ethics.

Liability insurance

Veterinary surgeons who practise in Luxembourg must have liability insurance covering professional risks.

Using the title of 'Doctor'

It is possible to work as a veterinary surgeon in Luxembourg without using the academic title 'Doctor' or 'Dr'.

However, if the veterinary surgeon wishes to use this title, they must register their qualifications in the register of certificates.

The title 'Dr' may only be used by veterinary surgeons who have obtained a diploma entitling them to use the academic title 'Doctor' after having defended a doctoral thesis. This diploma must be recognised as the equivalent of level 8 in the Luxembourg Qualifications Framework (Cadre luxembourgeois des qualifications - CLQ).

A copy of the ministerial decree confirming the registration must then be sent to the Ministry of Health, which will update the data in the professional register.

Sanctions

The veterinary surgeon's disciplinary, civil and criminal liability may be incurred if, owing to insufficient language skills, they make a mistake in the performance of their duties.

They also run the risk of imprisonment and a fine in the case of:

• illegal use of the title 'Doctor'; or
• illegal practice of the profession, or incitement to illegal practise of the profession.

Declaration of temporary practice

Veterinary surgeons who wish to practise temporarily in Luxembourg must be legally established in the European Union or the European Economic Area.

If they are coming to Luxembourg for the first time, they must file a declaration with the Ministry of Health beforehand.

Veterinary surgeons must also:

• be sufficiently proficient in German and French; and
• be able to understand all three of Luxembourg's administrative languages.

Veterinary surgeons coming to work in Luxembourg are bound by the same rules of conduct and disciplinary provisions as professionals with established practices in Luxembourg.

Requesting duplicates

A copy of the licence to practise can be obtained for a fee of EUR 10. Applications for duplicate copies must be sent by post or email to the Ministry of Health, and must include:

• proof of payment of the EUR 10 fee; and
• a copy of an identity document.

The fee must be paid by wire transfer to the following account:

Forms / Online services

Who to contact