For certain healthcare professions, known as regulated healthcare professions, practitioners require prior authorisation before they can work in Luxembourg.

Midwifery is one such example.

The licence to practise is issued by the Ministry of Health (Ministère de la Santé), provided the practitioner satisfies a number of conditions (professional, physical and mental health conditions).

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

The professional healthcare practitioner must satisfy several conditions. They must:

• hold a Luxembourg or foreign diploma entitling them to practise the profession in question;
• be proficient in at least one of the languages required to practise the profession in Luxembourg, i.e.:
  • French; or
  • German;
• understand one of the 3 administrative languages of Luxembourg (German, French and Luxembourgish).

The midwife's language proficiency in one of the 3 languages may be tested at the request of the Ministry of Health.

Preliminary steps

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 provided for in Annex V, point 5.5.2 of European Directive 2005/36/EC.

If the diploma was obtained in a third country, or was obtained within the EU but does not conform to the criteria set out above, recognition of the diploma must be sought. Such recognition is possible if:

• the diploma had been previously recognised in another EU or EEA Member State, and;
• such recognition had granted the right to practise in the country in question.

Applications for recognition must be submitted to the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (Ministère de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche).

Costs

A person who wishes to move to Luxembourg and work as a midwife must pay a tax in order to obtain a licence to practise.

The amount of the tax is EUR 75.

The tax 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 a licence to practise

To practise their profession in Luxembourg, the midwife must submit a duly completed and signed application for a licence to practise to the Ministry of Health, Department for Healthcare Professionals (Service Professions de santé), along with 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 proving 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 an extract from their criminal record issued by the country or countries in which they had practised previously;
• a certificate of good mental and physical health issued by a licensed doctor (within 6 months prior to the application);
• a copy of their Luxembourgish or foreign diploma;
• if applicable, the official order confirming recognition of their diploma;
• 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.).

Work reintegration internship course

If the midwife has not practised their profession for at least 5 years, they must complete a work reintegration internship course before resuming their activity.

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 attended continuing education courses in the field in question.

The minister will provide the midwife 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 hours of classes the midwife must attend.

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

The training supervisor must have at least 5 years' professional experience in the same profession as the midwife who is retraining.

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Who to contact