Under certain conditions, foreign medical practitioners can provide services (acts related to their profession) in Luxembourg on a temporary and occasional basis without holding a licence to practise issued by the Minister of Health.

To do so, a prior declaration of provision of services must be sent to the Minister of Health:

• before the first service is provided, and renewed annually thereafter, for doctors who are nationals of a Member State of the European Union, the European Economic Area or the Swiss Confederation;
• prior to each provision of services, in the case of medical practitioners who are third-country nationals.

Who is concerned

Medical practitioners who are nationals of a EU Member State

Medical practitioners who:

• are nationals of a Member State of the European Union, of the European Economic Area or of the Swiss Confederation;
• are legally established in a Member State other than Luxembourg;
• practise as a general medical practitioner, specialist medical practitioner, dentist, specialist dentist or veterinarian in a Member State other than Luxembourg; and
• travel on a temporary and occasional basis to Luxembourg in order to perform acts there in the exercise of their profession.

Medical practitioners who are third-country nationals

Medical practitioners who are third-country national and:

• are established in a Member State or a third country; and
• practise there as a general medical practitioner, specialist medical practitioner, dentist, specialist dentist or veterinarian.

The practitioners may provide services as a consultant for the attending medical practitioner established in Luxembourg, but only:

• on an occasional basis; and
• upon being requested so to do by the attending medical practitioner, the patient or the client.

Prerequisites

No suspension or ban on exercising the professional activity

Where medical practitioners have been suspended or banned from practising their profession in Luxembourg and are legally established in another Member State, they may not provide any services in Luxembourg for as long as they continue to be suspended or banned.

Required language skills

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

If their mother tongue is not French, German or Luxembourgish, proof of their language skills must be provided in order to be authorised to provide services in Luxembourg.

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.

Medical 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).

How to proceed

Prior declaration to the Ministry of Health (EU nationals or those treated as such)

Where medical practitioners who are EU nationals or treated as such wish to engage in professional activities in Luxembourg, they must send a declaration in that regard to the Minister of Health, prior to the first provision of services.

A copy of that declaration is sent by the Minister of Health:

• to the Medical Board (Collège médical), for general medical practitioners, specialist medical practitioners, dentists and specialist dentists; or
• to the Veterinary Board (Collège vétérinaire) for veterinarians.

It constitutes automatic temporary registration with that body (Medical or Veterinary Board), the service provider being exempted from the obligation to pay a membership fee.

The copy of the declaration sent to the social security bodies enables those bodies, where necessary, to settle the costs and charges payable for the health care provided to persons insured under the social security system.

Declaration to be made prior to each provision of services (third-country nationals)

Where medical practitioners who are third-country nationals wish to provide services as a consultant for an attending medical practitioner established in Luxembourg, they must send a declaration of provision of services to the Minister of Health; this must be done prior to each provision of services.

The declaration must specify:

• the nature of the provision of services that is to take place;
• the date and the place of the provision of services;
• the person who has requested the provision of services (the patient or the attending medical practitioner).

The Medical Board or the Veterinary Board and, as the case may be, the social security bodies are informed thereof by the Minister of Health.

Submission of the declaration of provision of services

Medical practitioners can submit their declaration of provision of services:

• online with MyGuichet.lu. The online procedure can be done with or without authentication using a LuxTrust product or electronic identity card (eID) (see 'Online services / Forms'). It is also available in the mobile app;
• by post by sending the form (see 'Online services / Forms') and required supporting documents to the following address:

Ministère de la Santé

1, rue Charles Darwin

L-1433 Luxembourg

The procedure with authentication has several advantages compared to the procedure without authentication. In particular, it allows the temporary saving of the data entered so that the medical practitioners can access them later.

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

Supporting documents

Medical practitioners must include the following supporting documents with their declaration:

• a copy of an identity document;
• an attestation from the State in which they are established, dating back no more than 3 months, certifying that they are legally established in that State for the purposes of practising their profession there and that, as at the date of issue of the attestation, they are not the subject of any ban, even of a temporary nature, on practising;
• a copy of the diploma, certificate or other qualification required to provide the services concerned;
• an insurance certificate in respect of professional liability insurance;
• all evidence showing that they have the language skills needed in order to be able to practise their profession.

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.

Duration of validity

The declaration of provision of services is valid for one​​​ year.

It must be renewed:

• for every year during which the provider intends to practise on a temporary or occasional basis in Luxembourg; or
• in the event of any material change in the service provider’s circumstances.

Renewal

The renewal procedure is the same as the initial declaration procedure (transfer via MyGuichet.lu or by post).

In the event of renewal of the declaration of provision of services, medical practitioners must:

• indicate the periods during which these services were provided in Luxembourg;
• annex to the provision of services declaration form (the same form as that used for the initial declaration) an attestation from the State in which they are established certifying that they are legally established in that State for the purposes of practising their profession there and that, as at the date of issue of the attestation, they are not the subject of any ban, even of a temporary nature, on practising.

That attestation must not date back more than 3 months prior to the time when it is produced, and must where necessary be accompanied by a translation.

Processing the declaration

Once the file is complete, a copy of the declaration concerning the provision of services is sent by the Ministry of Health to the Medical or Veterinary Board and to the social security bodies.

Rules of conduct

Medical practitioners who provide services in Luxembourg are subject to the Luxembourg rules of professional, regulatory or administrative conduct directly related to their professional qualifications, such as:

• the definition of the profession;
• the use of titles;
• serious professional misconduct having a direct and specific connection with the protection and safety of patients;
• the disciplinary provisions that apply to medical practitioners that are legally established in Luxembourg.

Continuity of care

Where medical practitioners, dentists or veterinarians providing services are unable to personally ensure continuity of the care which their acts entail, they must take steps to ensure that the care in question is provided by a medical practitioner, dentist or veterinarian legally established in Luxembourg.

They are required to comply with the professional rules and code of ethics in force in Luxembourg.

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.

Sanctions

The medical practitioners' 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 practice of the profession.

Forms / Online services

Who to contact